Caffeinated drink

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Caffeinated drink" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

A caffeinated drink, or caffeinated beverage, is a drink that contains caffeine, a stimulant that is legal practically all over the world. Some are naturally caffeinated while others have caffeine added as an ingredient.

The most common naturally caffeinated beverages are coffee and tea, which in one form or another (usually served hot, but sometimes iced) feature in most world cultures.^[1] Other drinks are artificially caffeinated as part of their production process. These include certain soft drinks (primarily cola drinks), and also energy drinks designed as a stimulant, and to perpetuate activity at times when the user might ordinarily be asleep.

The consumption of caffeinated drinks is often intended entirely or partly for the physical and mental effects of caffeine. Examples include the consumption of tea or coffee with breakfast in many westernized societies, in order to 'wake oneself up', or the deliberate consumption of energy drinks by students wishing to study through the night, or revellers seeking to maintain an alert attitude during social recreation.^[2] Caffeine can cause a physical dependence, if consumed in excessive amounts.^[3] The need for caffeine can be identified when individuals feel headaches, fatigue and muscle pain 24 hours after their last energy drink.^[4]

Some commercially distributed drinks contain guarana, a South American berry with a caffeine content about twice that of coffee beans.^[5]

Many caffeinated drinks also have decaffeinated counterparts, for those who enjoy the taste, but wish to limit their caffeine intake because of its physical effects, or due to religious or medical perceptions of the drug and its effects.

In recent years, some alcoholic beverage companies have begun to manufacture caffeinated alcoholic beverages. The manufacturing of such beverages has been met with much controversy.^[6][7]

Beverages containing caffeine include coffee, tea, soft drinks ("colas"), energy drinks, other beverages. According to a 2020 study in the United States, coffee is the major source of caffeine intake in middle-aged adults, while soft drinks and tea are the major sources in adolescents.^[8] Energy drinks are more commonly consumed as a source of caffeine in adolescents as compared to adults.^[8]