Short answer: 4-5 capsules per day, 3 for Intenso-type pods.
For more details, and an answer taking into account the specific type of capsule, read on.
To answer this -very important 😊- question, I’ll concentrate on Dolce Gusto capsules for the simple reason that that’s what I have at home (well, that, plus a Krups filter coffee machine, plus an Izzy traditional espresso machine, plus my one-time favorite Bialetti brikka). The results for Nespresso et. al. should be similar.
Do note that I’m only considering caffeine content; but that’s not always the only factor. E.g. if you drink anything near 400 cups Lungo decaffeinato in a single day, you will have non-caffeine related problems (WC attendance comes readily to mind ! 😊).
So, straight from Nestle’s faq:
How much caffeine is in each of the drinks?
Specialty Coffee :
– Cappuccino : 107 Mg Caffeine
– Cappuccino Skinny : 90 Mg Caffeine
– Latte Macchiato : 85 Mg Caffeine
– Vanilla Latte Macchiato : 83 Mg Caffeine
– Caramel Latte Macchiato : 83 Mg Caffeine
– Latte Macchito Skinny : 83 Mg Caffeine
– Mocha : 45 Mg Caffeine
– Cappuccino Ice : 35 Mg CaffeineCoffee Drinks :
– Caffe Grande Intenso : 130 Mg Caffeine
– Espresso Intenso : 115 Mg Caffeine
– Grande Mild : 106 Mg Caffeine
– Light Roast : 106 Mg Caffeine
– Medium Roast : 103 Mg Caffeine
– Café au Lait : 92 Mg Caffeine
– Lungo : 89 Mg Caffeine
– Espresso : 80 Mg Caffeine
– Lungo decaffeinato : 1 Mg CaffeineNon-Coffee Drinks
– Chai Tea Latte : 34 Mg Caffeine
– Nestea Peach Iced Tea : 9 Mg Caffeine
The usual number that’s given as “safe” caffeine per day for adults is 400 Mg (eg. see “Caffeine: How much is too much?” from Mayo Clinic here). So this amounts to:
| Mg caffeine per capsule | Max capsules per day | |
| Max. caffeine per day: | 400 | |
| Specialty Coffee : | ||
| Cappuccino | 107 | 4 |
| Cappuccino Skinny | 90 | 4 |
| Latte Macchiato | 85 | 5 |
| Vanilla Latte Macchiato | 83 | 5 |
| Caramel Latte Macchiato | 83 | 5 |
| Latte Macchito Skinny | 83 | 5 |
| Mocha | 45 | 9 |
| Cappuccino Ice | 35 | 11 |
| Coffee Drinks : | ||
| Caffe Grande Intenso | 130 | 3 |
| Espresso Intenso | 115 | 3 |
| Grande Mild | 106 | 4 |
| Light Roast | 106 | 4 |
| Medium Roast | 103 | 4 |
| Café au Lait | 92 | 4 |
| Lungo | 89 | 4 |
| Espresso | 80 | 5 |
| Lungo decaffeinato | 1 | 400 |
| Non-Coffee Drinks | ||
| Chai Tea Latte | 34 | 12 |
| Nestea Peach Iced Tea | 9 | 44 |
Spreadsheet is here if you want to play with the numbers (you can also comment on it). I’ve rounded to closest integer because nobody makes 3 cups of coffee and then decides to have another 0.8 😊
Enjoy !
Dot Jim 