In addition, people have differing levels of sensitivity to caffeine based on weight, tolerance, speed of consumption and underlying conditions such heart conditions, Temple said. For example, Death Wish coffee contains almost 500 mg per cup, according to Caffeine Informer. Our calculation is based on standard-strength coffee, which contains between 80 mg and 100 mg of caffeine, but some brands of coffee are much stronger.
However, that doesn't mean it's impossible to overdose on coffee in general. The FDA estimates a lethal dose of caffeine is between 10,000 and 14,000 mg, though smaller amounts can be life-threatening in children and sensitive individuals, such as people with underlying heart conditions.īasing our calculation on a standard eight-ounce cup of brewed coffee containing 100 mg of caffeine per cup, 42 cups would have around 4,200 mg of caffeine, less than half of the lethal amount.Īnd the time it takes to drink that amount of coffee would allow the body to metabolize some of the stimulant, Temple said.įact check: No, decaffeinated coffee is not made from dirt Not only would the caffeine in 42 cups of typical brewed coffee fall below the FDA's current estimate of a lethal dose of caffeine, it wouldn't be absorbed all at once, a caffeine researcher told USA TODAY.
Nearly impossible to overdose on regular brewed coffee