Celsius Ingredients: What’s in the Can and Is It Bad for You?

Last reviewed: October 2026. Reflects a current U.S. 12 fl oz Celsius can photographed in store (Fizz-Free Blue Razz Lemonade; the Originals, Vibe, and Fizz-Free lines share the formula). Celsius Essentials and Hydration differ — see the product table below.

Celsius went from a gym-bag niche brand to the third-biggest energy drink in America by selling itself as the fitness alternative to Monster and Red Bull: no sugar, no artificial colors, no preservatives, seven vitamins, and a blend that supposedly makes you burn calories. The can is cleaner than most of its competitors, and that’s true. It’s also 200 mg of caffeine in 12 ounces — the strongest mainstream energy drink per ounce — plus taurine, guarana, green tea extract, and a sweetener worth knowing about, and the “no preservatives” claim cost the company a $7.8 million settlement. Here’s all the Celsius ingredients as it’s printed today, what the marketing leaves out, and what changed on the label.

Quick answer: what’s in Celsius?

The full Celsius ingredients list

Three things to notice. For years Celsius cans carried a Supplement Facts panel with a 1.81 g “MetaPlus Proprietary Blend” that disclosed only the total weight; the current can is a conventional Nutrition Facts label with the ingredients in plain descending order, which is more informative — you can now see that taurine is third, guarana fourth, and green tea extract fifth, all ahead of the caffeine itself. Doses still aren’t printed. Second, there’s no sodium benzoate or potassium sorbate; citric acid is the only thing resembling a preservative, which is the subject of the lawsuit below. Third, beta-carotene is the color and sucralose is the only sweetener — no dyes, no Ace-K, no aspartame.

Celsius ingredients explained

Filtered water and citric acid Fine, with a legal footnote

The base and the tartness. Citric acid is the same molecule as in citrus, made commercially by fermentation, and it has a preservative effect whatever the can says — which is why the Originals cans carry the odd clause “citric acid is added for flavor; it is not used as a preservative.” That language is the result of a 2022 class action over Celsius marketing “no preservatives” while listing citric acid; it settled for $7.8 million. Mildly acidic; the enamel advice applies to any sparkling citrus drink sipped all day.

Taurine Safe, mostly inert

Third on the label, so a meaningful amount — likely in the 1,000 mg range typical of the category, though Celsius doesn’t say. An amino acid your body makes, concentrated in muscle, heart, and brain tissue; abundant in fish and meat; safe to 6 g a day by EFSA’s assessment. Not a stimulant despite the name association — if anything it slightly blunts caffeine’s effect on blood pressure. Our taurine breakdown covers it.

Guarana seed extract More caffeine

A Brazilian seed that’s two to four times coffee’s caffeine by weight, plus traces of theobromine and theophylline. The 200 mg on the can is the total from all sources, so guarana isn’t extra on top. Its caffeine is bound to tannins and releases a little more slowly, which is the basis for the “smoother” reputation; it’s still caffeine with a plant name.

Green tea extract The thermogenic claim, dose unknown

Fifth on the list and the ingredient behind “accelerates metabolism.” EGCG, the main green tea catechin, has modest evidence for a small increase in calorie burn, mainly alongside caffeine. The studies showing an effect used 300–900 mg of catechins; the amount here isn’t printed and, by position, is well below that. One thing worth knowing: concentrated green tea extract is the supplement ingredient most often linked to liver injury in case reports — at doses far above a can, but it’s the reason not to stack Celsius with green tea extract pills.

Caffeine — 200 mg 200 mg

The ingredient that works. 200 mg per 12 oz is 16.7 mg per ounce — more than a 16 oz Monster (10) or an 8.4 oz Red Bull (9.5), the same as Alani Nu, below Bang’s 18.8. Two cups of coffee, half the FDA’s 400 mg daily guidance, the full pregnancy guidance in one can. Caffeine anhydrous is dehydrated caffeine powder, chemically identical to coffee’s and absorbed fast because nothing in the drink slows it. The can itself says not recommended for people sensitive to caffeine, children under 18, or women pregnant or nursing. Celsius Essentials, in 16 oz cans, is 270 mg.

Ascorbic acid Fine

Vitamin C, 60 mg (70% DV). No benzoate on this label, so the benzene pairing covered in our sodium benzoate breakdown doesn’t apply — a point in Celsius’s favor over Ghost and Bang.

Sucralose Flagged

The only sweetener, and the reason it’s sweet at 10 calories. FDA-approved and safe at any realistic intake by regulatory standards; the research since 2022 links it to increased hunger signaling, gut-bacteria changes, and altered glucose tolerance in some people — a little ironic for a drink marketed on weight management. Our sucralose breakdown covers each study. Celsius doesn’t offer a stevia version.

Glucuronolactone Safe, inert

A sugar derivative the body makes, in energy drinks since Red Bull on the theory that it fights fatigue. The human evidence at drink doses is close to nonexistent; the old internet hoax about it has no basis. Harmless, and there because every energy drink has it.

Ginger root extract Fine

Real evidence for nausea and mild anti-inflammatory effects, at doses almost certainly larger than what’s here. Mostly flavor and label appeal.

Natural flavors Undisclosed

The flavor profile — Blue Razz Lemonade, Sparkling Orange, Kiwi Guava. Plant-derived flavor compounds; proprietary. No juice.

Beta-carotene (color) No synthetic dyes

A legitimate point in Celsius’s favor. Monster, Rockstar, and most of the category use Red 40, Blue 1, or Yellow 5; Celsius colors with beta-carotene (and vegetable juice in some berry flavors). None of the FD&C dyes anywhere in the lineup.

Vitamin C, B vitamins, biotin, chromium Overdosed, harmless

The “seven essential vitamins”: vitamin C 60 mg (70%), riboflavin 1.7 mg (130%), niacin 20 mg (130%), B6 2 mg (120%), B12 6 mcg (250%), biotin 300 mcg (1,000%), pantothenic acid 10 mg (200%), and chromium 50 mcg (140%). B vitamins are water-soluble, so excess is excreted, which is why brands can megadose them for the panel; they “support energy metabolism” in the sense your body needs them, not in the sense that extra ones energize you. Chromium is included on weak evidence that it blunts carb cravings. None of this is harmful. None of it is why you feel the drink.

Does Celsius actually burn calories?

The can says “burns up to 100 calories and more per can” with moderate exercise. That comes from a handful of small studies, mostly funded by Celsius and run at the University of Oklahoma around 2009–2010, which found that drinking Celsius before exercise raised energy expenditure modestly compared with placebo. The effect was real, small, measured over a few hours, and consistent with what 200 mg of caffeine plus green tea extract does in any form — coffee produces a similar bump.

Three things to keep in mind. “Up to 100 calories” is a rounding error against a 2,000-calorie day. The fine print on every can concedes that Celsius alone doesn’t produce weight loss without diet and exercise. And the sweetener research cuts the other way: if sucralose increases appetite, a drink that burns 100 calories and makes you eat 150 more isn’t a weight-loss tool. Treat Celsius as a clean-ish caffeine delivery system, not a fat burner.

Celsius nutrition facts

Celsius vs. Monster vs. Red Bull vs. coffee

Against sugared Monster and Red Bull, Celsius wins on nearly every line: no sugar, no dyes, fewer additives. Against Monster Zero Ultra or Red Bull Sugarfree, the gap narrows — those use sucralose and Ace-K, and Celsius still has more caffeine per ounce than either. Against black coffee, Celsius loses: no sweetener, no undisclosed extracts, comparable caffeine for pennies. Our Monster and Red Bull breakdowns cover the two it’s most compared against, and the energy drinks comparison puts all six on one table.

Which Celsius is which?

Is Celsius bad for you?

The concerns, ranked by evidence:

1. Caffeine load. The single most important fact about Celsius. Half the adult daily guidance per can; count your coffee.
2. Caffeine in the wrong hands. Marketed as a fitness drink, which reads as “healthy” to teenagers; the can says 18+.
3. Teeth. Acidic citrus drink, sipped.
4. Sucralose. Fine occasionally; worth reconsidering at several a day, especially for weight goals.
5. Undisclosed doses. A transparency problem, not a safety one — you can’t evaluate the green tea claim from the can.
6. Athletes. Celsius dropped its NCAA warning after a 2023 settlement, but guarana, taurine, and high-dose caffeine can still affect caffeine-threshold testing. If you’re tested, check your program’s list, not the can.

Celsius for teens, pregnancy, and pre-workout

Teens: no — the AAP’s position on energy drinks applies, and the can says under 18 shouldn’t.

Pregnancy: one can is the full 200 mg daily guidance; the can says not recommended.

Pre-workout: 200 mg is in the range the performance research uses (3–6 mg/kg). Reasonable for an adult, with water, without a caffeinated powder on top.

Cleaner alternatives

For the caffeine without the sweetener: black coffee or cold brew, or unsweetened green tea for real EGCG at a known dose. For a can with every dose printed: Ghost. For no artificial sweeteners: Zevia Energy (120 mg, stevia). If you just like Celsius, the honest move is to count it as your coffee, not as a health drink.

This article is for informational purposes and is not medical advice. Talk to a doctor or registered dietitian about your individual nutrition needs.