Coffee is a popular flavor in ice cream that many worldwide enjoy. However, some of us may have caffeine sensitivity, so we may want to avoid caffeine when possible.
We know coffee has caffeine, but what about coffee ice cream? Does coffee ice cream have caffeine?
Coffee ice cream does have caffeine. You may ingest around 1 to 50 mg of caffeine per serving of coffee ice cream. This is very small compared to the FDA’s recommended daily intake of no more than 400mg for healthy adults.
In this article, let’s explore if coffee ice cream has caffeine. We also look at if there are ways you can enjoy coffee ice cream without caffeine.
How Much Caffeine Can You Find In Coffee Ice Cream?
Now that you know there is caffeine in ice cream, your next question may be, “How much?”
The caffeine amount may depend on the type of coffee ice cream you are talking about. This is because different ice cream makers may use different types of coffee to make their products, which would mean differing caffeine levels.
Some ice cream makers may use coffee extracts to make their ice cream, while some may use actual coffee.
If the coffee extract is used, you may have a higher concentration of caffeine in your coffee ice cream. This is because coffee extracts have more caffeine than actual coffee.
However, expect to find around 1 to 50 mg (milligrams) of caffeine in a single serving of coffee ice cream.
This is not a lot of caffeine since a single cup of Grande Americano at Starbucks alone would have around 225 mg of caffeine.
Another way to compare the amount of caffeine inside coffee ice cream is against what the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) recommends.
The FDA recommends healthy adults avoid consuming more than 400mg of caffeine a day. Anything beyond that usually may come with side effects, such as headaches or dehydration.
If you are to eat a serving of coffee ice cream or two, you are not going to hit the caffeine limit. It will take a lot of coffee ice cream servings to reach the 400mg limit.
That means the amount of caffeine in coffee ice cream is very small. Feel free to eat and not worry too much!
How Much Caffeine Is In Popular Coffee Ice Creams?
| Coffee Ice-Cream Brand | Caffeine Count (per 60ml scoop) |
| Häagen-Dazs Coffee Ice Cream | 12.95 mg |
| Ben & Jerry’s Coffee Buzzbuzzbuzz | 17.75 mg |
| Breyer’s Coffee Ice Cream | 7.62 mg |
| Turkey Hill Colombian Coffee Ice Cream | 15.1 mg |
| Oatly Coffee Frozen Dessert | 20.4 mg |
SOURCE: Caffeine Informer, Oatly
We decided to look at several popular coffee ice-creams you may find on your shopping aisles and ran the numbers for you.
To make it easier to calculate your caffeine intake, we based our calculation on a single scoop of ice cream, which is around 60ml (or around 2 fluid ounces).
You may also use the same method to calculate your caffeine intake when you eat your coffee ice cream.
Häagen-Dazs Coffee Ice Cream
Who does not think of Häagen-Dazs first when it comes to ice cream? Their coffee ice cream is also one of their most popular options.
One good thing is that their coffee ice cream seems to have a very low caffeine count, with around 12.95mg per scoop. This should mean you can enjoy many before hitting the daily caffeine limit.
Ben & Jerry’s Coffee Buzzbuzzbuzz
Ben & Jerry’s may also be the most popular coffee ice cream. In their case, a single scoop of their Buzzbuzzbuzz Coffee Ice Cream would load you up with 17.75 mg of caffeine.
That’s slightly more than the rest but still well within the FDA’s recommendation of no more than 400 mg daily.
Breyer’s Coffee Ice Cream
Breyer’s coffee ice cream is also light on caffeine and is one of the more affordable options. A single scoop only comes with 7.62 mg of caffeine.
This is the least amount of caffeine you can have in a single scoop of coffee ice cream from this list, which means if you are really watching your caffeine count, get a tub of Breyers.
Turkey Hill Colombian Coffee Ice Cream
The Turkey Hill Colombian Coffee Ice Cream may use Colombian coffee. Still, it is cheaper than Ben and Jerry’s or Haägen-Dazs.
A single scoop will load you up with around 15 mg of caffeine. This is not too high compared to the other coffee ice cream on the list.
Oatly Coffee Frozen Dessert
If you plan to stay away from dairy, Oatly is a great alternative. In fact, Oatly’s coffee ice cream is dairy free too, which is why they call it a frozen dessert instead.
However, it does deliver a bit of a bang on the caffeine. A single scoop contains 20.4 mg of caffeine, the highest on the list.
Can You Enjoy Coffee Ice Cream Without Caffeine?
Suppose you plan to go completely caffeine free, yet you enjoy coffee. Is there a way to enjoy coffee ice cream without caffeine?
Generally, it is quite hard to get caffeine-free coffee ice cream. This is because the amount of caffeine in coffee is already quite small, which means not many people will demand a caffeine-free version of coffee ice cream.
This is unlike regular decaf coffee. There is a demand for decaf coffee since coffee drinks have more caffeine. This means those with caffeine sensitivity will feel the effects of the drug.
Making it yourself is probably your best bet to enjoy caffeine-free coffee ice cream. Making ice cream is not that difficult since there are ice cream machines.
Just make a shot or two of espresso with decaf coffee beans, and mix them with the other ingredients to make your coffee ice cream instead.
Nigel Ong Ph.D is a writer. He works closely with B2C and B2B brands to create content to build traffic, leads, and conversions for their website. His favorite coffee is the Long Black, piping hot, with no sugar.