1.6. Is it true that espresso has less caffeine than regular coffee?
Description
This article is from the Coffee and Caffeine FAQ, by Alex Lopez-Ortiz with numerous contributions by others.
1.6. Is it true that espresso has less caffeine than regular coffee?
Yes and no. An espresso cup has about as much caffeine as a cup of
dark brew. But servings for espresso are much smaller. Which means
that the content of caffeine per millilitre are much higher than with
a regular brew. Moreover, caffeine is more quickly assimilated when
taken in concentrated dosages, such as an espresso cup.
The myth of lower caffeine espresso comes comes from the fact that the
darker roast beans used for espresso do have less caffeine than
regularly roasted beans as roasting is supposed to break up or
sublimate the caffeine in the beans (I have read this quote on
research articles, but found no scientific studies supporting it.
Anybody out there?). But espresso is prepared using pressurized water
through significantly more ground (twice as much?) than regular drip
coffee, resulting in a higher percentage of caffeine per millilitre.
Here's the caffeine content of Drip/Espresso/Brewed Coffee:
Drip 115-175 Espresso 100 1 serving (1.5-2oz) Brewed 80-135
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