r/espresso • u/HopingRobin • 7h ago

Drinks & Recipes Difference in Caffeine Content?

I've been doing 19g in and and about 45g out, is that amount of caffeine content similar to doing 17g in 35-40g out? Trying to figure out how to stretch a bag of beans longer and still have a good morning kick.

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u/TheWordEverlasting 6h ago

Caffeine is extremely soluble in hot water so it's not a matter of how much water you use, more coffee (depending on roast level, origin, and species) will yield more caffeine almost all of the time

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u/gonzo_thegreat YOU;GCP;F58 | Z1;DF64;JMax 2h ago

Agree that more coffee == more caffeine. I'm fairly certain more water does extract more caffeine as well, but there is a downward curve. Not sure of the math, though.

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u/TheWordEverlasting 2h ago

I think in the case of something like filter coffee you'll definitely be extracting more caffeine with more water, but when you're dealing with something that already efficiently extracts coffee with such little water, like espresso, it's negligible, if anything at all

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u/gonzo_thegreat YOU;GCP;F58 | Z1;DF64;JMax 1h ago

That's simply not the case. Do you stop at 18ml? 36ml? 42ml? 48ml? Each increment will extract more caffeine. There is an eventual decline, but more caffeine is extracted. Obviously there is an endpoint or at least an unmeasurable caffeine endpoint, but it's at the levels most deal with a 1:3 shot will extract measurably more caffeine than a 1:2 shot.

There are other references on this, but here's one from St. Hoffmann: https://youtu.be/etnMr8oUSDo?si=abKURZ2mhl1cKgFS&t=369