Article written by Ted Carnahan

I am passionate about the missional church, technology, and music. I love my call, my family, and my God!

41 responses to “Kahlua and Caffeine”

  1. jessi

    thanks! i was wondering the same thing.

  2. jessi

    thanks! i was wondering the same thing.

  3. Carl

    Me too. I wish Kahlua would answer that right on their web site. But thanks for getting us the answer.

  4. Carl

    Me too. I wish Kahlua would answer that right on their web site. But thanks for getting us the answer.

  5. Claudia

    Thanks for the info! I am allergic to caffeine and had a drink today with about half to one shot of Kahlua…about 30 minutes later I began having an allergic reaction. I couldn’t figure out what had caused it, then I remembered the Kahlua and figured that had to be it. Thank you for confirming…no more Kahlua for me. :-(

  6. Claudia

    Thanks for the info! I am allergic to caffeine and had a drink today with about half to one shot of Kahlua…about 30 minutes later I began having an allergic reaction. I couldn’t figure out what had caused it, then I remembered the Kahlua and figured that had to be it. Thank you for confirming…no more Kahlua for me. :-(

  7. Roo

    Thanks so much!! I had the same question and was unable to find the answer anywhere.

  8. Roo

    Thanks so much!! I had the same question and was unable to find the answer anywhere.

  9. Jeff

    As the others, Thanks for the blog. a good read and a quick answer to my curiosity.

  10. Jeff

    As the others, Thanks for the blog. a good read and a quick answer to my curiosity.

  11. Chris

    Thanks, looking for this as well!

  12. Chris

    Thanks, looking for this as well!

  13. Alice

    This is interesting, however, I wonder how accurate your assumption is. The processing of Kahlua would make all the difference. It might give you more information if you research the general process for creating coffee liquers. If the processes condense the coffee the end result could be higher caffeine content than a direct correlation ounce to ounce of coffee vs. Kahlua. You may fall asleep with no problem after having a Brown Cow at night, which is understandable. But the caffeine itself may prevent you from getting a fully restful night’s sleep. One way to assess the effect is to take note of if you wake up feeling tired and sluggish even after a full night’s sleep following a drink. If you are waking up feeling tired, there is probably notable levels of caffeine in the drink. If not – enjoy your Brown Cows.

  14. Alice

    This is interesting, however, I wonder how accurate your assumption is. The processing of Kahlua would make all the difference. It might give you more information if you research the general process for creating coffee liquers. If the processes condense the coffee the end result could be higher caffeine content than a direct correlation ounce to ounce of coffee vs. Kahlua. You may fall asleep with no problem after having a Brown Cow at night, which is understandable. But the caffeine itself may prevent you from getting a fully restful night’s sleep. One way to assess the effect is to take note of if you wake up feeling tired and sluggish even after a full night’s sleep following a drink. If you are waking up feeling tired, there is probably notable levels of caffeine in the drink. If not – enjoy your Brown Cows.

  15. Ted Carnahan

    Alice: you’re certainly right, the processing does make a difference. But the caffeine levels are not significant – from the email I received from the Kahlua people, it has 90+% less caffeine than coffee.

  16. Ruth

    You might be interested in looking at caffieineawareness.org. Go to the caffeine calculator on the home page. Like you, I came across this when doing a search for how much caffeine, which I must limit, I was having in the Kahlua that was making the tree decorating even more festive.

  17. Ruth

    You might be interested in looking at caffieineawareness.org. Go to the caffeine calculator on the home page. Like you, I came across this when doing a search for how much caffeine, which I must limit, I was having in the Kahlua that was making the tree decorating even more festive.

  18. Brian

    This info is helpful. I ordered a decaf and Brandy from the local pub the other night and the bartender said how about adding kaluha for taste. I said okay but I thought it had caffeine in it which is why I asked for decaf. After a conference of two bartenders and their manager, plus thoroughly looking over the bottle, they all said kaluha did not have caffeine in it! While your comments stated low amounts of caffeine, I will pass this along to the pub I frequent as they could use the correct knowledge in case someone who has an allergy to caffeine (like Claudia) might inquire in the future! Thanks again!

  19. Brian

    This info is helpful. I ordered a decaf and Brandy from the local pub the other night and the bartender said how about adding kaluha for taste. I said okay but I thought it had caffeine in it which is why I asked for decaf. After a conference of two bartenders and their manager, plus thoroughly looking over the bottle, they all said kaluha did not have caffeine in it! While your comments stated low amounts of caffeine, I will pass this along to the pub I frequent as they could use the correct knowledge in case someone who has an allergy to caffeine (like Claudia) might inquire in the future! Thanks again!

  20. Pam

    Thanks for researching this, I was doing the same thing, I just googled “Caffine in Kaluha?” and came across this posting, which answered exactly what I was looking for! I get heart palpatations (sp?) from caffine…I only recently found an older bottle of Kaluha which I hadn’t unpacked from several years earlier…I love the taste of this but was worried about my heart….thanks for posting this!

  21. Pam

    Thanks for researching this, I was doing the same thing, I just googled “Caffine in Kaluha?” and came across this posting, which answered exactly what I was looking for! I get heart palpatations (sp?) from caffine…I only recently found an older bottle of Kaluha which I hadn’t unpacked from several years earlier…I love the taste of this but was worried about my heart….thanks for posting this!

  22. Tom

    Thanks for the info! I looked it up on Google too and came across your site. Thanks

  23. Tom

    Thanks for the info! I looked it up on Google too and came across your site. Thanks

  24. Big Wave Dave

    Homemade Kahlua however may be entirely different animal. There no telling how much the caffiene levels can vary between the processes.

  25. Big Wave Dave

    Homemade Kahlua however may be entirely different animal. There no telling how much the caffiene levels can vary between the processes.

  26. KimiW

    Thanks. That’s great to find out so quick…I agree, they really should post that on their website.

    Cheers!

  27. KimiW

    Thanks. That’s great to find out so quick…I agree, they really should post that on their website.

    Cheers!

  28. Laura

    thanks! im also very sensitive to caffeine….the liquor store didnt know the answer when i bought it and i also checked the website when i got home. bummer, at least i had one last enjoyable drink of it though! :) (i drank a glass BEFORE i checked the internet, just in case it was indeed bad news!)

  29. Laura

    thanks! im also very sensitive to caffeine….the liquor store didnt know the answer when i bought it and i also checked the website when i got home. bummer, at least i had one last enjoyable drink of it though! :) (i drank a glass BEFORE i checked the internet, just in case it was indeed bad news!)

  30. wilder

    brown cow? how helpful and informative you are.

  31. wilder

    brown cow? how helpful and informative you are.

  32. I Love Kahlua! » Blog Archive » Kahlua and Caffeine

    [...] Kahlua have caffeine?  If so, how much?  There is a lot of guesswork online, but this guy decided to email Kahlua and find out.  Here’s the scoop: Kahlua actually has very low levels [...]

  33. annie b

    Thanks for the info,I am very sensitive to this stuff. Many a sleepless night due to Kahlua over vanilla ice cream. It’s a curse.

  34. annie b

    Thanks for the info,I am very sensitive to this stuff. Many a sleepless night due to Kahlua over vanilla ice cream. It’s a curse.

  35. amadna

    Thanks!

    I was just enjoying a mudslide (before bed time of course) and was trying to figure out what the caffeine content was.

  36. amadna

    Thanks!

    I was just enjoying a mudslide (before bed time of course) and was trying to figure out what the caffeine content was.

  37. Texas Pea

    thanx for sharing. i love drinking what you call a brown cow! preferably 1% milk. my caffeine addiction was causing migraines so, i had to give up the caffeine. this info is useful to me. :) peace.

  38. Texas Pea

    thanx for sharing. i love drinking what you call a brown cow! preferably 1% milk. my caffeine addiction was causing migraines so, i had to give up the caffeine. this info is useful to me. :) peace.

  39. Jennie

    For migraine sufferers that info should be listed on the bottle! Even a tiny amount of caffeine can trigger a migraine….

  40. Ted Carnahan

    I hadn't thought of that, but you're right. I also get migraines, and while caffeine isn't a trigger for me, it is for a lot of people.