A lot of people who drink in Surfside seem to be having the same moment. When you open a can at the beach or a backyard barbecue, you enjoy a couple of drinks during the afternoon. But by midnight, you’re wide-eyed and wondering why a pretty mild canned cocktail is keeping you up like a double espresso. This is a strange feeling that a lot of people have.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Caffeine in Surfside Iced Tea | 34 mg per 12 oz can |
| Caffeine in Surfside Peach Tea | 34 mg per 12 oz can |
| Caffeine in Surfside Iced Tea + Lemonade | 20 mg per 12 oz can |
| Caffeine in Surfside Lemonade | 0 mg (no tea, no caffeine) |
| Caffeine in Surfside Green Tea | Approximately 50 mg per can |
| Caffeine Source | Naturally occurring from real brewed tea |
| Alcohol Content | 4.5% ABV |
| Calories per Can | 100 calories |
| Sugar per Can | 2 grams |
| Caffeine Comparison | Equal to a can of Coca-Cola; about one-third of a regular coffee |
| Competitor (Sun Cruiser) | Approximately 10 mg caffeine per can |
To cut a long story short, yes, Surfsides does have caffeine. Depending on the flavor, most of the tea-based kinds have between 20 and 34 milligrams of caffeine per 12-ounce can. There are about 34 milligrams of sugar in the classic iced tea and peach tea, and about 20 milligrams of sugar in the iced tea and lemonade blend. Since there is no brewed tea in flavors that aren’t tea, like plain lemonade, they don’t have any caffeine.
Where that caffeine comes from is what makes this interesting. Surfside is not adding artificial caffeine like companies that make energy drinks do. The real brewed tea in the recipe is what gives it its caffeine. That difference is important, at least for how the drink is advertised. However, it’s important to remember that your nervous system doesn’t really care if the caffeine came from a natural source or not.
To give you an idea of how much 34 milligrams is, a regular cup of coffee has about 90 to 100 milligrams. That means a Surfside won’t take the place of your morning routine. It’s not nothing, though. The amount in a can of regular Coca-Cola is also about 34 milligrams, which is the same range. Due to its commonness, caffeine in soda is often forgotten. However, when the same amount is found in a canned cocktail, it shocks people.
When you mix alcohol and caffeine, things really start to get interesting. Caffeine can hide the way alcohol makes you feel sleepy, so you may feel more awake than your blood alcohol level would normally describe. So maybe that’s why two Surfsides can make you feel more awake than two glasses of wine or two light beers. In a thread on Reddit’s cocktails community, several people talk about having the same experience: falling asleep after a few cans and having strange dreams while lying awake. This happens even though the amount of caffeine seems low. It’s still not clear why this has such a big effect on some people but not on others. Weight, how sensitive you are to caffeine, and how much alcohol you can handle in general all play a part.
When compared to some of its competitors, Surfside has a lot more caffeine. Sun Cruiser hard teas, for example, only have about 10 milligrams of caffeine per can, which is a very small amount compared to Surfside green tea, which can have up to 50 milligrams. That difference is big if you track caffeine to help you sleep or deal with anxiety.
Surfside is not a bad choice because of any of these things. For many, especially those trying to stay social and useful at a long outdoor event, the mild caffeine boost that comes from real tea is likely a good thing, not a bad thing. The drink was made with real things: vodka, brewed tea, natural flavors, and not much sugar. Caffeine is a normal part of the product, just like it is in any iced tea you make at home.
Being aware is the most useful thing to remember. If you can’t handle caffeine, have something planned for the evening, or have always wondered why Surfsides hits you differently than other hard teas, you now know. It’s not the vodka that’s making you smart. The tea is doing what it always does, but in a way that no one expects.
