Coffee ice cream is one of our favorite choices for dessert after a good meal. It combines two of the things we love, coffee and ice cream. The combination of bold coffee flavors with the rich, creamy texture of the ice cream create a unique flavor with just the right amount of caffeine.
Of course coffee flavored ice creams and other desserts aren’t going to have the same amount of caffeine in them that a cup of coffee does, but exactly how much caffeine is in coffee flavored ice cream?
Is the amount of caffeine contained in coffee ice cream going to influence my body? Is it going to cause me to have trouble sleeping, am I going to be “wired” after eating it?
The short answer is, no, you probably won’t be affected by the amount of caffeine found in coffee ice cream, unless you are extremely sensitive to any amount of caffeine.
The caffeine content within coffee ice cream is so low that it would be a waste of calories to try and get your caffeine dose from ice cream than from coffee or somewhere else, like soda.
Some coffee flavored ice creams may not even have any caffeine in them at all. It’s important to look at the labels to determine if real coffee was used in the ice cream or if it was just some sort of artificial coffee flavoring.
In addition to that, there are a couple different factors that will impact the amount of caffeine you might find in coffee flavored ice cream.
Caffeine in Coffee Ice Cream
While some coffee ice creams may not have caffeine at all, depending on if they use real coffee beans or not, the ones that do have real coffee in them can also vary in caffeine content depending on a couple different things.
1. Type of Coffee Used to Make the Ice Cream
Depending on which type of coffee beans that were used in the ice cream, you may have a higher or lower amount of caffeine.
Different types of coffee beans have different levels of caffeine in them. For example, Arabica beans will typically have less caffeine when compared to Robusta beans. And while some ice creams may not tell you which coffee beans were used in the ice cream, the difference is not going to be enough to notice, especially at these small levels.
2. Brewing Method
Depending on the method that the ice cream manufacturer uses to obtain the coffee flavoring, the brew method can determine caffeine levels as well.
When you brew a cup of coffee using a French press, you will have higher caffeine levels than if you were to use a drip coffee maker. So depending on which method the ice cream maker uses to make the dessert, it can affect the amount of caffeine in the final product.
3. Amount of Coffee Used in the Recipe
This one is pretty obvious, but depending on how much coffee is needed for the coffee ice cream recipe, will impact the amount of caffeine found in the dessert. The more coffee used, the stronger the coffee flavor will be, and the higher the caffeine levels will be. If the ice cream recipe calls for just a little coffee, then you’ll end up with more subtle coffee flavors with less caffeine.
How Much Caffeine is in Coffee Ice Cream?
In general you’re not going to find high levels of caffeine in coffee flavored ice cream. Coffee flavored ice cream typically has between 3-5 milligrams of caffeine. In comparison a cup of coffee typically contains around 95 milligrams of caffeine, while a can of soda contains between 35-45 milligrams of caffeine.
With coffee ice cream coming in at a measly 3-5 milligrams, you’re generally not going to feel the effect of the caffeine on your body unless you are extremely sensitive to it. It’s not going to make you “wired”, it’s not going to prevent you from falling asleep. At most it may give you a little boost of energy for a bit, but nothing like drinking an actual cup of coffee would do.
So if you’re worried about having coffee ice cream for dessert after dinner, don’t. But if you’re looking to replace your coffee intake with ice cream for some reason, you’re not going to get the same boost from the ice cream that you would from a cup of coffee.
