caffeine in espresso not constant? (Seattle, Starbuck: money, places, grocery)

[jenlion]

So here's a question for people who have been drinking coffee longer than I have.

I used to be a tea drinker but I've been converted to lattes. Much more effective when you have a couple of kids in the house.

But there's too much sugar in them to have a flavored one every day. So, I drink them plain. I like two shots in mine, so I usually get a double tall soy latte. (I love Seattle for having so many nondairy alternatives -- in TX it was milk or do-without. Not here!).

But here's the thing. When I get a double-tall-soy at Starbucks, I get wired. Plenty good to get me through the workday.

But sometimes I really don't want to get out of the car, so I go through a drive-through down the road. Their double-tall-soy tastes like crap (they use cheap soymilk), so I get a grande flavored one, which supposedly has two shots in it still. My assumption is that it has roughly the same caffeine -- two shots, right? But this one just does not seem to wake me up the same way. It's like there's no caffeine in it at all. Has zero effect.

Tully's doesn't taste as good as Starbucks (am I going to get kicked out of Seattle now?), and doesn't seem to have the same kick either, though it's not as a big a difference.

Is there really that huge a difference in the caffeine content among different places you can get a latte? I'm sorta new at this, since a year and a half ago I couldn't walk through the coffee section of the grocery store, I hated the smell so much. I'm converting, but not all there yet, and don't like straight-up-coffee. But I would have thought that a shot is roughly a shot. What's the deal?

[Ira500]

I think there are a couple of things going on:

Different beans have different levels of caffeine, and each espresso place uses a different blend of beans, and roasts to a different darkness. Starbucks roasts their beans pretty dark, and I think that may bring out more caffeine. I don't prefer a darker roast because you are tasting more of a "burnt coffee" taste rather than the subtler coffee flavors.
It sounds like you might like Peet's Coffee..they roast dark like Starbucks do.
Or better yet do what I do and start roasting your own. You'll save lots of money over the long haul, it's insanely fun, and you'll get a much better product.

[PhxNative09]

Actually, lighter roasts ("breakfast" blends) should have more caffeine than darker roasts. Darker blends just taste stronger. Starbucks over-roasts their beans to make the taste uniform (can't get all those beans from one place!). However, there are complex variables involved there which lead many to argue that a darker roast really does have more caffeine because the end result isn't an apples-to-apples comparison. Either way, it doesn't really matter to you; espresso is always a dark roast.

Part of the crappy taste of the drive-through might be that their shots are underextracted, so you may not be getting a full two shots' worth. They could also just be using poor quality beans.

There is a LOT of variability between beans and roasting methods, so you can definitely expect some difference in caffeine content between two different places.

I would guess, though, that your perceived difference is due to three factors: a) the stronger taste of the starbucks, b) you are drinking the starbucks drink faster, and c) you prefer the starbucks drink.

My suggestion: head on down to Portland, and try a place called Stumptown...

[Ira500]

My suggestion: head on down to Portland, and try a place called Stumptown...


Don't need to go to Portland for Stumptown. There's one not too far from Greenlake in Seattle, and it's really good.
Also, espresso isn't always a dark roast. There's a Northwest standard where almost all the espresso is dark, but in Italy it's much lighter, more like a medium. But what would they know about espresso in Italy?