Do McDonalds Frappe coffees contain caffeine and if so, how much?
The warmer weather is slowly approaching and for some of us, that means switching from a steaming hot americano to an iced frappe to cool down.
McDonald’s currently sells its Caramel Iced Frappe in either a regular or large size but, as the UK heats up, it’s introduced a limited edition Biscoff Frappe (which sounds delicious).
If you’re wondering how much caffeine is in a McDonald’s Frappe, it’s about 47mg to 189mg per drink.
This is obviously dependent on size and flavour, too.
According to the NHS, the average 200ml cup of instant coffee contains 60mg of caffeine, while a brewed coffee contains 100mg.
A small frappe from the fast food chain is roughly equivalent to a 200ml cup of tea, with 45mg of caffeine.
But a large McDonald’s Iced Frappe is on par with a two litre bottle of Irn-Bru, which contains 182mg.
While it may sound like a lot, the NHS sets the threshold of too much caffeine at more than 600mg per day.
If this limit is exceeded, the consumer could get anxiety, insomnia, palpitations, diarrhoea and restlessness.
A regular cappuccino at the golden arches will contain around 175mg of caffeine, while a large size will have approximately 209mg.
The McDonald’s Caramel Iced Frappe consists of coffee blended with ice, and topped with cream and caramel sauce.
The large size also contains 12g of saturated fat, 42g of sugar and 19g of fat – this is equivalent to roughly 10 teaspoons of sugar.
These measurements are roughly the same for the Biscoff Frappe, flavoured with vanilla and Biscoff crumb, topped with caramel cream and more biscuit crumb.
But rather than the caffeine content of these frappes, you should be concerned about the sugar instead.
Cosmetic dentist Sundeep Patel, the Clinical Lead for Waldron Dental, told Metro about the damage these sugary drinks can do to our teeth.
Patel said: ‘The sugar content [in sauces and syrups] could be harmful to your teeth, they may degrade your enamel, which puts you at a higher risk of developing cavities.
‘And so the more of these types of beverages you drink, the higher your chance of developing teeth issues down the line is.’
When it comes to our favourite toppings, he added: ‘Crunchy toppings that are often added to specialty hot drinks could pose a risk to your dental health.
‘Often these toppings which are hard, crunchy and surgery could lead to increased risk of cavities to your teeth, and not just this but biting on these hard tiny toppings could actually cause your teeth to crack or chip.
‘While you may think that squirty cream added to a drink would be fine for your teeth, actually you are putting your teeth at a greater risk of staining.
‘This is because while adding cream to coffee can in some ways decrease your chances of staining due to making the liquid less dark, the ingredients in the cream can actually cause your teeth to turn yellow for a longer period.’
Caffè Nero (One size, 473ml drink)
Belgian chocolate & hazelnut frappè crème (oat milk)
44.5g / 11 tsp
Espresso & caramel frappè crème (semi-skimmed milk)
44.3g / 11 tsp
Costa (Medium, 499ml drink)
Chocolate fudge brownie frappè mocha (oat milk)
42.6g / 10.5 tsp
Coffee frappè (skimmed milk)
21.3g / 5.5 tsp
Starbucks (Grande 473ml drink)
Caramel frappuccino (semi-skimmed milk)
48.5g / 12 tsp
Java chip frappuccino (soya milk)
46g / 11.5 tsp
Our favourite seasonal cuppas may also lead to bad breath.
Sundeep explains that caffeine can dehydrate your body, which leads to less saliva being produced.
This means that we don’t have enough saliva to digest food particles that are stuck between our teeth or lingering in our mouth, which can lead to bad smells.
A dry mouth also allows the excess sugar from the drink to eat away at your teeth more easily.
Too much sugar can also give you the jitters, which can damage your teeth if the spike in adrenaline causes you to grind your teeth or move your mouth more.
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