How much caffeine is in coffee (and how can you tell if a coffee is strong or not)?

Ever found yourself getting into a ridiculous argument with someone about how strong their coffee is and why dark roasts are not the ultimate definition of strength? You’re not alone. It’s one of the most common coffee myths out there, and there’s a lot of nonsense floating about. So let’s clear it up, especially since every roast we sell at Mhor Coffee is 100% Arabica.

Arabica Caffeine: what to expect

Arabica beans naturally contain less caffeine than Robusta. In fact, Robusta has almost double the caffeine, which is one of the reasons it can taste harsher and more bitter. Arabica, on the other hand, gives you a gentler, steadier lift the kind that wakes you up without shouting about it.

That lower caffeine content is also why Arabica tends to taste sweeter and more layered. Caffeine is bitter by nature, so less caffeine = more room for flavour. And at Mhor Coffee, flavour is the whole point.

What roasting does to caffeine (and what it doesn’t)

The first thing you need to understand is that caffeine doesn’t just disappear in the roaster. It’s pretty heat-stable, so roasting isn’t like burning off the buzz entirely. But, and here’s where it gets interesting, the roasting process does change the bean.

As beans roast, they lose water, expand, and become less dense. This matters because most of us brew coffee by scoops, not by weighing out every dose like a lab technician. OK, some of you have scales for measuring it, but not everyone does that!

Why darker roasts usually have a bit less caffeine

This is the bit that surprises people: dark roasts often have slightly less caffeine than light roasts. Not because the caffeine has been “cooked away” in huge amounts. It hasn’t. But because dark roast beans weigh less at the end of the roasting process. So if you measure coffee by volume (a scoop), lighter roasts pack more bean mass into that scoop, which means a bit more caffeine per brew.

If you measure by weight instead (say, 18g of coffee), the caffeine difference between light and dark is small. But in everyday kitchen life, most folk go by scoops, so the rule of thumb holds:

• light roast = a touch more caffeine
• dark roast = a touch less caffeine

So there you have it, a dark roast is not a strong roast at all. This is why the absolute coffee purists weigh their coffee beans before they make it. There’s some science to the perfect cup.

What this means for your Mhor Coffee Roast

Because Mhor Coffee uses only specialty-grade Arabica beans, all our coffees are naturally smoother on the caffeine front than Robusta-heavy blends.

If you like a brighter, livelier coffee with a little extra zip then go for out medium roasts like Creag Mhor and Aonach Mhor.
If you like a deeper, chocolatey, and a bit more mellow in the buzz department then check out our darker roasts like Bheinn Mhor and Etive Mhor.

Either way, you’re getting great-tasting Arabica coffee, roasted with taste perfection in mind.