You love your coffee – but does it love you?

 Coffee – the drink of the gods since time immemorial. Actually, since the late 15th century. And evidence says it originated in Africa. So, all claims made by Italians, Peruvians, and others, well, no.

But being the first, one might argue, does not imply being the best.

And here the Italians may well have the edge. Their way of making espresso has spread around the world and today there is hardly a coffee joint without an espresso maker. Did you know that when making espresso, it is not water that comes into contact with the coffee beans, but steam? That is what makes the taste so distinctive. We are actually drinking a distilled beverage – coffee-based.

From the Italians’ espresso to the Americans – who were hard put to ingest the strong shots of caffeine – watered it down to make the well-known Americano.

But how do you know how much caffeine you are consuming?

Scientific research has brought to light the fact that several factors affect the amount of caffeine in a drink of coffee, and it is not just the size of the cup that determines how well your pick-me-upper will do the job.

But what affects the caffeine content in coffee?

The caffeine content of coffee depends on many factors, such as the type of coffee beans and the roasting. Interestingly, lighter roasts contain more caffeine than darker roasts, although the darker roasts have a deeper flavour.

Type of coffee: there are distinct differences between brewed coffee, espresso, instant coffee and decaf. It goes without saying that larger cups will likely have larger amounts of caffeine (if prepared in the same way). “One cup of coffee” can range anywhere from 30–700 ml and thus the caffeine content will be different.

A standard cup of brewed coffee contains around 95mg of caffeine, while an espresso-based drink would count around 63mg and a decaf coffee will grant you about 3mg of caffeine – yes, not nothing!

Caffeine can be found in energy drinks and even pain tablets. It is high in antioxidants and has other health benefits, too.

But, as we all know, too much caffeine can lead to anxiety, jitteriness, heart palpitations, and add to insomnia problems.

Individuals differ greatly when it comes to their response to caffeine, therefore a test should be done to determine your own sensitivity. For most people, six cups of coffee are the limit. But then remember that if you ingest other products containing caffeine, and also taurine and guarana which has effects similar to caffeine, you will be pushed over the limit.

In the meantime, enjoy that coffee to the fullest!