Dear readers and experts alike,

Due to cutbacks i am faced with 10-15ml of espresso per day; can anyone explain to me if I pack a single normally and draw for 15 sec. ristretto, what is the caffeine content of the arabica in general.

Health and $ is driving this.

Thanks,

I hate decaf

John

There's a thread listed in the related topics that seems pretty relevant to your question,
Caffeine content of espresso. I wonder if you could use those caffeine test strips like D+caf™ Test Strips which will let you know if coffee exceeds a certain threshold, above 20 mg caffeine per 6 oz. serving, combined with diluting your shot to a certain volume to determine the caffeine level. I would think that diluting your shot to an 18 ounce volume would tell you if your caffeine level exceeds 60 mg per shot. You could vary the dilution to bracket the caffeine level. It's $2 per strip, though, so you might just want to go with the aforementioned thread that mentioned (among other things) "The USDA value for Espresso coffee is 64 mg caffeine per fluid ounce." The thread also mentioned lowering the extraction temp.

I also seem to remember a post talking about a large percentage of caffeine is extracted early in the shot so pulling the shot with the first part going into the drip tray may be a way to reduce the caffeine, but I'm unable to find that reference and this thread suggests the opposite is true so cutting the shot early may help. This Page (http://www.intracen.org) suggests the former idea that "caffeine extraction is not straight but is an exponential regression, meaning it starts with a fast release and then the release slows down dramatically" and credits Illy and Viani's 'Espresso Coffee - The Chemistry of Quality' for this information and this page (http://www.edinformatics.com) has a lot of information about caffeine that estimates 40 mg for a single, 30 ml shot and has this interesting table (and the obligatory picture of a spider's web under the influence):

Caffeine equivalents
In general, each of the following contains approximately 200 milligrams of caffeine:

* One 200 milligram caffeine pill
* One and one quarter 16 fluid ounce cans of Monster Energy (590 millilitres)
* One and a half pounds of milk chocolate (680 grams)
* Two 8 fluid ounce containers of regular coffee (470 millilitres)
* Two and a half 10 oz. bottles of Bawls caffeinated drink (740 millilitres)
* Three 8 fluid ounce cups of Red Bull energy drink (710 millilitres)
* Four 8 fluid ounce cups of Vault energy drink (1.0 litre)
* Five 1 fluid ounce shots of espresso from robusta beans (150 millilitres)
* Five 12 fluid ounce cans of typical soda pop (1.8 litres) (variable)
* Eight and a half 8 fluid ounce cups of Coca-Cola Classic (2.0 litres)
* Ten 8 fluid ounce cups of green tea (2.4 litres)
* Fifty 8 fluid ounce cups of decaffeinated coffee (12 litres)

Hi John,

I saw that you hate decaf, and I don't have any personal experience but I've noticed a few top roasters with well reviewed decaf espresso (Paradise Roasters has one) I've read that part of the problem with decaf is roasters start with lesser beans, these are roasters who put quality first.

I have no experience but just in case you haven't tried decaf from these folks, it might be worth a shot or maybe search here to see if anyone has had a good decaf experience (?)

Good luck,
Phil

Dear readers and experts alike,

Thanks for the kind replies.

I do not want to use Decaf due to health issues by the chemical process, if it's even really and issue; I roast green and the green is chem decaf not swiss water.

I am going to make it less than 15ml or about 10ml shots off a regular single, a very ristretto.

That with 1 cup of steam skim should give me the flavor and hopefully very little caf.

I am contemplating retiring it after my next Dr. Blood work...if it's still an issue.

John

Best of luck, John.

The decaf that I roast is water process from Sweet Marias. My In-Law's love it for perc pot, I picked up a pound of Donkey decaf espresso blend for myself for night shots, but haven't roasted any up yet.

I'm able to roast a full pound of decaf in my Behmor for the In-Laws which makes it easy, I normally roast 10 - 13 oz. The decaf roasts quicker and has no real chaff to worry about.

Caffeine is the main limiting factor in how much espresso I drink, I don't mind the pick me up once in a while, but I don't like too much. I've never officialy measured the caffeine content of different beans, but I've noticed a very wide range in terms of how much it feels like I'm getting, with some beans feeling like they have 2 or 3 times the content of what I'm used to (and others with 1/2). The last one that stands out was a bag of Flossies from Caffe Fresco which had quite a bit more kick then the other beans I ordered at the same time.

I've even found decaf to vary a lot. There was a time when I assumed the caffeine in decaf was close enough to 0 to ignore, but after going through 1/2 a bag of Black Cat decaf trying to get it right (I've never had a lot of luck with decaf) I realized I'd gotten quite a dose just taking tasting sips throught the day when I couldn't get to sleep that night.

I'd trust your gut (or brain or heart) in terms of how much caffeine you're getting.

I am having good results with roasting CO2 processed decaff greens. No solvents involved, and a superior result to swiss water in my opinion.

Dear experts and readers alike,

Ah, maybe Swiss water process and/or CO2 decaf Green.

I know this sounds absolutely insane, but I measured the 10ml and it's about 1 teaspoon of espresso to 1/2 to 1 cup of steamed skim milk.

Seems ok. As I said if the side effects and Dr. issues rear their head; I may give it up altogether.

So far a 10ml very ristretto is very pleasant and no side effects or caffeine High I can tell..

Thank you again,
John