​Instant coffee is convenient and fast, and its "upgraded version" - ready-to-drink coffee has also begun to emerge. Yes, the thoughtful Taoist Xiao has compared and tested 12 types of ready-to-drink coffee.

Test Brand

Test indicators

Nutritional indicators : caffeine, soluble solids

Safety indicator : acrylamide

Test Results

1. Mr. Brown coffee and Georgia coffee have higher caffeine content and more obvious refreshing effect.

2. This magazine recommends Mr. Brown coffee, which has excellent quality and reasonable price-performance ratio.

3. This magazine does not recommend Yoshishi because the caffeine content does not match the label.

4. Trace amounts of acrylamide were detected in 12 types of ready-to-drink coffee, but the content was all within the safe range.

5. Nestle coffee performed averagely, and Starbucks ranked last overall.

The caffeine content of a single can of Joya exceeds the upper limit of single intake

Caffeine in coffee is a natural stimulant and an important quality indicator for ready-to-drink coffee. The national standard stipulates that the caffeine content of coffee drinks and espresso drinks should be ≥ 200 mg/kg.

The test results showed that the average caffeine content of the 12 ready-to-drink coffees was 457 mg/kg, and all 11 met the requirements for coffee beverages.

Mr. Brown Coffee, the leading brand in Taiwan's ready-to-drink coffee market, has the highest caffeine content, followed by Georgia, a brand under Coca-Cola, which has a more obvious refreshing effect.

Relatively speaking, the caffeine content of highly-regarded offline coffee brands such as Starbucks and Kopi Luwak is lower.

In addition, the caffeine content of Huo Ka, a brand under China Resources Beverage, is the lowest (147mg/kg), which is lower than the minimum standard for coffee drinks/espresso drinks. In fact, this product is displayed on the same shelf as ordinary coffee drinks in many large supermarkets, but there is a difference between the nominal "coffee-flavored beverage" and "coffee beverage", and the actual caffeine content is low. Xiao Daochang reminds those who need to refresh themselves to choose carefully. In addition, when promoting this product on e-commerce platforms, the word "coffee" is emphasized, which may mislead consumers.

People often see the various health effects of coffee, but ignore that caffeine also has its negative sides.

Long-term or high-dose intake of caffeine can lead to "caffeine poisoning", such as addiction, anxiety, muscle cramps, insomnia, etc., which is particularly harmful to caffeine-sensitive groups such as pregnant women and nursing mothers, infants and children, and teenagers.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) believes that caffeine intake of ≤200 mg in a single dose and ≤400 mg per day will not affect the health of healthy adults.

Among them, the caffeine content of a single can (340mL) of Georgia Espresso is as high as 207mg, which exceeds the recommended single intake of caffeine!

At present, the caffeine content and warning labels of coffee beverages are not clear enough.

Most brands such as Starbucks and Nestle Coffee are labeled "Caffeine content ≥ 200mg/kg", but there is no specific content; Bond Coffee has a warning slogan; Weihuo Ka and Qiaoya do not indicate any caffeine content or warning information.

A YUSHI low-sugar espresso drink imported from Japan stated that the caffeine content was no less than 600 mg/kg, but the actual measured caffeine value was 535 mg/kg, which was obviously inconsistent with the declared value and was listed as a non-recommended product by the director of the Consumer Affairs Bureau.

Latte coffee is high in soluble solids

Soluble solids refer to the percentage of solutes in a solution and are generally used to determine the concentration of food and judge the purity and quality of food.

Ready-to-drink coffee is a liquid beverage made from coffee beans and/or coffee products (including ground coffee powder, coffee extract or its concentrate, instant coffee, etc.) as raw materials, and can be added with sugar, milk and/or dairy products, non-dairy creamer, food additives, etc.

Soluble solids reflect the level of ingredients in a coffee beverage, but a higher content does not necessarily mean a higher concentration of coffee, because it also includes other ingredients that are soluble in water - sugar, milk or dairy products, etc.

Suntory holds the same view: "'Soluble solids' reflects the sum of all soluble substances in the beverage and cannot reflect the amount of active ingredients in the coffee beverage."

The test results show that the soluble solids content of latte is generally higher than that of iced coffee, American coffee, etc.

Benason, NetEase Yanxuan, Suntory, Kopi Luwak, and Yaha have higher soluble solids content, mellower taste, and relatively higher sweetness; Georgia, Bond Coffee, and Uce have lower soluble solids content, lower feed dosage, and lighter taste.

The acrylamide content of instant coffee is much lower than that of freshly ground coffee

The roasting temperature and roasting time of coffee determine the taste, aroma and color of the coffee drink, but the acrylamide produced during the roasting process is the root cause of the "coffee carcinogenic theory."

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has assessed acrylamide as a Class 2A carcinogen, meaning it is likely to cause cancer in humans but the evidence is limited.

The Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) believes that it is difficult to calculate the concentration of acrylamide that is carcinogenic.

In 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) summarized the assessments of acrylamide intake by citizens in several Western countries, which was approximately 0.2 to 4 μg/kg body weight of acrylamide per day. That is, for an adult weighing 60 kg, the daily intake is approximately 12 to 240 μg.

The test results showed that 12 instant coffees were found to contain trace amounts of acrylamide, ranging from 14.0 to 38.8 μg/kg. Huo Ka, Uce, Kopi Luwak, and Mr. Brown had lower acrylamide levels, while Georgia and Starbucks had slightly higher levels.

Nestle Coffee responded to the publication: "Acrylamide is a natural product in many prepared foods (including beverages). This chemical is produced during food production and in the home cooking process."

NetEase Yanxuan said: "Coffee beans are used as raw materials in ice-drip latte drinks, and coffee beans usually need to be roasted at a high temperature of 160-250 degrees Celsius. This process does produce a small amount of acrylamide, which is also a necessary process."

Based on the highest acrylamide concentration, a 60kg adult would need to drink 6.2kg (about 27 cans) of this coffee to reach the intake level of 240μg.

Xiao Daochang has also previously evaluated the acrylamide content in 10 types of freshly ground lattes sold in offline physical stores.

The results showed that the average value of acrylamide was 166μg/kg, among which Starbucks Rich Coffee Latte (234μg/kg) and Luckin Caramel Latte (275μg/kg) had higher acrylamide content.

Relatively speaking, the acrylamide content of the coffee-flavored beverage Fire Coffee (Italian Double Latte) is only about 1/20 of that of Luckin Caramel Latte.

Previously, Master Xiao also verified that there is no health risk in drinking a cup of freshly ground latte normally. The safety of the ready-to-drink coffee in this evaluation is much higher than that of freshly ground latte.

Obviously, "coffee causes cancer" is a rumor.

The acrylamide content in ready-to-drink coffee is not high, but some manufacturers are still willing to further reduce the acrylamide content by improving the process.

Nestle Coffee said: " Although the government health department has not recommended that people stop consuming any of the above products, we have taken relevant measures to minimize the acrylamide content. "

NetEase Yanxuan mentioned: " We will actively urge suppliers to continuously improve processing technology to reduce the content of acrylamide in products as much as possible ."

The amount of acrylamide produced is directly related to the processing method and time. High temperature (＞120℃) and long-term heating will increase the acrylamide content in food.

Generally, freshly ground coffee is made by roasting coffee beans on site, but the raw materials of ready-to-drink coffee are mostly ground coffee powder, coffee extract or its concentrate, instant coffee, etc. Some vacuum roasting methods can also reduce the formation of acrylamide, but the taste and flavor of coffee will change, and the aroma or aroma retention of coffee will not be good enough.

Regarding possible flavor defects, Xiao Daochang noticed that 10 types of ready-to-drink coffee were labeled as having added edible flavors, excluding Starbucks and Mr. Brown Coffee.

[Special Statement]: The test results and brands mentioned in this report are only responsible for the test samples and do not represent the quality status of the same batch or other models of products.