The strongest regular drink on the Starbucks menu
Brewed coffee is where Starbucks’ caffeine is concentrated. A Grande Pike Place Roast carries 315 to 390 mg: more than a Grande Cold Brew (205 mg), more than twice a Grande Caffè Latte (150 mg), and three to four times an 8 oz cup of drip coffee at USDA’s reference strength (95 mg). Per ounce it runs about 20 to 24 mg, where USDA’s generic drip coffee is about 12.
Starbucks publishes a range rather than a single number for its brewed coffee, which is the honest way to describe a drink that varies from batch to batch. This site shows the range and, when counting toward a daily limit, uses the top of it.
Blonde, medium or dark: the same range
Starbucks currently lists identical caffeine ranges for its blonde (Sunsera Blend), medium (Pike Place) and dark brewed roasts, at every size. The idea that a lighter roast is noticeably stronger does not show up in Starbucks’ own figures, so pick the roast on taste.
Where it meets the daily limit
The FDA cites 400 mg a day as not generally associated with negative effects in healthy adults. A Short (155 to 195 mg) and a Tall (235 to 290 mg) together reach 485 mg at the top of their ranges. A Venti on its own spans 390 to 490 mg: at the top of its range, one cup is over the line.
The single-dose picture is stricter. EFSA assessed single doses up to 200 mg as not raising safety concerns for healthy adults, and every Pike Place size from Tall upward is above that. In pregnancy, the 200 mg daily ceiling ACOG uses rules out anything bigger than a Short, and even a Short comes close at 155 to 195 mg.
Lower-caffeine swaps at the same counter
Decaf Pike Place Roast carries 25 mg in a Grande. A Caffè Misto, half brewed coffee and half steamed milk, carries 150 mg. A Grande Chai Latte has 55 mg.