Caffeine content in coffee as influenced by grinding and brewing techniques

The caffeine content of coffee as influenced by various coffee preparation methods was investigated. The variables studied included the coffee solids to water volume ratio, the volume of coffee prepared, home versus store grinding, and drip/filtered versus boiling. Caffeine contents per 177 ml (6 oz) of coffee ranged from 50 to 143 mg, depending upon the mode of preparation. As expected, more coffee solids and larger extents of grinding led to significantly higher caffeine contents in filtered coffee. Larger volumes of coffee prepared at a constant coffee solids to water ratio also yielded significantly higher caffeine contents. Home-grinding yielded caffeine contents similar to that of store-ground coffee. Boiled coffee had caffeine contents equal to or greater than filtered coffee, depending upon the length of boiling time. The variable caffeine contents in coffee resulting from the mode of preparation should be recognized and addressed by both food composition data bases and epidemiologists. (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology.