CoffeeForums Coffee Facts

Q: Does Espresso really have more caffeine than normal coffee? I've heard that it is just a myth....can you fill me in?

A: It's a concentrated coffee like the Turkish or the Arabic, very strong. It is usually served in a small cup and not more then one inch high. It has greater flavor and is recommended for 'tiramisu cake'. A single Espresso is one "shot" or draw from the coffee blend. Most coffee shops, to make a regular filter coffee, will just top this up with hot water. So...same caffiene if you finish the cup..., just less water!An Espresso cup has about as much caffeine as a cup of strong coffee, 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 in research articles, but found no scientific studies supporting it. Anybody out there?). Here's the caffeine content of Drip/Espresso/Brewed Coffee: Espresso is just a really strong coffee, it's not diluted with water, so it does have more caffeine if you are comparing it to an equal sized cup of coffee.