DEBUNKING THE MYTH OF CAFFEINE CONTENT

The common assumption when it comes to brewed coffee and espresso is that espresso has more caffeine content than a cup of coffee. However, that may not be the case.

As we look closer, it is a tough assumption to debunk because of how many different factors are associated with the amount of caffeine that is extracted from the coffee bean into the cup.

There is no exact answer to the amount of caffeine in a beverage. Factors such as coffee type, grind size, brew time, water temperature, and roast level all play a part in extracting caffeine from the bean. However, we are able to look at averages based on prior research that has been done.

The Department of Agriculture states that there is 63mg of caffeine in 1 ounce of espresso, and 12-16mg of caffeine in 1 ounce of drip coffee. The National Coffee Association found that on average, there are 40mg of caffeine in 1 ounce of espresso, and 11.6mg of caffeine in 1 ounce of drip coffee.

As we can see, there is a range of data that concludes how much caffeine is in an ounce of espresso or drip coffee. However, what the numbers don’t disagree on is that there is more caffeine in a serving of drip coffee than there is in a serving of espresso.

A cup of drip coffee is never served as 1 ounce. In fact, a typical cup of coffee is 8 ounces, which would mean in 1 serving of drip coffee, you could be consuming anywhere from 88mg to 128mg of caffeine. Compared to a serving of espresso, which is served in much lower quantities (1 or 2 ounces), one could consume 58mg to 80mg of caffeine depending on how many shots you take in your drink.

The answer comes down to dosage! When consuming an espresso-based drink, you are consuming less caffeine than you would be when drinking a cup of drip coffee. Even though espresso does have more caffeine content per ounce than drip coffee contains, while calculating serving size, drip coffee actually contains more caffeine than espresso.

So, if you are looking to cut down your caffeine intake, you may want to consider a cappuccino or latte versus a medium or large drip next time you come into the coffeehouse!

https://www.consumerreports.org/coffee/is-there-more-caffeine-in-espresso-than-in-coffee/
https://nationalcoffeeblog.org/2016/02/12/how-much-caffeine-is-in-my-coffee/