I can’t talk about caffeine without mentioning another similar chemical called theobromine. So, I’ll discuss both and even compare some things between them.
There are two chemicals present in chocolate that qualify as stimulants (alkaloid molecules known as methylxanthines), caffeine and theobromine. Theobromine affects people in a similar way to caffeine but is much weaker. Although there is significantly more theobromine in chocolate than caffeine, it triggers these “caffeine affects” on a much smaller scale.
Both caffeine and theobromine occur naturally in cocoa beans. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and makes us feel less drowsy and more alert. Theobromine has stimulant properties but does not act upon the central nervous system. It produces relaxing effects by lowering blood pressure.
According to the Hershey Chocolate company website, a cup of Hershey’s chocolate milk contains 36-45 milligrams (mg) of theobromine and only 3-4 milligrams (mg) of caffeine.
Caffeine is found in varying quantities in coffee, tea, and chocolate. Compared to coffee, however, chocolate has a very small amount. For example, a brewed cup of coffee has between 60–120 mg of caffeine while a cup of hot chocolate has between 4-5 mg. In fact, a cup of hot chocolate (or even chocolate milk) contains the same amount of caffeine as a cup of DECAFFEINATED coffee (1-5 mg).
Since both caffeine and theobromine are found in the cocoa solids, dark chocolate will contain more of these chemicals than milk chocolate. The amount of theobromine in a Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate bar is 184 mg and caffeine is 31 mg. Compare that to the Hershey’s milk chocolate of 74 and 9 respectively.
