How Much Caffeine Is in Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans?

This lesson uses USDA nutrition data, the FDA's caffeine guidance and published brand figures. We kept the math simple so you can count beans in your head.

One thing to know up front: caffeine varies a lot from brand to brand. The bean, the roast, the size of the bean and how thick the chocolate shell is all change the number. Treat every figure below as a range, and check the label on your bag when it lists caffeine.

How much caffeine is in a chocolate-covered espresso bean?

A single chocolate-covered espresso bean usually has somewhere between 4 and 13 mg of caffeine. USDA data works out to about 12 mg per dark chocolate bean and about 11 mg per milk chocolate bean. Brands that publish their own numbers often land lower, so check the label.

The USDA's FoodData Central entry for dark chocolate coated coffee beans uses a serving of 28 pieces, or 40 grams. Reporting on that data puts a serving at about 336 mg of caffeine for dark chocolate and about 320 mg for milk chocolate. Divide by 28 and you get roughly 12 mg and 11 mg per bean.

Other estimates come in lower. Caffeine Informer gives an average of about 7 mg per bean, with a range of 5 to 10 mg for milk chocolate and 6 to 11 mg for dark. Food Republic found one brand at about 3.75 mg per bean and another at 7 to 13 mg. The spread comes from bean size, roast and how much of each piece is chocolate.

USDA serving figures as reported by The Takeout; per-bean values are our division. Brand range from Caffeine Informer and Food Republic.

How many chocolate-covered espresso beans equal a cup of coffee?

At the USDA rate of about 12 mg per bean, 11 to 17 chocolate-covered espresso beans roughly match a 12-ounce cup of brewed coffee. With a lower-caffeine brand at about 4 mg per bean, it could take 33 to 50 beans. Most bags fall somewhere between those two.

The math starts with the FDA. It describes 400 mg of caffeine as about two to three 12-fluid-ounce cups of coffee, which puts one 12-ounce cup at roughly 130 to 200 mg. Divide that by the caffeine in one bean and you have your count.

• At 12 mg per bean (USDA dark chocolate), one 12-ounce cup is about 11 to 17 beans.
• At 7 mg per bean (a middle estimate), it is about 19 to 29 beans.
• At 4 mg per bean (a light brand), it is about 33 to 50 beans.

Tasting Table landed in the same place, estimating that 10 to 15 beans equal a cup of coffee. A small handful is plenty.

Why do the beans add up faster than a cup of coffee?

When you brew coffee, water pulls caffeine out of the grounds and you throw the grounds away. When you eat a chocolate-covered espresso bean, you swallow the whole bean, caffeine and all. That makes it easy to get a cup's worth of caffeine from a snack that feels like candy.

A cup of coffee also has a natural stopping point. You finish the mug and you are done. A bag of chocolate-covered beans does not, and the chocolate makes them easy to keep eating. A 40-gram serving is 28 pieces, which at the USDA rate is close to the caffeine in two 12-ounce cups.

The bean itself is small. Jura, the Swiss machine maker, says about 70 roasted beans go into one cup of coffee, around 8 grams. That is roughly 0.11 grams per bean by our math, and every bit of it goes down when you eat one.

Does the chocolate coating add caffeine?

Dark chocolate adds a little caffeine on top of the bean, milk chocolate adds less, and white chocolate adds none because it has no cocoa solids. The coffee bean supplies nearly all of the caffeine in every version. The coating mostly changes the sugar, the fat and how many you want to eat.

Cocoa solids also carry theobromine, a milder stimulant related to caffeine. That is one more reason dark chocolate versions can feel a bit stronger than milk chocolate ones. If you want the lowest caffeine per piece, a white chocolate coating over a decaf bean is about as gentle as it gets.

Do espresso beans have more caffeine than other coffee beans?

No. "Espresso bean" is a label for a roast or blend meant for espresso, usually a darker roast. It is the same coffee bean. Roast level changes caffeine only slightly, and you can read why in Lesson 04: does dark roast have more caffeine? The bigger factors are bean size and species. Robusta beans carry more caffeine than arabica, and most specialty coffee is arabica.

How many chocolate-covered espresso beans is too many?

For healthy adults, the FDA says 400 mg of caffeine a day is not generally linked to negative effects. At the USDA rate of about 12 mg per bean, that is about 33 beans for the whole day, counting no other coffee, tea or soda. Most people will want far fewer than that.

Remember that the 400 mg figure is a daily total. If you had two mugs of coffee this morning, a handful of beans in the afternoon can take you over it. The FDA lists signs of too much caffeine, including a racing heart, jitters, anxiety, an upset stomach, headache and trouble sleeping. It also notes that toxic effects, such as seizures, can occur when someone takes in around 1,200 mg quickly. At the USDA rate, that is about 100 beans.

• If you are pregnant, trying to become pregnant or breastfeeding, the FDA suggests asking your health care provider about caffeine limits.
• Keep the bag away from kids. These look like candy and carry a lot of caffeine per piece.
• Eat them earlier in the day if caffeine affects your sleep.

The chocolate counts too. According to USDA data, a 40-gram serving of dark chocolate coated coffee beans has about 220 calories, 17 grams of sugar and 12 grams of fat.

How do you make chocolate-covered espresso beans at home?

Melt good chocolate gently, stir in whole roasted coffee beans, lift them out one at a time with a fork and let them set on parchment. Pick a dark or espresso roast with chocolate tasting notes so the bean and the coating taste like they belong together. A decaf roast works the same way.

Making your own lets you choose the coffee, which store-bought bags rarely tell you much about. A few beans from our catalog that suit chocolate:

• Coffee Bros. Dark Espresso Roast is a dark Ethiopia and Brazil blend. The roaster lists dark chocolate and a hint of red fruit.
• Black & White Coffee Roasters The Traditional is a dark, washed Colombia. The roaster lists dark chocolate, cherry and marzipan, which reads a lot like a chocolate-cherry candy.
• Fabula Coffee Espresso is a dark, USDA Organic Colombia with caramel, praline and dark berry notes, according to the roaster.
• Onyx Coffee Lab Monarch is an espresso blend of Colombia and Ethiopia. The roaster lists dark chocolate and winey berries.

For an evening snack, use decaf. Peace Coffee Decaf French Roast is a dark, water-process decaf from Honduras with toasted walnut, spice and caramelized sugar notes listed by the roaster. Onyx Coffee Lab Decaf Espresso, Peru Norandino is another option, with chocolate, citrus and soft stone fruit. Decaf still has a little caffeine, far less than regular beans. You can browse more dark and espresso roasts on our coffee for espresso page.

Frequently asked questions