Does Milk Chocolate Contain Any Caffeine?

As a firm believer in having something sweet after every meal, milk chocolate is my go-to treat. That isn't to say that there's anything wrong with other types of chocolate, but milk chocolate is the perfect mix of sweet and creamy. If you have a favorite chocolate bar, sometimes nothing else is quite as satisfying — which might be due to the caffeine. Yep, you read that correctly: A small amount of caffeine is in your milk chocolate. This is because it's naturally present in cocoa solids, which is a key ingredient in milk and dark chocolate.

The amount of caffeine in milk chocolate is about 5.6mg per 1 ounce of chocolate, while a cup of coffee contains around 80 to 100 mg. The milk powder in milk chocolate means that less cocoa is used, which is why it has far less caffeine than dark chocolate. But even if you prefer dark chocolate, its caffeine amount is still quite small (around 12 to 22mg per ounce). Usually, the darker the chocolate, the higher the caffeine content. And if you are a white chocolate fan, you'll be getting zero caffeine since white chocolate only contains cocoa butter, which is caffeine-free (and makes us wonder if white chocolate is real chocolate).

For a lot of us, milk chocolate is a late-night snack, but we all know that caffeine can seriously affect sleep. So the question is, is the caffeine amount in milk chocolate enough to keep us awake? We don't think so, and here's why. The amount of caffeine in milk chocolate is significantly less than in a cup of coffee. In fact, even a decaffeinated coffee contains more caffeine than a few squares of chocolate. The recommended daily amount of caffeine is around 400 mg (2 to 3 cups of coffee), so when it comes to consuming a safe amount, eating some milk chocolate won't make much of a difference.

Chocolate helps you sleep since it contains theobromine. This ingredient can act as a muscle relaxant, with some research suggesting it can even make you sleepy. There are around 57 mg of theobromine per 1 ounce of milk chocolate, which is far greater than its caffeine content. This might help counteract any caffeine effects and could be part of the reason eating chocolate feels so damn good.