Five days of sweat, tears, paper cuts, broken pencils, no sleep, and an occasional nervous break down. You know what I’m talking about. Finals week. The miserable end of the semester is upon us, and I need all the help I can get. After finding out ice cream has caffeine in it, I got intrigued. Following a bit of Googling, I’ve compiled this list of foods that weirdly contain loads of caffeine to help keep you awake during finals. So stop by your grocery store and take a deep breath, finals might not be so disastrous.
Chocolate
I’m a chocolate junkie with no preference of flavor. Why discriminate among the single best creation of man? Given my infatuation with chocolate, I was equally shocked and mortified that I hadn’t made the connection between chocolate and caffeine sooner. Cocoa beans have caffeine. Chocolate is made out of cocoa beans. 2+2=4.
According to the cocoa rule, the darker the chocolate, the more caffeine you’ll consume. So when writing that final English literature essay, you might want to opt for the 70% dark cocoa chocolate rather than that white chocolate Easter bunny you got in a care package.
Ice Cream
Chocolate and coffee-flavored ice creams come with an unexpected caffeine-kick. A one cup scoop of coffee flavors, such as “java” and “mocha,” can give you a jolt equivalent to drinking two cans of Coke. Although chocolate flavors are accompanied by a much smaller dose of caffeine, any additional chocolate toppings, sauces, or hot fudge added to your scoop will increase your caffeine consumption and keep you jiving straight through any Napoleonic conquest. I’d risk a brain-freeze for an A.
Protein Bars
Protein bars can be useful for more than bulking season. They just might make the difference between you pulling a B or a C+ on your College Algebra final. Most protein bars are infused with more than a couple milligrams of caffeine to keep you up and energized. For example, a Zone Perfect’s Pecan Caramel Bar has 14.5 mg, which is approximately the same amount of caffeine as a small Coffee Coolatta from Dunkin’ Donuts.
Breath Freshners
Two words, three syllables: game changer. Companies are now making caffeine-laced mints and gum. According to Health, two pieces of Jolt gum contains the caffeine amount of one cup of coffee. Meanwhile, it takes three Penguin peppermints to receive the same dosage. These ingenious inventions are revolutionary for the average pre-med frat boy— fresh breath fo’ da ladies and energy for their anatomy exam.
Hot Sauce
It’s no secret that Sriracha, Tabasco, Cholula, and other hot sauces alike have been taking over popular culture. But caffeinated hot sauce? Hearts all across America are doing cartwheels. DoubleKick delivers just that. Pouring this caffeine-infused sauce on your meal is about the same as drinking a 5-Hour Energy. Chili hot sauces already contain capsaicin, which is somewhat of a natural upper. But with finals season in high gear, a little extra kick with DoubleKick can’t hurt.
It doesn’t take a lot for finals week to resemble Armageddon. Only, in this case, it’s not so much good and evil as much as the will to study versus procrastinating via Netflix. Whether you’re the early starter or the night-before-crammer, test out these jittery foods to help get you through the most dreaded week of the semester