While we may not always want to admit it, caffeine plays a gigantic role in why many of us reach for coffee. (It’s also why decaf drinkers have the purest form of coffee love; they do it purely for the taste, not the kick.) We love the taste, sure, but our long morning coffee rituals aren’t just for the taste. We want a little boost. But how much energy (read: caffeine) is in that cup? That depends on the roast and brewing method.
In a fresh study conducted by The Marzoco‘S Espresso Coffee Academy (AdCE) are investigating how these two factors affect the caffeine content of coffee, and the results are truly astonishing.
For research conducted in cooperation with CDR CoffeeLabAdCE took one coffee—a naturally processed Yellow Catuai from Brazil—roasted it at three different levels and brewed it using five different methods: espresso, v60, French press, moka, and Toddy frigid brew (both as concentrate and ready-to-drink), creating a total of 18 different beverages. The beverages were then analyzed for their overall caffeine content.
Their findings were twofold. First, shadowy roast coffee had more caffeine by weight than medium or featherlight roast. Contrary to popular belief, this is not due to the roasting process in which the caffeine was added. The overall levels remain the same, but as the degree of roast increases, the moisture level drops, and with it the total weight of the coffee. In brief, it takes more green coffee to make 100g of shadowy roast coffee than 100g of featherlight roast. And because caffeine is not lost in the roasting process, shadowy roast coffee has higher levels by weight.
So what role does brewing method play in all this? According to the study, caffeine content varies significantly by brewing method. While shadowy roast versions of each method tended to have more caffeine than their featherlight and medium roast counterparts, the biggest variance came from the brewers. For example, espresso contained between 120mg and 174mg of caffeine per 30ml serving. That’s more than six times more than the caffeine content of v60, which ranged from 20mg to 35mg, depending on roast level.
The results show that some methods are more effective at extracting caffeine than others, according to the researchers. While it’s true that shadowy roast coffee has higher levels of available caffeine by weight, it’s ultimately up to the brewer to extract it. When it comes to maximum extraction efficiency, the Moka is the clear winner, “thanks to its water temperature above 90°C and extraction time.”
So if caffeine is the name of the game for you, shadowy roast espresso is your jam. Or you just drink whatever you like, knowing that the caffeine will be there for you. And if your favorite drink doesn’t have enough caffeine, good news! You can just have another cup.
