How Many Cups of Coffee Can You Drink a Day? A Caffeine Guide for Espresso & Pour Over

“Up to 400 milligrams of caffeine per day—so how many cups of pour-over or espresso does that actually mean?”

This was a question a customer asked while buying coffee beans at my shop. As most people know, moderate coffee consumption is considered beneficial for adults. According to research, that “moderate” amount generally means no more than 400 mg of caffeine per day. As long as your total daily caffeine intake stays below that number, it’s considered safe—though individual tolerance can vary.

And this isn’t a rare question. Many customers ask about the caffeine content of different beans so they can estimate and control their daily intake. So let’s go back to that original question: how many cups of pour-over or espresso does 400 mg of caffeine actually equal?

How Caffeine Content Is Estimated

The calculation is actually quite straightforward. As long as we know what type of coffee bean is used and how much coffee is brewed, we can estimate the caffeine content.

Caffeine levels in coffee are mainly influenced by two factors: bean variety and dose. When we talk about variety here, we’re referring to Arabica vs. Robusta—and the difference is significant. Robusta beans contain more than twice the caffeine of Arabica.

  • Robusta: about 2%–4% caffeine by bean weight

  • Arabica: about 0.9%–1.4% caffeine by bean weight

So hypothetically, if you brew a coffee using 10 g of beans:

  • With Robusta, the caffeine content could be as high as 400 mg

  • With Arabica, the maximum would be around 140 mg

But in reality, caffeine can’t be calculated this directly—because we never extract 100% of the caffeine from the bean.

Why Actual Caffeine Intake Is Lower

We know that only about 30% of a coffee bean is soluble, and that includes caffeine. These soluble compounds are what create coffee’s flavor. However, we never extract all of them. Many soluble compounds are unpleasant—excess bitterness, harshness, or astringency—so we control brewing parameters to avoid over-extraction.

In most cases, coffee extraction yield is kept around 18%–22%, roughly two-thirds of the total soluble material. Since we don’t know exactly how much caffeine is extracted, let’s conservatively assume about half of the caffeine dissolves into the cup.

That gives us a practical estimation formula:

Caffeine content ≈ coffee dose × caffeine percentage of the bean ÷ 2

Espresso Example

Let’s use my own espresso as an example. I brew espresso with my “Strawberry Candy” espresso blend, which is made entirely from Arabica beans. So we’ll use the upper average value for Arabica caffeine content.

  • Coffee dose: 20 g

  • Arabica caffeine content: 1.4%

  • Estimated extraction: ÷ 2

20 g × 1.4% ÷ 2 ≈ 140 mg of caffeine per shot

Under the 400 mg daily limit, that means about 2½ cups of espresso.

Pour-Over Example

For pour-over, I typically use 15 g of coffee, again mostly Arabica—whether it’s Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, Gesha, or other beans on my menu.

Using the same formula:

15 g × 1.4% ÷ 2 ≈ 105 mg of caffeine per cup

That means you could drink around 3½ cups of pour-over coffee without exceeding 400 mg.

Why This Is Only a Reference

These calculations are only rough estimates, not exact rules.

First, we don’t know the precise caffeine content of each specific coffee. Even within Arabica, varieties like Typica, Gesha, or Sidra can differ noticeably in caffeine levels.

Second, we can’t precisely control how much caffeine is extracted during brewing. Extraction fluctuates depending on grind size, water temperature, brew time, and technique. When you combine these uncertainties, caffeine intake can only be estimated within a broad range, not an exact number.

So this method should be used as a general guideline, helping you understand roughly how much coffee you can drink comfortably in a day.

Want to Drink More Coffee Without the Caffeine?

If you love coffee and want to drink more without exceeding your caffeine limit, decaf coffee is a great option.

Decaf comes in both naturally low-caffeine varieties and artificially decaffeinated coffees. Most decaf on the market today is produced through decaffeination processes. By industry standards, decaf coffee contains less than 3% of the original caffeine.

For example:

  • A 10 g dose of Arabica normally contains about 140 mg of caffeine

  • After decaffeination, that drops to roughly 4.2 mg

That’s an extremely small amount—meaning you can significantly increase your coffee intake without worrying about caffeine overload. 

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