It’s not uncommon for individuals to wonder about the contents of their favorite drinks, and cranberry juice is no exception. One question that frequently comes up is whether cranberry juice contains caffeine.
If you’re a fan of this tart but delicious drink, you may be curious to know whether or not it could potentially cause caffeine-related side effects. So, here is what you need to know about caffeine in cranberry juice…
How Much Caffeine In Cranberry Juice?
Cranberry juice commonly contains no caffeine. It is made by mashing cranberries into a puree. A press helps extract the juice which is thoroughly filtered to remove any unwanted plant materials such as leaves or stems.
The juice is then typically concentrated by removing most of its water. Water and potentially other juices are then added to the concentrate when the juice is ready to be bottled.
Cranberry juice does not naturally have caffeine and it is not a common practice for manufacturers to add caffeine to their cranberry juices. You should expect that just about any cranberry juice you pick up at the grocery store to be caffeine-free.
Below are examples of the ingredients of popular cranberry juice products. We also indicate whether any of these beverages have caffeine. As you can seen, none contain caffeine.
| Cranberry Juice | Caffeine(mg) | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean Spray – 100% Cranberry Juice Blend | No | Cranberry Juice (Water, Cranberry Juice Concentrate), Grape Juice (Water, Grape Juice Concentrate), Apple Juice (Water, Apple Juice Concentrate), Pear Juice (Water, Pear Juice Concentrate), Natural Flavor, Pectin, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C). |
| Northland – 100% Cranberry Juice Blend | No | Apple Juice (Filtered Water, Apple Juice Concentrate), Cranberry Juice (Filtered Water, Cranberry Juice Concentrate), Pear Juice (Filtered Water, Pear Juice Concentrate), Citric Acid (Provides Tartness), Fruit And Vegetable Extract (Color), Natural Flavor, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Vitamin E Acetate, Vitamin A Palmitate. |
| Simply – Cranberry Cocktail | No | Pure Filtered Water, Cranberry Juice, Cane Sugar, Natural Flavors. |
| R.W. Knudsen – Just Cranberry Juice | No | Filtered Water (Sufficient To Reconstitute), Cranberry Juice Concentrate |
| Lakewood Organic Cranberry Blend | No | Organic Apple Juice, Organic Cranberry Juice, Organic Concord Grape Juice. |
| Whole Foods – Organic Cranberry Juice | No | Filtered Water, Organic Cranberry Juice, Organic Cranberry Juice Concentrate. |
| Kroger – Cranberry Juice Cocktail | No | Filtered Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Cranberry Juice Concentrate, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Fruit And Vegetable Juice (For Color). |
Cranberry Juice With Caffeine
While we have established that most cranberry juices contain no caffeine, there are some unique beverages with caffeine that contain cranberry juice. These aren’t true cranberry juices but you should certainly be aware of them if you want to avoid caffeine or even if you want a bit of caffeine in your juice.
For example, Ocean Spray makes energy drinks that contain cranberry juice called Cran Energy. They are 10 ounces and contain 75 milligrams of caffeine that comes from green tea extract included as an ingredient. In comparison, a brewed coffee of the same size has approximately 115 milligrams of caffeine.
Final Thoughts
Generally, cranberry juice is caffeine-free. While it may not provide the same temporary boost of energy as caffeinated beverages, it can help to improve overall health including heart, stomach and immune system health.
Beware that there are some beverages with cranberry juice out there that do contain caffeine. These are typically clearly marked with the words “Energy” and “Caffeine” making them difficult to mix up with regular cranberry juice.
If you strictly wish to avoid caffeine, it is important to read the label of any cranberry juice you are thinking of purchasing, including any juices discussed above since ingredients can change at any time.
If caffeine is added to a beverage, it will appear in the list of ingredients. If it is from a natural source like tea, “caffeine” won’t be listed as an ingredient but the label will common list how much caffeine is in the product. When it doubt contain the manufacturer if the information is important to you.
