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Black Coffee Espresso Caffeine Content Black Coffee Caffeine Content

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Black Coffee espresso caffeine content- 2 grams black coffee caffeine content Latte is the most familiar Italian coffee item for Chinese people. It is a flavored coffee made by adding an equal proportion or even more milk to the thick and rich Espresso. With the mellow seasoning of milk, the originally bitter coffee becomes smooth, sweet, delicious and rich. Even people who are not used to drinking coffee find it hard to resist the charming taste of latte

Understanding Black Coffee and Caffeine Content

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Black coffee refers to pure coffee without any additives such as sugar or milk. For example, pour-over coffee, Americano, and espresso, commonly found in the specialty coffee market, all belong to the category of black coffee. Among these, the most important question people consider is whether black coffee, being completely unadulterated, means it has a richer body and higher caffeine content. This is especially true for espresso, which has a small water proportion. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will answer the question of how much caffeine is in espresso and black coffee.

What is Caffeine?

First, everyone should understand what caffeine is. As is well known, caffeine has the effect of stimulating the central nervous system and temporarily restoring physical energy, which is why it's favored by many office workers. In fact, caffeine is an alkaloid found in natural beverages such as hot cocoa, energy drinks, cola, coffee, and tea, all containing certain amounts of caffeine. Even in nature, most plants contain this substance.

Therefore, caffeine can be understood as a central nervous system stimulant and a metabolic stimulant. Additionally, caffeine is used as a medication for its effects in refreshing and relieving fatigue. The precise dose of caffeine needed to produce effects varies from person to person, mainly depending on body size and caffeine tolerance.

However, everyone knows that all medicines have some toxicity, and naturally, caffeine cannot be consumed in excess, otherwise it will affect health and may cause over-excitation. Black coffee is purely extracted liquid from coffee beans, so does this mean it has higher caffeine content?

Caffeine Content in Black Coffee

According to FrontStreet Coffee, the caffeine content in black coffee is also related to the coffee bean variety. Currently, the most common coffee varieties on the market are Arabica and Robusta. Among these, Arabica has lower caffeine content than Robusta and better flavor, which is why it's used by major coffee brands for pour-over coffee. For example, the specialty pour-over coffee beans at FrontStreet Coffee are all derived from Arabica varieties.

Secondly, Robusta's caffeine content is more than double that of Arabica, and its cupping quality cannot meet the standards of specialty coffee (the cupping score standard for specialty coffee is 80 or above). Therefore, Robusta coffee beans are not used for pour-over coffee but are widely used for instant coffee or espresso blending.

From what FrontStreet Coffee has mentioned, we can learn that the caffeine content in black coffee is mainly related to the coffee variety. According to FrontStreet Coffee, Arabica's caffeine content is between 0.9-1.2%, while Robusta's caffeine content is 1.6-2.4%.

So how much caffeine is in a cup of black coffee? FrontStreet Coffee will explain this below:

Take the black coffee produced by FrontStreet Coffee as an example. A cup of pour-over coffee has 225 milliliters, with a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:15, meaning 15g of coffee grounds is used. The coffee variety is Arabica, which means the caffeine content in a cup of pour-over black coffee is 0.9-1.2% × 15g = 135-180 milligrams.

How Much Caffeine is in Espresso?

This question also needs to be distinguished by coffee bean variety. For example, the espresso blend used at FrontStreet Coffee is the "Sunflower Warm Sun Blend," which is composed of Honduras Sherry coffee beans and Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry coffee beans. Both of these coffee beans are varieties derived from Arabica, so their caffeine content is also between 0.9-1.2%.

However, the milliliter volume of espresso served at each coffee shop varies, so the caffeine content also varies. Taking the coffee served at FrontStreet Coffee as an example, a cup of espresso served to customers has 40 milliliters. Because it's extracted using an espresso machine, the coffee-to-water ratio is different from pour-over coffee. The espresso produced by FrontStreet Coffee has a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:2, and producing a 40-milliliter espresso uses 20g of coffee grounds. From this, we can calculate that the caffeine content in a cup of espresso is 0.9-1.2% × 20g = 180-240 milligrams.

The above is FrontStreet Coffee's summary regarding the caffeine content in a cup of espresso and a cup of black coffee. So how much caffeine can a person consume in a day?

From a scientific perspective, the human body can only consume about 400 milligrams of caffeine per day. Exceeding this amount will burden the body. Additionally, each person's tolerance to caffeine varies, similar to the concept of lactose tolerance and intolerance. Therefore, for coffee lovers who are caffeine tolerant, it's recommended not to exceed 400 milligrams of caffeine per day. Coffee lovers who are caffeine intolerant might want to try decaffeinated coffee.