How long does it take for coffee to kick in?

QUESTION: How long does it take for coffee to kick in? I have been working a lot of late shifts lately and it’s hard to get up the next day. – Wade F

To feel the effects of the caffeine from a cup of coffee, it generally takes about 10 minutes until you can feel the difference. But from there, the effects continue to grow and you’ll probably reach the peak level of caffeine in your bloodstream within an hour, according to MedLine Plus. At that point, you can generally feel the caffeine effects for the next 4 to 6 hours before it wears off.

So give yourself at least 10 minutes to feel the caffeine kick after your first cup of coffee. Once you feel it kicking in you’ll know you’re on your way to peak caffeinated awesomeness over the next hour. Of course, the amount of caffeine in a cup of joe is determined by the type of coffee beans you use, the roast level, and the brewing method. When it comes to the type of beans, Robusta coffee beans have higher levels of caffeine than Arabica beans. Contrary to popular belief, dark roast coffee beans have less caffeine than light roast beans. In terms of brewing methods, the amount of caffeine in the final cup is affected by the length of time allowed for extraction. Cold brew has the lowest caffeine concentrations whereas pour-over and french press have the highest caffeine levels

Drinking more coffee will increase the amount of caffeine in your bloodstream, but be careful not to overdo it. Drinking too much coffee can cause negative effects. The side effects of too much caffeine can be an elevated heart rate and blood pressure as well as digestive system symptoms causing an upset stomach. Too much caffeine intake can also leave you feeling jittery and sick. The half-life of caffeine measures the amount of time it takes for half of the caffeine to clear from your system. Caffeine’s half-life is 4-6 hours. If you are having symptoms of high amounts of caffeine you will have to wait 4-6 hours for the peak caffeine concentration to drop.

If you regularly drink a lot of coffee, you’ll also build a caffeine tolerance and may develop a dependency. If you are a regular coffee drinker and have tried to stop drinking coffee you will experience caffeine withdrawal symptoms, namely headache, irritability, drowsiness, and difficulty concentrating just to name a few.

Now just a bit of comparison to other caffeine-containing products.

  • An average cup of coffee has 95 milligrams of caffeine in 8 ounces.
  • Common energy shots or energy drinks have about 74 mg of caffeine per serving.
  • decaffeinated coffee has 2mg of caffeine in 8 ounces
  • Among the most consumed soft drinks the caffeine content ranges from 69mg in Pepsi zero to 54mg in Mountain Dew.
  • Black tea leaves have the highest levels of caffeine of all the teas. An average cup of brewed black tea has 47mg of caffeine in 8 ounces. Brewed green tea has 28mg of caffeine in 8 ounces.

https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/how-long-does-caffeine-take-to-kick-in/

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-buzz-about-caffeine-and-health

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/15496-caffeine-how-to-hack-it-and-how-to-quit-it

https://cspinet.org/eating-healthy/ingredients-of-concern/caffeine-chart

https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/caffeine#section=Top

Leave a Comment