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You may be asking for decaf with your morning coffee ritual, but is that really what you're getting? Eyewitness News and Consumer Reports recently checked out the caffeine in your non-caffeine coffee.
The majority of Americans wouldn't think of going a day without a cup of coffee. But while most may depend on their "cup of Joe" for a quick pick-me-up, others want their coffee caffeine-free. But just how caffeine-free are the big-name coffees?
Just because you ask for decaf doesn't mean your coffee is caffeine-free.
"People may be surprised to learn there's no law that says how much caffeine a cup of decaf can contain. So we decided to find out just how much they're getting," said Kim Kleman from Consumer Reports.
Consumer Reports bought the smallest size decaf coffee from six different locations of six big chains -- Starbucks, Burger King, McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts, 7-Eleven, and Seattle's Best, which is sold at Borders bookstores. Chemists in Consumer Reports' labs ran samples that were anywhere from 10 to 12 ounces through a machine to measure the amount of caffeine.
Of the 36 cups of decaf, more than half had less than 5 milligrams. But there were exceptions. One of the six cups from Starbucks had 21 milligrams of caffeine. Testers found 29 milligrams in one of the samples from Seattle's Best. And one of Dunkin' Donuts small decafs had 32 milligrams of caffeine.
"A typical cup of caffeinated coffee has about 100 milligrams, so this is less," said Kleman. "But if you drink more than one cup or order large sizes, you could be getting more than you bargained for."
Is it really decaf? Consumer Reports says if you love coffee but not caffeine, you may want to limit yourself to just one cup -- especially at night.
Consumer Reports also tested 36 cups of caffeinated coffee from the big chains. The amount of caffeine was all over the lot -- anywhere from 58 milligrams up to 281. That means you also can't be sure just how much of a java jolt you'll get even when you order regular coffee.
Perfect idea
for making espresso coffee
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