How Much Caffeine is in Coffee?

Which Coffee Has the Most Amount of Caffeine?

By 03/21/2016Coffee cademy, Tasting

Many people drink coffee for its caffeine content, but how much caffeine is actually in coffee? The amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee actually varies widely. Here’s a look at just how much caffeine is in your cup of coffee.

Caffeine Levels in Coffee Depend on Species and Brew Method

The amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee depends primarily on the species of coffee, which is either coffea arabica or coffea robusta, and brew method. Surprisingly, caffeine content doesn’t depend on roast level.

In general, coffea robusta has about twice as much caffeine as coffea arabica.  Arabica, however, tastes more than twice as good as robusta.  Virtually all specialty coffee, including all the coffees we offer, are arabicas.

For the purposes of caffeine content, brew methods can be simplified into three: espresso, brewed coffee and cold-brewed coffee. While there are many ways to make brewed coffee, including with a manual pour-over, automatic coffee maker or French press, the caffeine content between these varies little.

Specific Caffeine Levels in Different Cups of Coffee

Here’s a more specific look at how much caffeine is in various coffee:

Coffee Caffeine
Decaf (any brew method, either species) 0 – 15 milligrams
Espresso (1 shot, arabica) 70 milligrams
Brewed Coffee (6-ounce cup, arabica) 100 milligrams
Espresso (1 shot, robusta) 140 milligrams
Brewed Coffee (6-ounce cup, robusta) 200 milligrams
Cold-Brewed (either species) varies, but a lot

Although the specific caffeine levels vary, cold-brewed coffee has more caffeine than any other way of making coffee. In fact, cold-brewed arabica coffee can rival the caffeine levels of robusta espresso and brewed coffee. The higher caffeine content comes from steeping the grounds for an extended period of time (our recipe calls for 12 hours of immersion). Because of the extremely high caffeine content, cold-brewed coffee is usually used as a concentrate.

Pick the Coffee You Like

Even though many people need the pick-me-up that coffee provides, we often recommend selecting a coffee for its flavor rather than caffeine content. Unless you need to avoid caffeine for a medical reason, simply find a coffee that you like and drink that. Adjust how much you drink to match how much caffeine you want to consume. (The Mayo Clinic recommends a maximum of 400 milligrams of caffeine per day for healthy adults.

Try Our Sample Pack of Arabica Coffee

When selecting a coffee for its flavor, you’re going to choose an arabica coffee. To see just how good they taste, order our sample pack. You’ll get four freshly roasted arabica coffees to try.

Author Scott

Scott is a professional writer for Driftaway Coffee. He worked as a barista for eight years, but today prefers to enjoy his beverages from the other side of the counter. When not drinking Driftaway Coffee, Scott usually has a mug of his own roasted coffee nearby.

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