Do you Know your Coffee – Caffeine Content of Different Types of Coffee?
Coffee is definitely one of the popular beverages consumed in everyday life. It is probably the caffeine residing in the coffee beans that account for its widespread consumption. But not every cup of coffee has the same content.
In fact, the concentration of caffeine varies depending upon a range of factors. It could be the brand, the quantity and the type that forms up the caffeine content. On average, a single cup of coffee has 95mg of caffeine, yet as mentioned above, it is not the final figure and varies dramatically.
Factors On Which The Coffee Content Depends
Coffee Beans
There isn’t a single type of coffee bean, instead, there are a diverse variety of beans and these naturally have different concentration of caffeine. Further, the coffee beans that are lightly roasted have greater amounts of caffeine as compared to the darker ones.
Coffee Type
Another factor that suppresses the content of caffeine is the type of coffee. Light or dark, cold or brewed, instant or decaf, the content largely depends on the type of coffee made.
Serving
This is something that is definitely obvious. The more the coffee content, the higher would be the amount of caffeine consumed.
Knowing Your Cup Of Coffee
Though you cannot do much about the coffee beans, you can very well determine the quantity of caffeine in your cup of coffee.
Brewed Coffee
One of the most popular forms of coffee consumed across the globe, brewed coffee is one where you pour hot water on ground coffee extracts, stored in a filter.
Caffeine Content: A standard sized cup of brewed coffee sums to 8 oz. This cup has near about 70–140 mg of caffeine. Put simply, the cup has 95 mg of caffeine on average
Espresso
When you force a jet of hot water or steam over the coarsely ground coffee beans, the coffee made is Espresso. Delicate in texture and smooth in taste, Espresso is yet another favorite drink of people worldwide. Even though the servings per coffee of espresso is small, the amount of caffeine in the same quantity is more.
Caffeine Content: A single short of the espresso is around about 30–50 ml or say 1–1.75 oz. This volume of coffee has in all 63 mg of caffeine. If you double the shot of espresso, the amount of caffeine would be somewhere around 125mg.
Espresso-Based Drinks
While the above two were made of water, there are few types that are made blending espresso shots with different amounts of milk. The varieties include lattes, Americanos, cappuccinos, and macchiatos. One thing to note here is that these drinks are an extension of expresso with the only difference being the addition of milk. Hence, the caffeine content would be the same as that of straight expresso.
Caffeine Content: Similar to expression, a single shot of espresso has around 63 mg of caffeine whereas a double shot or a large cup has 125 mg.
Instant Coffee
Another of the kind is an instant coffee. This coffee is made from the cold-stored brewed coffee. The same could have been either spray-dried or freeze-dried and can be easily dissolved in water.
The only thing you need to do is take a spoonful of the dried coffee and mix it with hot water. Blend the mixture and you have delicious coffee ready.
Caffeine Content: Probably one with the minimum amount of caffeine. A single cup of instant coffee has nearly 30–90 mg of caffeine.
Decaf Coffee
The last type of coffee is decaf coffee. While the name gives an idea that the coffee is caffeine-free, in reality, these do have a certain concentration of caffeine.
Caffeine Content: A single cup of decaf coffee has around 0–7 mg of caffeine where an average cup consists of 3 mg of caffeine. In case, you switch between varieties and concentration, the amount of caffeine may vary dramatically.
Conclusion
It is pretty obvious that there isn’t any consensus on the amount of caffeine in coffee and varies on a lot of factors. The volume consumed by you is determined by the type and volume of coffee consumed.
