Caffeine in Soda: Citrus and Pepper-type Beverages
This is the second installment from a large laboratory test of caffeine in carbonated beverages. See all the cola’s here.
In most cases, the actual amount of caffeine is quite close to what the manufacturer said. Except for Vault Zero which seems to have a bit more.
KEY:
n is the number of samples (cans) tested.
± (plus/minus) is the amount of variance between cans.
All caffeine amounts are for a 12oz portion of the drink.
The Popular Beverages
| Beverage | Caffeine mg (Current Study) |
Caffeine mg (According to Manufacturer) |
| Pepper-type beverages Diet Dr Pepper (n = 2) Dr Pepper (n = 3) Diet Dr Pepper Berries & Cream (n = 2) Diet Dr. Wham (n = 2) Dr. Wham (n = 2) Pibb Zero (n = 2) Dr Pepper Berries & Cream (n = 2) Pibb Xtra (n = 2) Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper (n = 2) Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper (n = 2) Citrus beverages Vault Zero (n = 2) Diet SunDrop (n = 2) Vault Citrus (n = 2) SunDrop (n = 2) Diet Mountain Dew Code Red (n = 2) Diet Mountain Dew (n = 2) Mountain Dew (n = 2) Mountain Dew Code Red (n = 2) Mello Yello (n = 2) Faygo Moon Mist (n = 3) Miscellaneous beverages Diet Sunkist (n = 2) Sunkist (n = 2) Big Red (n = 2) A & W Cream Soda (n = 2) Barq’s Root Beer (n = 2) |
—– 44.1 ± 2.3 42.6 ± 2.0 42.0 ± 1.1 41.9 ± 0.8 41.6 ± 0.3 41.2 ± 0.2 41.1 ± 0.5 40.3 ± 2.5 40.1 ± 1.0 39.4 ± 1.3 —— 74.0 ± 1.7 71.5 ± 1.9 70.6 ± 0.7 64.7 ± 2.0 55.4 ± 1.3 55.2 ± 0.3 54.8 ± 2.5 54.3 ± 0.3 49.5 ± 1.8 19.7 ± 3.0 —— 41.5 ± 0.3 40.6 ± 0.2 34.0 ± 0.5 28.6 ± 1.4 22.4 ± 1.4 |
—– 41 41 41 n/a n/a 40.5 41 40.5 37 37 —– 70.5 69 70.5 63 54 54 54 54 52.5 n/a —— n/a n/a n/a 28.8 22.5 |
Private Label / Store-brand
| Beverage | Caffeine mg per 12oz |
| Pepper-type beverages Dr IGA (n = 2) Diet Dr Pop (n = 2) Dr Pop (n = 5) Dr K (n = 2) Diet Dr K (n = 2) Dr Topper (n = 2) Dr Publix (n = 2) Dr Bob (n = 2) Mr. Pigg (n = 2) Diet Dr Bob (n = 2) Dr Thunder (n = 2) Dr Chilli (n = 2) Diet Dr Thunder (n = 2) Dr Chek (n = 2) Diet Dr Chek (n = 2) Dr Lynn (n = 2) Dr Perky (n = 2) Diet Dr Lynn (n = 2) Citrus beverages Chek Kountry Mist (n = 2) Ramp Red (n = 2) IGA Spring Mist (n = 2) Publix Citrus Hit (n = 2) Ramp (n = 2) Mountain Chill (n = 2) Chek Red Alert (n = 2) Mountain Holler (n = 2) Mountain Yeller (n = 2) CloverValley Citrus Drop (n = 2) Sam’s Mountain Lightning (n = 2) Chek Diet Kountry Mist (n = 4) Mountain Lion (n = 2) Laura Lynn Mountain Moon Drops (n = 4) Big K Citrus Drop (n = 2) Big K Diet Citrus Drop (n = 2) |
—— 59.8 ± 3.7 56.8 ± 2.0 47.5 ± 11.0 41.2 ± 2.8 40.7 ± 2.5 34.0 ± 2.7 31.6 ± 2.0 31.3 ± 1.6 31.2 ± 2.3 30.9 ± 0.6 30.6 ± 1.3 29.9 ± 1.8 29.9 ± 0.8 24.4 ± 1.3 22.3 ± 1.3 19.3 ± 0.9 18.8 ± 1.5 18.2 ± 1.0 —– 55.1 ± 4.9 54.6 ± 1.0 54.2 ± 4.4 54.1 ± 1.0 53.8 ± 1.0 53.5 ± 0.8 53.2 ± 1.8 53.1 ± 0.4 53.1 ± 0.1 52.0 ± 0.3 46.5 ± 1.0 46.3 ± 7.7 30.9 ± 0.1 27.5 ± 7.2 26.2 ± 0.5 25.1 ± 0.5 |
4 Comments
I have another drink their marketing big here in Milwaukee,Wisconsin-Its called Gold Peak diet or regular Iced Tea! 16.9oz glass bottles. Its suppose to have 12mg of caffeine per 8ozs-so thats about 25mg of caffeine. Their 1-800 number is on the bottle.
I, too, would like to see Dublin Dr Pepper results.
Well, this explains my lack of morning caffeine buzz since I switched to Diet Citrus Drop (Kroger brand) after Mountain Dew screwed up their flavor with the “Tuned Up Taste!”
Can’t get over the odd aftertaste the new Dew leaves me with - that’s why I changed over to Kroger brand.
Looks like I might have to look elsewhere for my morning wake-up. Diet Pepsi Max, maybe?
I was disappointed yesterday that these drinks weren’t included. I didn’t realize it was coming out later. Now I am ecstatic, because I drink these store brands all the time, but I assume they have the same caffeine content as the name brand.
Wonderful! Thank you so much for providing this!
However, I would like to note that Big K (Kroger) Drop Red and Diet Drop Red are not included. This is Kroger’s version of Code Red Mountain Dew (the name is related to their sweet Mountain Dew clone “Citrus Drop”), and it’s a really nice drink. Strangely, in my area you can only get the Diet Drop Red in a 2 liter, not in cans, and you can only get the real Drop Red in cans, not a 2 liter.
Also, I do wish they’d tested Dublin Dr Pepper separately. I’m curious. And yes, I have some right now.