I admit, one of the core reasons I like coffee is that it wakes me up! Sometimes it happens that after drinking coffee for just over an hour, I get sleepy again and have to brew another cup of coffee.
Why is that? Could it be the "fake coffee"?
Today we will discuss how the different bean varieties and brewing methods can bring different "refreshing effects"?
Effect of Bean Types on Caffeine Content
Caffeine is found in many foods, but the most popular is coffee beans.
Among them are Arabica and Robusta, and I'm sure you've tasted coffee drinks made from these two beans.
What is the difference?
- Arabica beans are of higher quality and are known for their sweetness and fruity flavor.
- Robusta beans are the highest in caffeine, with twice the caffeine content of Arabica beans.
If you are looking for a cup of coffee with the highest caffeine content, consider a cup of coffee from Robusta beans.
If you are looking for a moderately caffeinated and higher-quality cup of coffee, consider a coffee from Arabica beans.
Bean Varieties | Caffeine content (per bean) | Caffeine content (per 100g) |
Caffeine content (per ounce) |
Arabica | 1.9 mg | 1.2-1.5 grams | 340-430 mg |
Robusta | 2.9 mg | 2.2-2.7g | 630-770 mg |
Caffeine Content Differs By Brewing Method
To verify my initial confusion. I tried to do a test in two days. Make a latte on the morning of the first day and a French press coffee (same volume of coffee) on the second morning to see how my mental state is. Of course, I can't promise that the same thing happened on both days, but I tried to make sure there wasn't too much difference.
As a result, it was clear that with the same coffee beans, I was in a higher state of mind and better able to achieve my desired state of mind with a French press pot of coffee than with a latte.
We can know that different brewing methods will get different amounts of caffeine.
The caffeine will change depending on the time and temperature of the brew.
We are currently familiar with brewing methods such as espresso, filter drip coffee, French press, cold brew, pour-over coffee, AeroPress, Moka pot, etc. Some may wonder: espresso machines make the highest espresso caffeine obviously. Yes, that's right. The fact that espresso has the highest caffeine content per ounce is closely related to the way it is made - high-pressure extraction, a small volume of espresso made from a large amount of ground coffee.
So, when we discuss which brewing method has higher caffeine content, we must unify under the volume of each cup of coffee and then discuss it, so that the result may be the one we want to know.
To better show you, please refer to the following table:
Brewing Method | Caffeine content per 8 ounces (for one cup of coffee) |
Espresso | 47-75mg (per 1 oz. Shot) |
French Press | 80-107 mg |
Drip Coffee | 95-165 mg |
Pour Over Coffee | 175 mg |
Cold Brew | 102-159 mg |
AeroPress | 80-100 mg |
The results are already calling out, pour-over coffee has the highest caffeine content ever! Not espresso as we thought.
Caffeine Content Differs By Grinding Size
We can go a little deeper into why the outcome is pour-over coffee has the highest caffeine content.
If you prefer to buy the coffee powder directly, the beans on the buying guide will inform you what the grind size is for this packet. Or when you use a bean grinder, you will be informed of the grind size of the beans.
This is because, with different grind sizes, we will get different flavors of coffee. Also, with the same brewing method, the coffee with different grinds will contain different caffeine. The finer the grind, the more caffeine we will be able to extract.
For example, when we say French press coffee, we use a sea salt-like coffee powder. If we grind the coffee powder more finely, such as fine salt-like, then this side of the French press coffee will lose the flavor drink freshness, in exchange for a bitter-tasting coffee.
Therefore, when we talk about caffeine, under the use of standard brewing methods, uniform cup capacity and then test the caffeine. The result is the most objective.
To learn more about the different coffee brewing appliances, click us to learn more!