McDonald’s McCafe offers basically about any ingest you can imagine with the addition of super tasty seasonal offerings. Nevertheless sometimes you have a craving for a representative like a McDonald’s Latte.
It’s convenient, customizable, and available hot or iced. All these choices make for a delicious ingest made just the way you like it. However, all these choices lead to a wide window for caffeine content.
So how much caffeine is in a McDonald’s latte? A 12-ounce McDonald’s latte has 71 mg of caffeine. First, let’s take a peek at McDonald’s coffee in general. Then we’ll dive into the lattes!
McDonald’s McCafe Coffee
McDonald’s boasts that all McCafe coffee is brewed from roasted Arabica coffee beans. Arabica is one of the two main species of commercial coffee, alongside Robusta. Unlike Robusta, Arabica is often sweeter and more flavorful with lower caffeine content.
McCafe coffees are available as light, medium, or dark roast coffees. Each of these has a variable caffeine content based on the roast extent but it tends to average out once made.
Check out our article on a larger range of McCafe coffee drinks.
McCafe Latte Caffeine Content
There are a variety of factors that make up the caffeine content in a McCafe Latte. Whether or not the latte is hot or iced, flavored or plain, small, or large, and so much more.
You can, of course, always add a shot of espresso coffee or get a decaf version. Both options give you some control over the caffeine content, as well as the flavor.
Let’s take a look at the caffeine content in McCafe lattes served without any customizations.
McDonald’s Latte Caffeine Content
| Beverage | Small (12 oz) | Medium (16 oz) | Large (21-24 oz) |
| Hot Latte | 71 mg | 142 mg | 178 mg |
| Iced Latte | 71 mg | 142 mg | 178 mg |
McDonald’s Flavored Latte Caffeine Content
| Beverage | Small (12 oz) | Medium (16 oz) | Large (21-24 oz) |
| Caramel Latte | 71 mg | 142 mg | 178 mg |
| Cinnamon Cookie Latte | 71 mg | 142 mg | 178 mg |
| French Vanilla Latte | 71 mg | 142 mg | 178 mg |
| Mocha | 86 mg | 167 mg | 200 mg |
As you can see, McCafe latte caffeine content is consistent across the board despite the flavoring. The only exception to this rule is the Mocha latte with slightly higher caffeine content.
Of course, the size plays a major element and will increase the caffeine content. Likewise, adding a shot of McCafe espresso will increase the caffeine content. A single shot of McCafe espresso coffee contains 71 mg of caffeine whereas a double shot of McCafe espresso coffee contains 142 mg of caffeine.
Variation in Caffeine Content
While the variables are mostly under our control (i.e., adding a shot or ordering decaf versions), there are other variables beyond our control.
McCafe drink sizes sometimes vary regionally and, therefore, the caffeine content is likely to fluctuate with the beverage size.
Furthermore, there is always the variable of preparation. Despite training to guarantee consistency, there may be variation based on the preparation of the drink itself. One McDonald’s may prepare their McCafe drinks stronger or weaker than another location.
Conclusion
While McDonald’s does not publish the caffeine content of their McCafe drinks, you can utilize this guide as a general idea of the caffeine content in the drinks they offer. The actual caffeine content may vary but, for a 12 oz McCafe Latte, you can expect approximately 71 mg of caffeine.
Featured Picture Credit: Tetiana Horielova, Unsplash
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This original article that appeared at Coffee-Brewing-Methods.com, and we thought we should comment on it. You can read the article in its original version here: here.