Coffee is, by far, the largest contributor to caffeine intake from beverages, accounting for 69%. And that’s growing: up 15% over the last 10 years.
Meanwhile, there’s been a sizeable decline in the number of tea drinkers.
The study, which surveyed a nationally representative sample of 49,700 consumers, used data from a 2022 Kantar Worldpanel Enhanced Beverage Service survey. Supported by the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS) published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology this week.
Energy boost
Caffeine is essentially one of the most fundamental of functional ingredients – consumed primarily as a stimulant. Around 69% of the US population consume at least one caffeinated beverage per day, notes the study.
But another major finding is that a lower overall proportion of the population is consuming caffeinated beverages - but at higher levels of intake. That higher intake might be partially explained by a greater proportion of coffee consumers and higher intakes of caffeine from coffee and specialty coffees.
However, the mean caffeine intake from beverages remains below the 400mg/day limit suggested by the US Food & Drug Administration, say researchers (the mean daily caffeine intake of caffeine consumers is estimated at around 210 mg).
Recommended caffeine limits
For most adults, the FDA has cited 400 milligrams a day — that's about two to three 12-fluid-ounce cups of coffee — as an amount not generally associated with negative effects.
Coffee was the largest contributor (69%) to caffeine intake across all age groups followed by carbonated soft drinks (15.4%), tea (8.8%), and energy drinks (6.3%).
These made up 99% of caffeinated beverages consumed – newer categories of caffeinated beverages such as caffeinated water remain at less than 1%.
Caffeine intake from coffee was up 15%, while intake from carbonated soft drinks was down 27%, compared to the last survey in 2010-2011.
There was a more than 50% decrease in the proportion of all caffeinated beverage consumers who consumed tea. Despite a decline in the number of tea drinkers, those who do drink tea have nearly doubled their intake.
Caffeine intake overall is highest in consumers aged 50-64 years old.
What type of coffee are Americans consuming?
The number of American adults who have had coffee in the past day has increased by 37% since 2004, putting coffee consumption at its highest level in more than 20 years, according to figures published by the National Coffee Association (NCA) last year.
NCA's Spring 2024 National Coffee Data Trends (NCDT) report revealed that 67% of American adults had coffee in the past day (more than any other beverage, including tap or bottled water), compared to 49% in 2004. 75% of American adults have had coffee in the past week, up by 4% since the Spring 2023 NCDT.
Increased coffee consumption is driven by consumers ages 25+. The greatest increase is among consumers 60+, whose past-day consumption increased by 9% (from 67% to 73%). Consumers aged 25–39 and 40–59 both saw consumption rise by 4.5% (from 67% to 70% and from 66% to 69%, respectively). Consumption by 18–24-year-olds held steady at 47%.
Specialty coffee experienced significant growth: 57% of American adults had a specialty coffee in the past week, up by 7.5% year-on-year.
Ready-to-drink coffee became the third most popular preparation method among past-day coffee drinkers, nearly doubling from 8% to 15% and knocking espresso machines to fourth place. Drip coffee makers (37%) and single-cup brewers (28%) continue to be the top two at home preparation methods.
Coffee might reign supreme: but what the study highlights is ‘considerable interest’ in new forms of caffeinated beverages such as energy drinks.
“The caffeinated beverage marketplace continues to evolve with a seemingly endless array of beverage types and brands available,” note the authors in the study.
“This is evident in the variety and number of branded beverage products reported in this survey compared to Kantar Worldpanel’s previous beverage survey conducted in 2010-2011 - over 40% more brands (970 vs 559) were reported in this survey than in 2010-2011.
“The brands predominately represent the four main category contributors to beverage caffeine intakes and include coffee, CSDs, tea and energy drinks - categories that have defined caffeine consumption consistently across all US population surveys for more than a decade.”
Typical caffeine content in 12 fl oz drinks
| Drink | Typical caffeine amount |
|---|---|
| Caffeinated soft drink | 23 - 83mg |
| Green tea | 37mg |
| Black tea | 71mg |
| Coffee (regular brew, non-specialty) | 113 - 247mg |
| Energy drink | 41 - 246mg |
“However, there has been considerable growth in the number of products within these categories, in addition to beverages introduced that blur the lines between categories,” continue the researchers.
“There are many more varieties of coffee including cold brew and pre-bottled specialty coffee drinks. Liquid water enhancers, fruit juice drinks with antioxidants and caffeine, fruit and tea drinks, sports drinks marketed for hydration with functional ingredients such as electrolytes with some containing caffeine, and energy drinks with added herbal extracts (including tea) are examples of how the beverage market has grown and how beverage categories have become more challenging to delineate and categorize.”
Self-reported data
- Methodology of this study differs to previous studies, which might explain why it is inconsistent with other findings (which have found caffeine intake to be stable).
- Meanwhile, an inherent problem with all self-reported dietary surveys is that beverages are often forgotten by respondents – or respondents may only make rough estimates (or underestimates) about their consumption.
- And the constant change in available products (new launches, discontinuations or reformulation) makes it difficult to track products reliably.
- The most significant caveat to the study is the large variability in caffeine content across both tea and coffee: which may be affected by the origin of the crop, type of tea or coffee bean, processing, preparation and brewing time and temperature.
The full impact, however, of these newer beverages may be yet to be felt - most of the newer beverages have only been on the market for a short time so their contribution to total caffeine intakes may not have reached their full potential.
Caffeine boost: Energy drinks
The new survey also found that energy drinkers now make up around 12% of caffeine consumers; contributing 6% to the total caffeine consumed.
That proportion of consumers is still relatively low: but caffeine intake is from the category is ‘considerably higher’ than previous studies and could be the result of the number of brands and types of energy drinks that have emerged over the last decade.
Total retail sales and forecast of energy drinks and shots in the US increased by almost 10% in 2023, according to Mintel.
Heavyweights such as Red Bull and Monster dominate the charts: but there’s also the emergence of entrepreneurial brands such as Celsius, Prime, ZOA Energy (backed by Dwayne Johnson and recently snapped up by Molson Coors), GHOST (bought by Keurig Dr Pepper) and more.
While energy drinks and caffeine content might dominate headlines because of the concerns around children and teenagers consuming these products, the new generation of healthier energy drinks wants to tap into consumer trends by delivering energy (whether for sports or as an afternoon pick-me-up) and caffeine (which can come from a natural, clean label ingredient) as a better-for-you boost than carbonated soft drinks.
The caffeine content of energy drinks can vary wildly: from 41mg to 246mg in a large can (around two and three cups of coffee), according to the FDA.
Consumers are increasingly searching for energy drinks with higher levels of caffeine. In 2023, food and beverage searches for “contains caffeine” grew 17%, and searches for “high caffeine” saw a 113% increase, according to NIQ figures.
