Whenever you talk about caffeine in coffee, a discussion between very different positions develops: there are always those who claim that a cup of espresso contains more caffeine than the same amount of mocha coffee, and then there are those who say the opposite claiming and thinking that an americano is the lightest in terms of amount of caffeine and so on.
The existence of such conflicting opinions gives the impression that there are no universal answers. However, surprise, there does exist a ranking that ranks coffees based on average caffeine levels, and we’re here to illustrate it.
Before you find out if it’s true that espresso has more caffeine than mocha because it’s more flavorful — or if it’s true that caffè americano has less caffeine than any other, we need to take a step back and talk about coffee types.
1. Different coffee, different caffeine content
Let’s talk about types of coffee, because depending on the type of coffee (Arabica or Robusta), the caffeine content changes.
In fact, Robusta coffee contains twice to three times the amount of caffeine compared to Arabica coffee.
Another aspect that influences not only the ultimate taste of coffee (we talked about the importance of coffee roasting), but also the amount of caffeine in it, is the roast.
The more intensely the coffee is roasted, the darker the beans become and the caffeine content decreases, quite the opposite of what usually comes to mind with a very dark coffee.
Last but not least, the degree of grinding of the coffee used is crucial.
The degree of grinding has an effect on the amount of caffeine, since water penetrates with greater or lesser difficulty depending on the fineness of the coffee powder, resulting in a more or less strong concentration of caffeine in the drink.
2. How much caffeine is there in a cup of espresso compared to a cup of mocha coffee and the same amount of caffè americano?
The way the drink is prepared also affects the caffeine content.
Two cups of coffee, one prepared with the mocha machine and the other with the espresso machine, differ in their caffeine content by 20 to 90 mg.
A cup of mocha coffee contains around 100 to 150 mg of caffeine. In comparison, there are only 60 to 80 mg in a cup of espresso.
And the coffee americano? A cup of about 250 ml of Caffè Americano has practically the same caffeine content as a cup of mocha coffee.
In short, it is wrong to assume that espresso coffee contains more caffeine than mocha coffee – as far as the Americano is concerned, it is certainly the least caffeinated for the same cup size.
However, when the classic glass or coffee pot is used, things change because, by cup size, American coffee ranks alongside mocha coffee at the top of the caffeine content rankings!
