Home caffeine testing?

[Steve Freides]

Hi - after reading about the wide variability in caffeine content of
various beverages, I wondered if it was possible to test such a thing
at home. I'm frankly just curious - no real need for this
information.

In the interest of completeness, we have a Gaggia Synchrony automated
espresso machine, and we usually use Barrington's Gold espresso blend,
bought as roasted, whole beans and ground in the machine.

Thanks in advance.

-S-

[JimG]

Hi, Steve -

Welcome to ACM.

I don't know the answer either, but it would be very nice to have at
least a rough idea of the amount of caffeine in different beans at
different roast levels.

Jim

[Dee Randall]

Regarding how much caffeine in a shot - yesterday at a yearly physical I was
telling the clinical doctor that I drank 2 oz. of espresso in a.m., and 1
oz. in the afternoon. I told her that there wasn't as much caffeine in an
espresso as in regular coffee, but I wasn't waiting for her to ask me the
different amounts, as I believe she said ex-presso.

Tell me, is there caffeine in an unroasted bean?

Dee Dovey

[Marcio Carneiro]

I like the short articles at Rivera's Coffee Chemistry and the fact
that he points some references: http://coffeechemistry.com/

Just about caffeine:
http://coffeechemistry.com/index.php/Table/Chemistry/Caffeine/

Márcio.

[ba...@coffeeprojects.com]

> Regarding how much caffeine in a shot - yesterday at a yearly physical I
> was
> telling the clinical doctor that I drank 2 oz. of espresso in a.m., and 1
> oz. in the afternoon. I told her that there wasn't as much caffeine in an
> espresso as in regular coffee, but I wasn't waiting for her to ask me the
> different amounts, as I believe she said ex-presso.
>
> Tell me, is there caffeine in an unroasted bean?
>

Yes, there is caffeine in unroasted coffee. Caffeine is an insecticide.
As to the amount in a shot of espresso, it is very hard to get too
specific w/o analysis, as it depends upon many variables (dose, grind,
water volume & temp, bean, roast level, etc).

[Dee Randall]

Thanks so much for the information re it being an insecticide.
Spouse uses espresso pucks in the garden. I hope that he is not
degenerating the soil.

Dee

[Steve]

Caffeine does not break down, eventually enriching soil caffeine
concentrations to a point where they become toxic to the (parent)
plant. This is one reason that the productivity of coffee plantations
tends to wane with time.

[Kona]

Well, as coffee farmer in Kona, Hawaii, I beg to differ. Many of our
trees are over 125 years old and producing vigorously and good coffee.

It may have slight insecticidal qualities but there are insects that
have even overcome that such as the Coffee Twig Borer, Coffee Berry
borer, green scale etc- so it can't be that deadly.

Productivity certainly does not diminish due to caffeine. Why would
Mother Nature even think of doing that?

The highest amount of caffeine is indeed in green coffee.

aloha,
Cea

> > > water volume & temp, bean, roast level, etc).- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[ba...@coffeeprojects.com]

> It may have slight insecticidal qualities but there are insects that
> have even overcome that such as the Coffee Twig Borer, Coffee Berry
> borer, green scale etc- so it can't be that deadly.

Yes, there certainly are a few insects which have developed an immunity,
but overall, caffeine appears to be quite effective at keeping bugs
uninterested in coffee (green or roasted). Nicotine serves the same role
in tobacco.

[Steve Freides]

On Nov 16, 3:58 pm, JimG <pidk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi, Steve -
>
> Welcome to ACM.

Thanks - a whole lot quieter here than on the open newsgroup.

> I don't know the answer either, but it would be very nice to have at
> least a rough idea of the amount of caffeine in different beans at
> different roast levels.

Yes, that's why I asked. The most recent thing I read said that,
ounce for ounce, espresso had _more_ caffeine than regular coffee, but
that because the comparison was to a smaller volume of espresso, the
total amount was considered less.

The above contradicts what I thought, which was that, ounce for ounce,
espresso had _less_ caffeine than coffee. That's why I thought it
would be nice to test what I actually drink (which, if anyone cares,
is about 3 double shots a day, generally early AM, lunch time, and 4
PM-ish).

As to caffeine and roasting, my understanding is that the darker the
roast, the more caffeine, although I could not tell you why. (This is
one of the reasons why I _hate_ Starbucks espresso - the stuff is
roasted to within an inch of its life, and feels like Jolt Cola
compared to what we make at our house, not to mention the fact that it
tastes like fireplace ashes mixed with hot water.)

I ramble so I'll stop - if anyone is aware of what's involved in
testing caffeine content, I'd love to know.

-S-

[ba...@coffeeprojects.com]

> On Nov 16, 3:58�pm, JimG <pidk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> As to caffeine and roasting, my understanding is that the darker the
> roast, the more caffeine, although I could not tell you why.

This depends upon how you measure the coffee. Bean for bean, dark roast
has less caffeine than light because of sublimation during roasting.
Pound for pound, however, dark roast has more caffeine because a greater
mass of water is evolved during roasting, hence the relative mass of
caffeine per mass of bean is greater in dark roast. As for espresso, in
which the grounds are often dosed by volume, then the caffeine content
depends upon the density of the beans (with dark roast being less dense)
and the grind (with dark roast sometimes requiring coarser grind). So,
caffeine content of espresso really a wild guess w/o quantitative
analysis.

[North Sullivan]

Coffee grounds are widely used as compost. I have done so with
grounds from the shop for many years, and our vegetable garden
has flourished.

http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/soil/2002015354019975.html

This does not address the caffeine issue but is just another data point.

North Sullivan

[Dee Randall]

Thanks for your good advise, North. Much appreciated.
Dee

----- Original Message -----
From: "North Sullivan" <northls...@gmail.com>
To: <alt-coffee...@googlegroups.com>

[Steve]

I wouldn't argue with one as successful as you are, Cea, but this came
up in a garden group I read and FWIW, these are the links cited:
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/2865/title/Food_for_Thought__Slugging_It_Out_with_Caffeine
Note they specifically cite Hawaii tests.
And
http://www.jarts.info/index.php/jarts/article/download/75/68

I've got no dog in this fight, and I respect your wisdom and
experience Cea. But we stopped using grounds in our compost...

[JimG]

On Nov 16, 9:49 pm, ba...@coffeeprojects.com wrote:
>
> This depends upon how you measure the coffee.  Bean for bean, dark roast
> has less caffeine than light because of sublimation during roasting.
> Pound for pound, however, dark roast has more caffeine because a greater
> mass of water is evolved during roasting, hence the relative mass of
> caffeine per mass of bean is greater in dark roast.  As for espresso, in
> which the grounds are often dosed by volume, then the caffeine content
> depends upon the density of the beans (with dark roast being less dense)
> and the grind (with dark roast sometimes requiring coarser grind).  So,
> caffeine content of espresso really a wild guess w/o quantitative
> analysis.

So if I dose by weight (I do), then shots made with darker roasts will
contain more caffeine?

Jim

[sprsso]

[Barry Jarrett]

Yep, although it won't be a huge difference.

[Mah G]

http://www.caffeinecop.com/html/buy.html 

https://twitter.com/Caffeindicator 

https://sites.google.com/site/yoonkyoungcho/

https://www.yahoo.com/food/anyone-whos-ever-gotten-a-cup-of-caffeinated-95303223821.html 

[Steve Freides]

Thank you for these links.

On Fri, Jul 3, 2015 at 9:22 AM, Mah G <mahd...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> http://www.caffeinecop.com/html/buy.html

The above seems only interested in verifying that my decaf is, in
fact, decaf, which isn't my concern. I would like to test short,
medium, and long shots from my espresso machine and compare them to
French Press, all made with the same home-roasted coffee. We're all
curious as to which way has the most and the least caffeine.


> https://twitter.com/Caffeindicator

This was says nothing unless I sign up to follow, which I don't wish to do.


> https://sites.google.com/site/yoonkyoungcho/

I cannot find a caffeine tester above.


> https://www.yahoo.com/food/anyone-whos-ever-gotten-a-cup-of-caffeinated-95303223821.html

Also seems to be about avoiding caffeine. I _like_ caffeine.

Thanks.

-S-

> On Tuesday, November 16, 2010 at 5:42:14 PM UTC+3:30, Steve Freides wrote:
>>
>> Hi - after reading about the wide variability in caffeine content of
>> various beverages, I wondered if it was possible to test such a thing
>> at home. I'm frankly just curious - no real need for this
>> information.
>>
>> In the interest of completeness, we have a Gaggia Synchrony automated
>> espresso machine, and we usually use Barrington's Gold espresso blend,
>> bought as roasted, whole beans and ground in the machine.
>>
>> Thanks in advance.
>>
>> -S-
>

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[Mah G]

AccuSign Caffeine Strip Test for Caffeine in Drinks
http://www.pbmc.com/products/catalog.shtm
if you were able to buy from them i will buy it from you

On Tuesday, November 16, 2010 at 5:42:14 PM UTC+3:30, Steve Freides wrote:

[Marcio Carneiro]

Probably this test just show if there is caffeine, no quantification.

Regards,

Marcio.

--