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Coffee Vs Energy Drinks
Which option is better, coffee or energy drinks? Below is a detailed comparison.
Published February 2, 2022
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Jennie Backteman
Coffee experts@The Coffee Lab
Everyone needs a pick-me-up once in a while. Between trying to balance work, home, and social life and all the other things you might be trying to cram into an already busy day, it would be surprising if you didn’t hit the caffeine every once in a while. Do you prefer coffee or energy drinks though, and which one is better for you?
Background
- Coffee
Coffee has been around for thousands of years. It is believed that a goat herder came across coffee beans when he realized that his goats were livelier after eating cherries from a certain bush. He tried some himself and soon realized that they had the same effect on him.
The local monks needed something to help them stay awake during late-night prayers and soon took up the habit of consuming coffee too. They had the idea that adding water and turning it into a drink was a good way to take coffee and a new drink was born.
Coffee drinking then spread across the world as people enjoyed drinking it in their homes and coffee houses sprung up all over the place to take advantage of this new passion for the beverage. It is here that people could make business connections and discuss the politics of the day. It is said that most revolutions have started in the coffee houses and that the English, American, and French revolutions wouldn’t have started if there had been no coffee houses to exchange news and disagree about politics in.
- Energy Drinks
Energy drinks have a less colorful history than coffee does. Coca-Cola could be considered the first energy drink when it was created in 1886 as it contained caffeine and cocaine which gave its drinkers lots of energy. Cocaine was removed from the beverage in the early 20th century, but energy drinks had arrived by then.
The next company to take up the mantle in 1927 was Glucozade although this was later renamed Lucozade. Red Bull arrived on the scene in 1987 and following the success of this, many other energy drinks companies were launched.
Coffee Vs Energy Drinks – Which One Has More Caffeine?
Energy drinks often get bad press when it comes to caffeine but does Red Bull have more caffeine than coffee? There are many different types of energy drinks and coffee on the market, and these tend to contain different ingredients and caffeine content, but to give you some idea of the comparison, check out the following:
Caffeine in Red Bull Vs coffee – The average cup of coffee per ounce contains 18 mg of caffeine. The amount of caffeine in Red Bull per ounce contains 10 mg.
Expresso Vs Red Bull – An expresso has a much higher caffeine content as they are smaller. They have between 30-50 mg of caffeine per oz.
Caffeine in Monster Vs Coffee – Monster is another popular energy drink. An oz of this contains about 11 mg of caffeine.
You can see from this that coffee is a lot higher in caffeine than energy drinks. A small can of Red Bull would contain about 111 mg of caffeine and the recommended daily amount for an adult is no more than 400 mg. It is definitely not recommended to drink Red Bull and expresso together.
You have to consider how many cups of coffee are in an energy drink. There are about two cups of coffee in an energy drink and about the same amount of caffeine per cup. The total equivalent of how much caffeine is in coffee compared to energy drinks has to be doubled (2 cups = 1 can) which means that there is about twice as much caffeine in coffee than energy drinks.
Which One is Healthier?
Coffee is a natural ingredient that you can add sugar and cream to. However, you don’t have to, and you could choose to take your drink black with no sugar, meaning that it is not too unhealthy for you. However, take a trip to Starbucks for a salted caramel mocha and you will find delights such as nut syrup, toffee, mocha sauce, and whipped cream in your cup. This may taste wonderful, but it contains 59g of added sugar and a total of 470 calories. It might be better to stick to home brewing.
In comparison, a can of Monster contains 54g of sugar and 210 calories. This may seem like a healthier option, but it does depend on what type of coffee you are comparing it to.
It is worth noting that energy drinks contain a lot of added ingredients such as preservatives, flavorings, and dyes as well as sugar. You have no choice about whether you include these ingredients or not, which makes them less healthy. Coffee can be as healthy as you want it to be. Until you start adding ingredients yourself (or asking the barista to do it for you) coffee is a natural drink that contains vitamins such as B2 and B5.
How They Are Consumed
In a Red Bull coffee comparison, it is worth noting that how they are both consumed is very different and this can have an impact on the question is Red Bull worse than coffee?
Red Bull is sold in a can and often drunk on the go. It can quench your thirst and give you energy. You might consume a couple of cans of Red Bull in one day if you are preparing for a big meeting or studying for your end-of-year exams. Drinking Red Bull is usually a solo pursuit.
It is drunk reasonably quickly, meaning that you will get your shot of caffeine at a faster rate than if you were drinking it slowly. However, as it is easy to carry around with you, it might stay in your bag or cupboard for a few days before you get around to drinking it. You do not have this luxury with coffee as it goes cold quickly and is harder to carry around easily.
Drinking coffee is a much more social activity and you tend to drink coffee slowly, not least of all because you are waiting for it to be cool enough to drink. You might arrange to meet up with a friend for coffee. You may have a couple of cups while you are having a chat and a catch up and think nothing of it. Later you will go home, and you might spend the evening watching TV. You will probably get up to make yourself a coffee or two during commercial breaks. You will not think that this is excessive, but it means that you have drunk a lot of caffeine that day. You are less likely to drink the same amount of energy drinks in the same day and remember, when it comes to caffeine the Red Bull equivalent to coffee is about 1:2. However, if you take your coffee plain and without sugar, you are saving yourself a lot of sugar, other harmful ingredients, and calories.
Side Effects
Drinking energy drinks leads to about 120,000 visits to the ER department every year in America. Approximately one in ten of these people are hospitalized. A large part of this reason is that energy drinks are often mixed with alcohol. This makes the drinker feel more energetic and therefore they are less likely to know how drunk they are. If this encourages them to drink even more, it can lead to alcohol poisoning. Mixing energy drinks and drugs has a similar effect.
Other people are admitted to hospital because energy drinks can cause your blood pressure and blood sugars to spike. This can lead to heart palpitations. Drinking too many energy drinks, especially in the evening, can lead to insomnia and you may find that you wake up in the morning feeling even more tired than you did the day before.
Drinking too much coffee can cause heart palpitations and make you feel dizzy. It may cause insomnia if you drink too much as it gives you so much energy you can’t get to sleep.
The side effects of energy drinks such as Red Bull vs coffee are remarkably similar. It tends to be what you take alongside the caffeine such as alcohol or drugs, rather than the caffeine itself that can cause the most problems.
Taste
Taste is a personal thing. Some people love the taste of black coffee in the mornings and can’t leave the house without one, whereas others leave the house as soon as possible so that they can pick up a salted caramel mocha on the way to work. Similarly, energy drinks might be something you love or something you hate. It depends on your taste buds.
When it comes to deciding between coffee and energy drinks, it is a personal choice. However, your decision may involve issues such as where you are going to drink it, how quickly you need a caffeine hit, and what you think the side effects might be. There is no right or wrong answer as long as it gives you enough energy to make it through the day, right?
About the author
Jennie Backteman
I´m a ultramarathon runner, landscape designer and a coffee lover.
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