how many chocolate-covered espresso beans equal a cup of coffee? (Answered!)

For the purpose of this post, we are going to be looking at Arabica beans, which are most commonly used for making chocolate-covered espresso beans (PS – there really is no such thing as an “espresso” bean, espresso is a type of drink, not bean).

Robusta beans do have a higher caffeine content than Arabica, but they aren’t typically used for chocolate-covered espresso beans because of their bitter taste, and quite frankly, it would just get way too confusing if we added in a second bean here.

Now that we cleared that up, a single Arabica bean has around 6mg of caffeine. This fluctuates in either direction depending on the size, but not by much.

First, we will look at dark chocolate. Standard dark chocolate has around 12mg of caffeine per ounce. Keep in mind the higher the cocoa percentage in the chocolate, the higher the caffeine content.

For example, 85% dark chocolate has about 22mg of caffeine per ounce (starting to see why we said this is almost an impossible question to answer!)

Then we will look at milk chocolate, which only contains 9mg of caffeine per ounce.

Finally, we have white chocolate, which clocks in at 0mg of caffeine – this is because it contains no cocoa solids; it’s cocoa butter with added sugar.

Now that we know a little about the caffeine content in different types of chocolate let’s try and put this information together to see how many chocolate-covered coffee beans equal a cup of coffee!

Now that we know how much caffeine is in a single bean and how much is in an ounce of dark and milk chocolate, let’s take a look at how many chocolate-covered espresso beans are in an average-sized (around 95mg) cup of coffee.

Drum roll please… 10-20 chocolate covered espresso beans equal a cup of coffee. This answer may not be exactly what you were looking for but, it’s helpful to use as a starting point.

Now, if you are drinking a stronger cup of coffee (maybe an Americano with two shots of espresso), then it’s possible to have around 30-40 chocolate covered espresso beans per cup, but again… this is all dependent on how much caffeine is in the specific kind of bean and type of chocolate used for coating – there truly is no answer that is 100% accurate.

As we mentioned earlier, there are so many things that affect caffeine levels in coffee – from the bean itself to how long it was roasted and even what type of chocolate it is coated in. So while we can give you a general estimate, it’s always best to do your own research when it comes to the caffeine content and how it will affect you.

First, let’s clear something up – there really is no such thing as an “espresso” bean. Espresso is a type of drink made with a heavily roasted coffee bean. It’s not a variety of coffee bean that can be grown.

So with that out of the way we can now move on to the difference between regular coffee beans and espresso beans. The main difference is that espresso beans are roasted for longer, which gives them a more intense flavor. They are also ground much finer than regular coffee beans, making espresso the perfect coffee bean for making espressos, which tend to have a more robust flavor profile because they are roasted longer.

Now that we know the difference between regular coffee beans and espresso beans let’s talk about some of these differences as it relates to chocolate-covered espresso beans.

Most notably, it’s going to be the flavor profile.

Espresso beans have a much stronger flavor profile than regular coffee beans, which is why they are typically used for making chocolate-covered espresso beans – it helps bring the flavor of the bean to the forefront, making it an equal match for the chocolate.

There’s not a hard and fast answer to this question, as it really depends on your own individual caffeine tolerance. But we would recommend starting small and working your way up if you’re looking to include espresso beans in your diet.

Generally speaking, most people can handle around 95mg of caffeine without any problems. So if you stick with our estimate of 10-20 chocolate-covered espresso beans per cup of coffee, you should be good. If this feels a little high, go with half that amount to start and see how it goes from there!

Yes. You can expect to get the same effect you’d get from drinking a cup of coffee, but in this case, it’s going to come in the form of chocolate-covered espresso beans. So you’ll still want to make sure that you’re eating them sparingly if you are sensitive to caffeine.

Just like with regular caffeine ingestion, there can be some side effects associated with eating chocolate-covered espresso beans. These can include things like anxiety, restlessness, and difficulty sleeping. So if you start to experience any of these side effects, try reducing the number of beans you’re eating or switch to a decaffeinated variety.