Why does espresso give more of a buzz than drip coffee?

[Katy K. Skinner]

I read that strong drip coffee is supposed to have more caffeine than
espresso. But my own morning drip coffee doesn't "inspire" me to move
like the double shot of espresso from the coffee stand. And the
"motivation" from the double lasts a long time. Can anyone direct me
to a good discussion on caffeine amounts in different drinks? Or just
plain old interesting discussions on caffeine? Thanks, "pot"heads. :)

-Katy

[Jack Denver]

It's all in your head - a shot of espresso has about the same amount of
caffeine as a cup of coffee, maybe a bit less because the grounds remain in
contact with water too briefly to fully dissolve all the caffeine.

Here is a link:

http://www.lucidcafe.com/cafeforum/cafstudy.html

Post by Katy K. Skinner
I read that strong drip coffee is supposed to have more caffeine than
espresso. But my own morning drip coffee doesn't "inspire" me to move
like the double shot of espresso from the coffee stand. And the
"motivation" from the double lasts a long time. Can anyone direct me
to a good discussion on caffeine amounts in different drinks? Or just
plain old interesting discussions on caffeine? Thanks, "pot"heads. :)
-Katy

[cpl593h]

A shot of espresso has about half the caffeine of your drip coffee.
However, the concentration of espresso is much higher than that of drip
so you absorb the caffeine differently.

[Katy K. Skinner]

I would be open to the "it's all in my head" theory except for I'm not
that kind of person. If anything, it'd be the other way around: I've
expected that the drip coffee would make me more wired, and have
expected that the double mocha would make me less wired. But my hands
get shakey whenever I get a double mocha and they never do with my home
coffee. It could be I just make my home coffee more weak.

--Katy

[Dan Bollinger]

Post by Katy K. Skinner
I would be open to the "it's all in my head" theory except for I'm not
that kind of person. If anything, it'd be the other way around: I've
expected that the drip coffee would make me more wired, and have
expected that the double mocha would make me less wired. But my hands
get shakey whenever I get a double mocha and they never do with my home
coffee. It could be I just make my home coffee more weak.

LOL! Everyone is biased, its da human thing to do. Mocha you say? There's
your answer. Not only the caffeine from coffee, but from the chocolate, too.
And, keep in mind that sugar is a blood delivery vehicle for chemicals, so it
goes into your bloodstream faster.

Could it also be that you drink arabica at home but your coffee shop is using
espresso blend with lots of robusta (most do)?

Sounds like a number of factors at work. Dan

[D. Ross]

| I read that strong drip coffee is supposed to have more caffeine than
| espresso. But my own morning drip coffee doesn't "inspire" me to move
| like the double shot of espresso from the coffee stand. And the
| "motivation" from the double lasts a long time. Can anyone direct me
| to a good discussion on caffeine amounts in different drinks?

The caffeine content of a regular cup of coffee depends somewhat on the
strength, but - caffeine content tables like

http://coffeetea.about.com/library/blcaffeine.htm

aside - in generaly you can get some idea just by thinking about how much
ground coffee you use. Standard drip will use 14 grams of coffee for
anywhere from 4 to 8 ounces of liquid, depending on strength, the same as a
double espresso, so a 10oz mug of brewed coffee will have anywhere from 25%
more caffeine to 2.5 times as much. (This doesn't count the caffeine
content of the beans used, and the fact that the longer infusion time for
drip likely means more caffeine in the cup.)

The greater buzz from espresso is probably psychological. Doesn't make it
any less real, of course.

- David R.
--
Less information than you ever thought possible:
http://www.demitasse.net

[M&DGriffith]

All of this accounts for why I sometimes feel the need to throw a double
shot of espresso in my drip coffee....

Post by D. Ross
| I read that strong drip coffee is supposed to have more caffeine than
| espresso. But my own morning drip coffee doesn't "inspire" me to move
| like the double shot of espresso from the coffee stand. And the
| "motivation" from the double lasts a long time. Can anyone direct me
| to a good discussion on caffeine amounts in different drinks?
The caffeine content of a regular cup of coffee depends somewhat on the
strength, but - caffeine content tables like
http://coffeetea.about.com/library/blcaffeine.htm
aside - in generaly you can get some idea just by thinking about how much
ground coffee you use. Standard drip will use 14 grams of coffee for
anywhere from 4 to 8 ounces of liquid, depending on strength, the same as a
double espresso, so a 10oz mug of brewed coffee will have anywhere from 25%
more caffeine to 2.5 times as much. (This doesn't count the caffeine
content of the beans used, and the fact that the longer infusion time for
drip likely means more caffeine in the cup.)
The greater buzz from espresso is probably psychological. Doesn't make it
any less real, of course.
- David R.
--
http://www.demitasse.net

[Roberta]

Post by Katy K. Skinner
I read that strong drip coffee is supposed to have more caffeine than
espresso. But my own morning drip coffee doesn't "inspire" me to move
like the double shot of espresso from the coffee stand. And the
"motivation" from the double lasts a long time. Can anyone direct me
to a good discussion on caffeine amounts in different drinks? Or just
plain old interesting discussions on caffeine? Thanks, "pot"heads. :)
-Katy

I may be completely wrong (wouldn't be the first time) but my guess
would be comparing it to doing a shot of tequila as opposed to that same
shot in a margarita...

Roberta

[Dan Nathan]

Post by Katy K. Skinner
I read that strong drip coffee is supposed to have more caffeine than
espresso. But my own morning drip coffee doesn't "inspire" me to move
like the double shot of espresso from the coffee stand. And the
"motivation" from the double lasts a long time. Can anyone direct me
to a good discussion on caffeine amounts in different drinks? Or just
plain old interesting discussions on caffeine? Thanks, "pot"heads. :)
-Katy

National Geographic did caffeine to the nines a few months back
(http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0501/feature1/). They hit all the
bright spots on "...the world's most popular psychoactive drug." Do not
look for more in the excellent CoffeeFAQ (http://coffeefaq.com/index.html);
it address de-caffeine, not caffeine.

I never experienced a disquieting coffee jitter in my life until I had
back-to-back 2-cup) mokapot cafe-au-laits. (Or is that cafes-au-lait? Des
cafe-au-lait? Whatever - Freedom Coffees.) I felt like my heart and I were
racing to see who could get out of my skin first. I did not attribute this
to the coffee until I repeated the recipe a few days later. Terrible
feeling - never had it from a few double espressos or float-away quantities
of brewed coffee. I don't know what expert opinion is on mokapot/caffeine
yield but I'm thinking it's the best way to get a major caffeine jolt.

[katy]

Eek, that doesn't sound so fun, Dan! :(

-Katy