Many people believe that the brewing process affects the outcome of caffeine content in your coffee. For instance the longer you brew a pot of coffee, the higher the caffeine content in a regular cup. That’s why many people like to let coffee sit and percolate, they believe it increases the caffeine and makes the coffee ‘stronger’. That is where the old saying ‘coffee you can stand a spoon up in’ comes from… longer brewing= more caffeine, but practically sludge-like coffee!
And that is why many people mistakenly think espresso has less caffeine than a regular cup of coffee, because brewing time is much shorter.
In actuality, a serving of espresso is pretty much the equivalent to a strong cup of coffee caffeine wise. But because servings of espresso are very small in comparison to regular coffee, the actual caffeine content per milliliter is actually much higher.
Caffeine is assimilate more quickly when it’s in a concentrated form. Espresso is like concentrated caffeine! If you want actual numbers, there can be anywhere from 77mg up to 185mg in a double shot of espresso. In a cup of coffee, there is roughly 135-150mg of caffeine, depending on the type of bean and your brewing methods.
Many people are confused by the whole espresso and caffeine situation because of the myth regarding the darker roasted coffee beans that are used in making espresso. The idea is that those beans have less caffeine than regularly roasted coffee beans because of the roasting process, but there are no scientific studies so far that support that idea.
One thing that DOES affect the caffeine content of your espresso habit is the type of coffee beans you are using to make it. Robusta coffee beans have double the caffeine content of Arabica coffee beans, so when you brew your Joe with mostly Robusta coffee beans, your caffeine content will be MUCH higher, regardless of whether you’re making coffee or espresso. The bottom line? Espresso can be slightly higher in caffeine content if you do a double shot, but otherwise, it runs pretty neck in neck with a regular cup of coffee.

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Tags: Arabica, Caffeine, Coffee, coffee beans, double shot, Espresso, percolate, raosting, Robusta