Does Silk Dark Chocolate Almondmilk Contain Caffeine?

Dark chocolate almond milk sounds like a drinkable dessert. The version produced by plant-based company, Silk, is a great dairy-free milk substitute for hot chocolate or just those who miss the taste of plain chocolate milk. While Silk's Dark Chocolate Almondmilk can make for a delicious addition to iced coffee, there's a hidden ingredient in the milk itself. It's one of the few Silk products that contains caffeine, though it might not explicitly state so on the carton or nutritional information.

Silk's lack of specific caffeine disclosure complies with U.S. labeling laws. If the caffeine in a product is naturally occurring, such as from the cacao plant, then manufacturers aren't required to label their products as caffeinated. Caffeine is innate in chocolate, so it's already implied that a trace amount of caffeine may be in a product. However, manufacturers are required to list the base ingredients (which may or may not contain caffeine). Unfortunately, this might be news to some folks who are concerned about its presence in their drink.

It's unclear what the exact amount of caffeine is in Silk's Dark Chocolate Almond Milk, but it's not very much, as the caffeinated ingredient is cocoa. Data from the USDA indicates that a tablespoon of cocoa powder contains around 12 milligrams of caffeine. We don't have an exact measurement of cocoa in the Silk drink, but assuming the recipe uses two tablespoons of cocoa powder in a half gallon of milk, 24 milligrams of caffeine divided by an 8-ounce (1 cup) serving is equal to around 3 milligrams of caffeine per serving.

In other words, you're probably not going to get the caffeine jitters from a glass of Silk's Dark Chocolate Almondmilk. Decaffeinated coffee has twice the amount at 7 milligrams per cup. On Silk's FAQ page, the brand stated, "Several of our non-Silk-Latte products contain small amounts of caffeine. They are chocolate soymilk, dark chocolate almondmilk, chocolate cashewmilk, chocolate Silk Protein, and The Chocolate One Oat Yeah oatmilk."

This low-caffeine almond milk beverage is a great way for people who can't consume a lot of caffeine to still enjoy the best store-bought chocolate milk without dairy or gluten. Throw it in a blender with your favorite ice cream to upgrade a thick, creamy milkshake. If you can't do any caffeine at all, then you're better off melting some white chocolate into the original Silk for a super sweet DIY white chocolate almond milk.