Does Coffee Ice Cream Have Caffeine? EVERYONE Wants To Know

Done with dinner and it’s time for dessert. There’s coffee ice cream in the freezer but if you consume caffeine now, you might have to stay up all night. That’s when the question strikes – does coffee ice cream have caffeine? If it does, how much? Will a bowl of ice cream ruin a good night’s sleep? And also, is there actual coffee in coffee ice cream? Let’s see.

How much caffeine is in coffee ice cream?

Most ice cream brands use real coffee in their ice creams. Unless it specifically says “artificial flavour” on the box, it has real coffee. But is it enough to keep you up at night? To understand that, you need to know the amount of caffeine in an average cup of coffee. According to the FDA, an 240-ml cup of brewed coffee contains about 80-100 mg of caffeine (1).

While coffee ice creams don’t usually have the same level of caffeine as in an espresso shot, different brands have different caffeine levels.

Is the Caffeine in Coffee Ice Cream Enough to Keep You Awake?

According to the FDA, it takes about 4-6 hours to metabolize half of the caffeine you consume. This means the coffee dessert you have after dinner might keep you awake.

There are other factors to consider as well. How sensitive you are towards caffeine, how much coffee an ice cream company uses, and what kind of coffee they use. For example, some companies use coffee-flavoured syrup while others directly use coffee beans for their coffee sundaes. And then some use coffee-flavoured liqueur.

Coffee-flavoured syrup will have less caffeine content than liqueur and coffee beans. The caffeine content also depends on the intensity of the coffee flavour in the ice cream. For example, a coffee-chocolate combination will have less caffeine than a dark coffee ice cream.

As a general unwritten rule, coffee ice cream doesn’t contain as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. However, you should be aware that brands are not required to disclose the mount of caffeine in products sold in the UK.

If you’re craving coffee ice cream, you can cut back on the quantity you consume or make your own caffeine-free ice cream. Or maybe get a different flavour of ice cream?

How to get Caffeine-free ice cream

Almost all store-bought coffee ice creams will have caffeine in them. If you want a caffeine-free confection, you’ll find many exciting homemade dessert recipes with coffee. Make your own ice cream at home using decaf coffee and enjoy caffeine-free ice cream that you can eat any time without ruining your sleep. You can also have yummy decaf coffee cakes, puddings, and affogato.

If you’re a fan of ice cream float, keep in mind that there’s caffeine in fizzy drinks as well. For example, a 330-ml can of Coke has 32 mg of caffeine and Diet Coke has 42 mg of caffeine (2).

Final Thoughts

Is there caffeine in coffee ice cream? Yes. Coffee ice cream is delicious but too much of it can keep you up. The simple solution to your sugar cravings can be homemade decaf coffee ice cream. Since most decaf coffees have 95% of the caffeine removed from them, you can have a sweet bowl of ice cream without hampering your sleep.