How Much Caffeine Is In Sports Nutrition? A Reference for Runners and Cyclists | FTP Endurance Fuel
Fuel Guides
How Much Caffeine Is Actually In Your Fuel?
Gels, drink mixes, coffee, tea, cola — the numbers side by side, so you can add up your own total instead of guessing.
The short version. A mug of filter coffee is around 140mg of caffeine. Caffeinated energy gels are commonly 75–100mg, but the range across brands runs from about 35mg to 200mg. FTP Power Fluids Core contains 50mg per serving; Power Fluids Tart Cherry and all our Energy Pastilles contain none. EFSA's assessment is that single doses up to 200mg, and up to 400mg across 24 hours, do not raise safety concerns for healthy adults.
Why it is worth knowing your number
Most endurance athletes do not take caffeine from one place. There is the coffee before you leave the house, maybe a gel at 90 minutes, maybe a drink mix in the bottle, maybe a cola handed over at an aid station. Each one is a modest number on its own. Added together on a long day they can be a good deal more than you assumed.
The point of this page is not to tell you what to take. It is simply to put the figures in one place, because product labels are inconsistent and “caffeinated” on a wrapper tells you nothing about the dose.
Caffeine content of everyday sources
| Source | Approximate caffeine |
| Mug of filter coffee | ~140 mg |
| Mug of instant coffee | ~100 mg |
| Single espresso | ~60–80 mg |
| Mug of tea | ~75 mg |
| 330ml cola | ~35–40 mg |
| 250ml energy drink | ~80 mg |
Caffeine content of sports nutrition
This is where the spread is widest. Two gels sitting next to each other in the same shop can differ by a factor of five. Always check the pack rather than assuming a brand-wide figure — several brands sell the same gel in caffeinated and caffeine-free versions, and some sell two different caffeine strengths.
| Product | Caffeine per serving |
| GU Roctane gel (most flavours) | 35 mg |
| FTP Power Fluids Core | 50 mg |
| SiS GO Energy + Caffeine gel | 75 mg |
| TORQ gel with guarana | 89 mg |
| Maurten Gel 100 CAF 100 | 100 mg |
| Precision Fuel PF 30 Caffeine gel | 100 mg |
| SiS GO Caffeine Shot | 150 mg |
| SiS Beta Fuel + Nootropics gel | 200 mg |
| FTP Power Fluids Tart Cherry | None |
| FTP Energy Pastilles (all flavours) | None |
Figures taken from manufacturers' published product information, correct at time of writing. Formulations change — check the current pack.
The 150mg per litre line
There is a legal threshold worth knowing about, because it gives you an objective way to tell a genuinely strong drink from a mild one. Food labelling rules require any drink containing more than 150mg of caffeine per litre to carry a “high caffeine content” declaration on the label. It applies to powders too, measured after you have mixed them.
A 30g scoop of FTP Power Fluids Core mixed into 500–750ml of water works out at 67–100mg per litre, so it sits below that line and carries no such declaration. A typical energy drink sits above it. Same word on the front of the pack, very different drinks.
Published intake guidance
The European Food Safety Authority's 2015 assessment concluded that for healthy adults in the general population, single doses of up to 200mg and total daily intakes of up to 400mg over 24 hours do not raise safety concerns. For pregnant women, the figure given is up to 200mg per day, in line with NHS guidance.
These are general population figures, not recommendations to consume any particular amount. Individual tolerance varies widely, partly for genetic reasons, and caffeine late in the day affects sleep for many people. If you are unsure, or you have a heart condition, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are taking medication, speak to a doctor or pharmacist.
Adding up a long day
A worked example, using the numbers above. A cyclist has a mug of filter coffee before a four-hour ride (140mg), takes one bottle of a 50mg drink mix per hour (200mg across the ride), and nothing else. Total for the day so far: 340mg.
Swap two of those bottles for 100mg gels and the same day comes to 440mg. Neither total is unusual among endurance athletes, but only one of them is something you would arrive at deliberately. That is the whole argument for knowing your numbers: not that any figure is alarming, but that guessing is how people end up somewhere they did not intend.
Practical notes
• Read the pack, not the brand. Caffeine content varies between flavours within the same range.
• Smaller units are easier to manage. A 50mg serving lets you adjust across a session; a 200mg gel is a single decision you cannot take back.
• Count the aid station. Cola on a course is caffeine you did not plan for.
• Settle it in training. Race morning is not the time to find out how your stomach handles something new — caffeine or otherwise.
Where FTP products sit
| Product | Caffeine | Carbohydrate |
| Power Fluids Core | 50 mg per serving | 27 g per serving |
| Power Fluids Tart Cherry | None | 27 g per serving |
| Energy Pastilles | None | ~30 g per serving |
| Electrolyte Tablets | None | None |
The two Power Fluids are the same price and carry the same 27g of carbohydrate and 300mg of sodium per serving. The fuel is identical. You are choosing flavour, and whether you want caffeine in the bottle. Plenty of people keep both and pick by session.
Power Fluids Core is not recommended for children or pregnant women.
Common Questions
How much caffeine is in Power Fluids Core?
50mg per 30g scoop, from guarana extract — less than half a mug of filter coffee. Mixed into 500–750ml that is 67–100mg per litre, below the 150mg per litre threshold at which a drink must be declared high in caffeine.
Is 50mg a lot?
It is at the low end of what you will find in sports nutrition. A mug of filter coffee is roughly three times as much, and most caffeinated gels carry 75–100mg.
Do you make a caffeine-free option?
Yes. Power Fluids Tart Cherry has no caffeine and the same carbohydrate and sodium content as Core. All FTP Energy Pastilles and our Electrolyte Tablets are caffeine-free too.
Is the caffeine natural or synthetic?
Power Fluids Core uses guarana extract (Paullinia cupana, seed) rather than synthetic caffeine — 230mg of extract per serving, providing 50mg of caffeine.
Who should avoid it?
Power Fluids Core is not recommended for children or pregnant women. If you are caffeine-sensitive, take medication, or have any health condition you are unsure about, speak to a doctor or pharmacist — and Tart Cherry gives you the same fuel with none.
Keep reading: Hydration & Electrolytes · How Many Carbs Per Hour · Fuel for Cycling · All Fuel Guides
