Coffee, brewed

Listed nutrients, per 100 g

For each nutrient, the value this page uses is marked “used”. A row marked “second database” is another database’s figure for a matching food, kept so you can see how far databases disagree (they can differ in the samples analysed, lab methods and rounding). Its own cells are worked out from it, but none of the page’s words or scores are.

Change the amount to rescale the first column. Nutrients a database doesn't list are missing, not zero.

Hazard rows as the dataset rates them

• Acrylamide · Nothing to watch: doesn’t double average intake · No cap: a daily cup of Tim Hortons coffee (mean 12 µg/kg, range 11-14, from 6 samples in Health Canada's 2009-2010 monitoring) carries 3.0 µg of acrylamide. That adds 14.9% to 27.3% to the average adult's 11.0-20.2 µg/day, below the doubling line. No safe threshold is set for acrylamide. Ready-to-drink coffee is 12.3% of the average adult's dietary acrylamide exposure. · Health Canada 2012 · A
• Acrylamide · Nothing to watch: doesn’t double average intake · No cap: a daily cup of Starbucks coffee (mean 12 µg/kg, range below 10 to 15, from 6 samples in Health Canada's 2009-2010 monitoring) carries 3.0 µg of acrylamide. That adds 14.9% to 27.3% to the average adult's 11.0-20.2 µg/day, below the doubling line. No safe threshold is set for acrylamide. Ready-to-drink coffee is 12.3% of the average adult's dietary acrylamide exposure. · Health Canada 2012 · A
• Acrylamide · Nothing to watch: rated by margin of exposure · No cap: the mean for McDonald's coffee (6 samples, Health Canada 2009-2010) is printed as below 10 µg/kg, the detection limit, so no value is stored. At the limit a cup would carry at most 2.5 µg of acrylamide, at most 12.4% to 22.7% of the average adult's 11.0-20.2 µg/day, below the doubling line. No safe threshold is set for acrylamide. Health Canada counted results below the detection limit as the limit. · Health Canada 2012 · A
• Acrylamide · Nothing to watch: doesn’t double average intake · No cap: the French Total Diet Study mean for brewed coffee is 37 µg/kg, so a cup carries 9.26 µg of acrylamide. That adds 45.8% to 84.1% to the average adult's 11.0-20.2 µg/day: below the doubling line, but close to it at the low end of the Canadian intake range. No safe threshold is set for acrylamide. The figure is taken from EFSA's 2015 opinion, which quotes the study, not from the study itself. · EFSA 2015 · B
• Acrylamide · Nothing to watch: rated by margin of exposure · No cap: the mean for Second Cup coffee (4 samples, Health Canada 2009-2010) is printed as below 10 µg/kg, the detection limit, so no value is stored. At the limit a cup would carry at most 2.5 µg of acrylamide, at most 12.4% to 22.7% of the average adult's 11.0-20.2 µg/day, below the doubling line. No safe threshold is set for acrylamide. Health Canada counted results below the detection limit as the limit. · Health Canada 2012 · A
• Acrylamide · Nothing to watch: rated by margin of exposure · No cap: the mean for Folgers Classic roast ground coffee, prepared (4 samples, Health Canada 2009-2010), is printed as below 10 µg/kg, the detection limit, so no value is stored. At the limit a cup would carry at most 2.5 µg of acrylamide, at most 12.4% to 22.7% of the average adult's 11.0-20.2 µg/day, below the doubling line. No safe threshold is set for acrylamide. Health Canada counted results below the detection limit as the limit. · Health Canada 2012 · A
• Acrylamide · Nothing to watch: rated by margin of exposure · No cap: the mean for Maxwell House Original roast ground coffee, prepared (4 samples, Health Canada 2009-2010), is printed as below 10 µg/kg, the detection limit, so no value is stored. At the limit a cup would carry at most 2.5 µg of acrylamide, at most 12.4% to 22.7% of the average adult's 11.0-20.2 µg/day, below the doubling line. No safe threshold is set for acrylamide. Health Canada counted results below the detection limit as the limit. · Health Canada 2012 · A
• Acrylamide · Nothing to watch: doesn’t double average intake · No cap: in FDA Total Diet Study composites for ground coffee (2003-2006), 5 of 13 were detected (11, 12, 17, 21 and 28 µg/kg). Counting non-detects at half the 10 ppb quantitation limit gives a mean of 9.9 µg/kg, so a cup carries 2.48 µg of acrylamide: 12.3% to 22.5% of the average adult's 11.0-20.2 µg/day. At the lower and upper bounds (6.8 and 13.0 µg/kg) a cup carries 1.7 to 3.3 µg, 8% to 30%. Either way it stays below the doubling line. No safe threshold is set for acrylamide. · FDA 2002–2006 · A
• Acrylamide · Not rated yet · Not rated: contrast only. These are laboratory brews at about 77 g of coffee per litre, a strong recipe, not market coffee, so they are not used to rate coffee. The average of 8 filter methods (light roast) is 93.1 µg/L, or 23.3 µg of acrylamide a cup: 115% to 211% of the average adult's 11.0-20.2 µg/day, which would more than double it if this were the true cup. The lowest brew (24.7 µg/L) is 31% to 56% and the highest (174.7 µg/L) 216% to 397%. No safe threshold is set for acrylamide. · PubMed 37891967 · B
• Aluminum · Nothing to watch: under the limit · No cap: EFSA's tolerable weekly intake for aluminium is 1 mg/kg body weight/week, 70 mg a week for a 70 kg adult. Eaten alone, about 396,600 g a week would reach it (1,197,000 g on the recent mean of 58.5 µg/kg). A cup a day is 0.31 mg a week, 0.44% of the limit, and adds 0.3% to 2.2% to the average adult's intake of 14-105 mg a week (EFSA 2008: 0.2-1.5 mg/kg body weight/week). The mean counts a 1999 record that is a multi-year average; without it the figure is 401,560 g a week. · Health Canada Total Diet Study, trace elements · A
• Arsenic, all forms · Context · Shown as context, not rated: only total arsenic was measured, and EFSA's reference point (benchmark dose lower limit (BMDL05) 0.06 µg/kg body weight/day) is for inorganic arsenic. No inorganic share has been found for coffee. The mean is 0.695 µg/kg, so a cup carries 0.17 µg (range 0.33-1.35; mean of the three most recent 0.359). FDA Total Diet Study: 0 of 3 detected, reporting limit 1 ppb. · Health Canada Total Diet Study, trace elements · B
• Cadmium · Nothing to watch: under the limit · A daily serving adds 0.24% to an average adult's cadmium intake (EFSA 2012 adult median, 1.77 µg/kg body weight/week; Canadian adults in 2007: 1.2-1.75), far from doubling it, so no cap. · Health Canada Total Diet Study, trace elements · A
• Cadmium · Nothing to watch: under the limit · No cap: none of the 3 brewed-coffee samples had detectable cadmium (reporting limit 1 ppb), so no concentration can be given. Even if every sample sat at the reporting limit, it would take at least 175,000 g a week to reach the tolerable weekly intake. This agrees with Health Canada: cadmium in the brewed cup is at or below the detection limit. · US FDA Total Diet Study (2018–2020) · A
• Caffeine · Nothing to watch: under the limit · No cap: average adult intake spans a range, and each end is tested on its own. At the low end a daily serving keeps total intake under the limit; at the high end it adds less than double the average. A cup carries 100.1 mg of caffeine, 25% of the 400 mg a day that EFSA (2015) and Health Canada give for adults; eaten alone, about 1,000 g a day would reach it. EFSA's country averages for adult intake run from 37 to 319 mg a day, 40-94% of it from coffee, so the cup is already part of that background. At the low end (37 mg a day) a cup equals 271% of it, yet total intake stays under the 400 mg limit; at the high end (319 mg) it adds 31%. · US food database (USDA SR Legacy) · B
• Caffeine · Nothing to watch: under the limit · No cap: average adult intake spans a range, and each end is tested on its own. At the low end a daily serving keeps total intake under the limit; at the high end it adds less than double the average. Health Canada lists brewed coffee at 135 mg per 237 mL cup, which is 142.4 mg for the 250 mL cup assumed here: 36% of the 400 mg a day limit for adults (EFSA 2015, Health Canada); eaten alone, about 703 g a day would reach it. EFSA's country averages for adult intake run from 37 to 319 mg a day, 40-94% of it from coffee, At the low end (37 mg a day) a cup equals 385% of it, yet total intake stays under the 400 mg limit; at the high end (319 mg) it adds 45%. · Health Canada 2025 · B
• Caffeine · Nothing to watch: under the limit · No cap: average adult intake spans a range, and each end is tested on its own. At the low end a daily serving keeps total intake under the limit; at the high end it adds less than double the average. Brewed specialty coffees from US coffee shops average 188 mg for a 16-oz cup (SD 36), which is 99.3 mg for the 250 mL cup assumed here: 25% of the 400 mg a day limit for adults (EFSA 2015, Health Canada); eaten alone, about 1,008 g a day would reach it. EFSA's country averages for adult intake run from 37 to 319 mg a day, 40-94% of it from coffee, At the low end (37 mg a day) a cup equals 268% of it, yet total intake stays under the 400 mg limit; at the high end (319 mg) it adds 31%. · PubMed 14607010 · A
• Caffeine in pregnancy · Go easy: within 2 servings of the limit · No cap: this is a life-stage limit set by the agency itself. EFSA (2015) finds that caffeine from all sources up to 200 mg a day, spread through the day, raises no safety concern for the fetus of pregnant women. Health Canada lists brewed coffee at 135 mg per 237 mL cup, which is 142.4 mg for the 250 mL cup assumed here; eaten alone, about 351 g a day (1.4 cups) would reach the limit. At the USDA listing (0.400 mg/g) it would be 500 g. · EFSA 2015 · B
• Caffeine in pregnancy · Go easy: within 2 servings of the limit · No cap: this is a life-stage limit set by the agency itself. Health Canada advises 300 mg of caffeine a day for people planning a pregnancy, who are pregnant or who are breastfeeding. Health Canada lists brewed coffee at 135 mg per 237 mL cup, which is 142.4 mg for the 250 mL cup assumed here; eaten alone, about 527 g a day (2.1 cups) would reach the limit. At the USDA listing (0.400 mg/g) it would be 750 g. · Health Canada 2025 · B
• Caffeine in one sitting · Nothing to watch: under the limit · No cap: EFSA (2015) puts the single dose that raises no safety concern for healthy adults at 200 mg, about 3 mg/kg body weight. A cup carries 100.1 mg, 50% of it; eaten alone, about 500 g in one sitting would reach it. Average adult intake is 37-319 mg a day, 40-94% of it from coffee, so the cup is already counted there. · US food database (USDA SR Legacy) · B
• Caffeine in one sitting · Go easy: within 2 servings of the limit · No cap: EFSA (2015) puts the single dose that raises no safety concern for healthy adults at 200 mg, about 3 mg/kg body weight. Health Canada lists brewed coffee at 135 mg per 237 mL cup, which is 142.4 mg for the 250 mL cup assumed here, 71% of that dose; eaten alone, about 351 g in one sitting would reach it. Health Canada has no single-dose figure, so the limit is EFSA's. Average adult intake is 37-319 mg a day, 40-94% of it from coffee, so the cup is already counted there. · Health Canada 2025 · B
• Caffeine in one sitting · Nothing to watch: under the limit · No cap: EFSA (2015) puts the single dose that raises no safety concern for healthy adults at 200 mg, about 3 mg/kg body weight. Brewed specialty coffees from US coffee shops average 188 mg for a 16-oz cup, which is 99.3 mg for the 250 mL cup assumed here, 50% of that dose; eaten alone, about 504 g in one sitting would reach it. Average adult intake is 37-319 mg a day, 40-94% of it from coffee, so the cup is already counted there. · PubMed 14607010 · A
• Furan · Go easy: can double average intake · May exceed: furan has no safe level set for its cancer effect, so a cup is judged by what it adds to the average adult's intake. Commercially brewed regular coffee (mean 38.7 µg/kg, 16 samples from 3 national chains in one Canadian city) gives 9.68 µg of furan a cup, or 0.138 µg/kg body weight. That adds 18% to EFSA's highest adult average (0.75 µg/kg body weight/day) and 126% to its lowest (0.11), so at the low end a daily cup more than doubles average intake. At that low end total intake stays under the non-cancer limit the dataset carries (benchmark dose lower limit (BMDL10) 64 µg/kg body weight/day, with a margin of 100). Coffee is already the main adult source of furan in EFSA's data, and 2-methylfuran (172 µg/kg) adds to it with no reference point. · Becalski 2016 · A
• Lead · Nothing to watch: rated by margin of exposure · No cap: none of 3 brewed-coffee samples was detected (reporting limit 1 ppb). At the reporting limit a cup would carry at most 0.25 µg, 0.7% of the average adult's lead intake of 35 µg/day. No safe threshold is set for lead. · US FDA Total Diet Study (2018–2020) · A
• Lead · Nothing to watch: doesn’t double average intake · No cap: a daily cup adds 0.375 µg to the average adult's lead intake, 1.1% of EFSA's 35 µg/day (0.50 µg/kg body weight/day) and 5.4% of Canada's figure of about 7 µg/day (0.1 µg/kg body weight/day), far from doubling it. No safe threshold is set for lead. On the three most recent composites (mean 0.498 µg/kg, 0.125 µg a cup) the shares are 0.4% and 1.8%. The mean of all 17 composites (1.498 µg/kg) counts a 1999 record that is a seven-year average; without it the mean is 1.431. · Health Canada Total Diet Study, trace elements · A
• Nickel · Nothing to watch: under the limit · No cap: nickel is rated against EFSA's tolerable daily intake of 13 µg/kg body weight/day (2020). The average adult already takes in 22-26% of it, under half, so a food would have to reach the limit on its own to matter. Eaten alone, about 47,490 g a day would reach it. A cup carries 4.80 µg, 0.53% of the limit, and adds 1.6% to 3.7% to the average adult's intake of 128-293 µg/day. For nickel-sensitised people EFSA counts a margin of exposure of 30 as low concern; the mean cup gives 62.8 and the highest composite (54.4 µg/kg) 22.1. · Health Canada Total Diet Study, trace elements · A
• Nickel · Nothing to watch: under the limit · No cap: nickel is rated against EFSA's tolerable daily intake of 13 µg/kg body weight/day (2020). The average adult already takes in 22-26% of it, under half, so a food would have to reach the limit on its own to matter. Eaten alone, about 28,440 g a day would reach it. A cup carries 8.0 µg, 0.88% of the limit, and adds 2.7% to 6.3% to the average adult's intake of 128-293 µg/day. For nickel-sensitised people EFSA counts a margin of exposure of 30 as low concern; the mean cup gives 37.6 and the highest sample (40 µg/kg) 30.1. This rests on only 3 samples. · US FDA Total Diet Study (2018–2020) · A
• Ochratoxin A · Nothing to watch: doesn’t double average intake · No cap: no safe threshold is set for ochratoxin A. A cup made from the most contaminated of 30 French supermarket coffees (median of the detects 47.6 ng/L; 2 of 18 below detection) carries 11.9 ng, or 0.170 ng/kg body weight, which adds 1.0% to 28% to EFSA's (2020) mean exposure range of 0.6-17.8 ng/kg body weight/day. Because these coffees were chosen as the most contaminated, the figure leans high. Dry coffee has its own row. · PubMed 22069666 · B
• Ochratoxin A · Nothing to watch: doesn’t double average intake · No cap: no safe threshold is set for ochratoxin A. A French-press cup made from the most contaminated roasted coffees (median 69.3 ng/L; all 12 samples detected) carries 17.3 ng, or 0.247 ng/kg body weight, which adds 1.4% to 41% to EFSA's (2020) mean exposure range of 0.6-17.8 ng/kg body weight/day. Because these coffees were chosen as the most contaminated, the figure leans high. Dry coffee has its own row. · PubMed 22069666 · B
• Ochratoxin A · Nothing to watch: doesn’t double average intake · No cap: no safe threshold is set for ochratoxin A. An americano made from one naturally contaminated ground roasted coffee (7 g in 100 mL boiling water, 32.7 ng/L) carries 8.2 ng a cup, or 0.117 ng/kg body weight, which adds 0.7% to 19% to EFSA's (2020) mean exposure range of 0.6-17.8 ng/kg body weight/day. That coffee sits at about the upper end of EFSA's dry-coffee mean (0.94 µg/kg). Dry coffee has its own row. · PubMed 25525684 · A
• Very hot drinks · Context · Shown as context, not rated: IARC classifies drinking very hot beverages (above 65 °C) as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A; oesophageal cancer, limited evidence in humans). Drinking coffee itself is Group 3, not classifiable. The concern is the temperature of the cup, not anything in it. · IARC 2016 · A

Oxalate, phytate and gut-tolerance measurements

• histamine: nd (not detected), brewed (Turkish) coffee; secondary table mg/L · as consumed, beverage · brewed Turkish coffee · grade B · Pmc:pmc883 4261
• tyramine: nd-19.7 mg/L, brewed (Turkish) coffee; secondary table mg/L · as consumed, beverage · brewed Turkish coffee · grade B · Pmc:pmc883 4261

Sources

• Becalski A, Halldorson T, Hayward S, Roscoe V. Furan, 2-methylfuran and 3-methylfuran in coffee on the Canadian market. J Food Compos Anal 2016;47:113-119 · doi:10.1016/j.jfca.2016.01.006
  becalski2016-furan-coffee · abstract only · Elsevier
• Health Canada, Canadian Nutrient File 2026 (14th edition)
  cnf-2026 · dataset · Open Government Licence – Canada 2.0
• Public Health England, Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID) 2021
  cofid-2021 · dataset · Open Government Licence v3.0
• EFSA CONTAM Panel (2015) Scientific Opinion on acrylamide in food. EFSA Journal 13(6):4104 · doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4104
  efsa-2015-acrylamide · abstract only · EFSA Journal: CC BY-ND 4.0
• EFSA NDA Panel (2015) Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine. EFSA Journal 13(5):4102 (adopted 23 April 2015) · doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4102
  efsa-2015-caffeine · full text read · EFSA (publisher terms)
• US FDA, acrylamide in individual food products 2002–2006
  fda-acrylamide-2002-2006 · dataset · US government work (17 USC 105), public domain
• US FDA, Total Diet Study FY2018–FY2020 Elements Report Supplement
  fda-tds-fy2018-2020 · dataset · US government work (17 USC 105), public domain
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy, 2018-04
  fdc-sr-legacy-2018-04 · dataset · CC0 1.0 (public domain)
• Health Canada. Health Canada's Revised Exposure Assessment of Acrylamide in Food (2012), Appendix 1 and Table 2; page details 2020-12-24
  hc-acrylamide-2012 · full text read · Open Government Licence - Canada
• Health Canada, Caffeine in Foods (page details 2025-04-02): Table 1 recommended maximum daily intake; Table 2 average caffeine in food and drink
  hc-caffeine-foods-2025 · full text read · Government of Canada terms
• Health Canada, Canadian Total Diet Study – Trace Elements (2005–2018 composites)
  hc-tds-trace-elements · dataset · Open Government Licence – Canada 2.0
• IARC. Press release 244: IARC Monographs evaluate drinking coffee, mate, and very hot beverages (15 June 2016); Monographs vol. 116 (2018)
  iarc-2016-pr244 · full text read · licence not recorded
• Foods 2022;11(3):353. Update on biogenic amines in fermented and non-fermented beverages (review; Table 4 coffee rows) · doi:10.3390/foods11030353 · PMID 35159503
  pmc:PMC8834261 · full text read · CC BY
• McCusker RR, Goldberger BA, Cone EJ. Caffeine content of specialty coffees. J Anal Toxicol 2003;27:520 · PMID 14607010
  pmid:14607010 · abstract only · publisher
• Tozlovanu M, Pfohl-Leszkowicz A. Ochratoxin A in roasted coffee from French supermarkets and transfer in coffee beverages: comparison of analysis methods. Toxins 2010;2:1928 · doi:10.3390/toxins2081928 · PMID 22069666
  pmid:22069666 · full text read · CC BY 3.0
• Malir F et al. Transfer of ochratoxin A into tea and coffee beverages. Toxins 2014;6:3438 · doi:10.3390/toxins6123438 · PMID 25525684
  pmid:25525684 · full text read · CC BY
• Santanatoglia A et al. Effect of brewing methods on acrylamide content and antioxidant activity: eight different filter coffee preparations. Antioxidants 2023;12:1888 · doi:10.3390/antiox12101888 · PMID 37891967
  pmid:37891967 · full text read · CC BY 4.0

Body map 2026-10-25.1: each nutrient’s job comes from an agency fact sheet, linked beside it under Good for.

The plain words: “a lot” means one serving (100 g when the food has no serving size) gives at least 20% of the daily amount (the reference intake), “some” at least 10%, “a little” at least 2% (the cut-offs are ours, one set for every page: 20% and 10% are borrowed from the US labelling terms “high” and “good source” and applied to Health Canada’s daily amount, whereas Health Canada’s own shopper rule says 15%; provisional: they may change in a later method version). The daily amount is Health Canada’s Dietary Reference Intake for adults 19–30; where men and women need different amounts we use the higher one (protein: 56 g for men, 46 g for women). The percentage printed under each nutrient is the printed amount as a share of that daily amount, rounded to the nearest whole number, and the word is read from that percentage, so the amount, the percentage and the word always agree. Calcium with a measured absorption is scaled by how well it gets in compared with milk.

The scale: “Nothing to watch” means a serving a day stays under the limit at ordinary amounts; “Go easy” means a serving a day can push past the limit for adults who already take in the most, or fewer than 2 servings reach it; “Limit it” means once a week or less. The dataset’s own rating is under “How we got this”. Provisional: the scale may change in a later method version.

Measured absorption under Good for: grade-A studies in adults that tested this preparation of this food, as a share of the listed amount (the share digested, for protein), quoted once each source has passed our evidence check; animal studies and other variants stay in the table above. Provisional: this screen may change in a later method version.