Why does lighter roast coffee have more caffeine?
In: Chemistry
The process of roasting the beans is what people think removes the caffeine from them (technically the caffeine’s still intact, but the beans themselves are roasted away and become less dense). Decaff coffee is a bit different, the still green beans are soaked, and a solvent is used to REMOVE the caffeine from them which is different than the concept of lighter or darker roasts having more or less caffeine.
It’s a bit counterintuitive as most foods and flavors are stronger when theyr’e darker, darker typically means more concentrated, so we THINK dark roasts with their stronger flavors would be more potent caffeine.
It really depends how you’re measuring your coffee. By scoops, then light roast has more caffeine because the beans are denser (having not been roasted as long). BUT by weight, dark roast or light roast coffee will have similar caffeine in the same MASS of beans.
EDIT: added some clarification
Latest Answers