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SubscribeWhy did I Eat that Chocolate BEFORE bedtime?
Sigh. Why do I do that to myself?
I eat Chocolate because I’m craving it, then can’t sleep worth a crap.
Coffee does the same thing to me. And it doesn’t help that I prefect the Dark Chocolate since I think it has a larger amount of caffeine in it. I’m usually pretty good about restricting the obvious caffeine after 2PM (it works!), but some days I say, “To heck with it!” and go for it, hoping I don’t suffer the consequences.
It never fails, I toss and turn most of the night. I’m jealous of people who don’t have this problem.
Curiosity got the better of me the other night, so I jumped on Google and searched for the caffeine contents in Chocolate and coffee to see how they compared. About.com (LOVE that website) has a great caffeine chart I thought I’d share with you. Apparently the caffeine contents are approximate since it depends on the variety of the coffee and how it’s roasted.
Here’s the caffeine content listing:
Double Espresso (2 oz.) - 45 to 100 mg
Brewed Coffee (8 oz.) - 60 to 120 mg
Instant Coffee (8 oz.) – 70 mg
Decaf coffee (8 oz) – 1 to 5 mg
Tea – black (8 oz) - 45 mg
Tea – green (8 oz) - 20 mg
Tea – white (8 oz) - 15 mg
Coca Cola (12 oz can) - 34 mg
Pepsi (12 oz can) - 38 mg
Barq’s Root Beer (12 oz can) - 22 mg
7-up (12 oz) - 0 mg
Chocolate milk (8 oz) - 4 mg
Dark chocolate (1 oz) - 20 mg
Milk chocolate (1 oz) - 6 mg
Ben & Jerry’s Coffee Fudge Frozen Yogurt (8 oz) - 85 mg
OK, stupid question. When comparing the 8 ounce brewed coffee to say, the 1 ounce Dark Chocolate, is the QUANTITY equal? I ask because I stink at math and am too lazy to figure it out other than visualizing it. For example, I’m picturing the 8 ounce brewed coffee in concentrated form, so am wondering if it would then be the same as the 1 ounce Dark Chocolate?
Anyone? Anyone?
Welcome to my chocolate factory! I'm Laura Rucker, your chocoholic guide to chocolate-themed recipes, reviews, humor and much 
I would say the quantity is equal because you’re comparing servings, instead of the weight or fluid ounce. If you wanted to compare them equally, you’d probably need to compare the caffeine content in one ounce of coffee grounds to that of the chocolate. Or compare the prepared coffee to the same amount of hot chocolate.
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gotchocolate replied: — October 15th, 2010 @ 9:57 PM
Hi Marcia. I think you’re right, the caffeine contents are being compared per serving. I figured coffee has more caffeine than Dark Chocolate, but am glad to see it isn’t equal. Althoooough, the way I consume Chocolate, I’m probably getting several servings of caffeine! But that’s OK! As long as I don’t eat it after 2PM I can still sleep at night.
i luv chocolate why would you eat chocolate?
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Couldn’t sleep last night after dark chocolate bing….. Now I’m exhausted!!!!
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It’s not the caffeine in chocolate that keeps you up, it’s the theobromine.
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