Caffeine content in soft drinks

According to an article ( by Kate Brumback, AP writer, Sept 4, 2007) citrus sodas' caffeine content tops cola. I already knew that. What I didn't know was that store brand content of caffeine is not consistent with that of national brands.

Caffeine content of well-known national brands include: Coca-Cola (33.9 milligrams), Diet Pepsi (36.7 milligrams), Dr Pepper (42.6 milligrams), Diet Dr Pepper (44.1 milligrams), Diet Coke (46.3 milligrams), Mountain Dew (54.8 milligrams) and Diet Mountain Dew (55.2 milligrams).

By comparison, according to the American Beverage Association Web site, a 12-ounce cup of coffee has between 156 and 288 milligrams of caffeine, and the same amount of tea has 30-135 milligrams.

When I started to work, I started drinking Mtn Dew because it was not an easy task to find a cup of coffee. I didn't particularly like Mtn Dew when I started doing this but I knew that my taste would change over time because of the desire to get the caffeine. It did. I'd generally just drink one in the mid-afternoon. Looks like it would have taken me drinking three or more to get me back up to what I was getting with my "cup" of coffee. (Since most cups have switched to mugs these days, I'm not sure just how that plays out.)