Chocolate covered espresso beans -- how much caffeine?

[Hastor]

First, I probably should be going to bed, as I'm probably being more of a troll in this mood than helpful, but...

I'd gladly answer as I had the same question, but for the fact that google is sitting right in front of you. You could have found the answer, in detail, within a few seconds if you had done the right search.

"Caffeine enhanced"? That's pretty bogus. Unless you can actually quote a label or give a site. Espresso is just a plain old coffee bean. It just happens to be a specific type of very dark roast bean. It's kind of like having lots of types of jam, all from fruit, but then there's the ubiquitous strawberry jam. Ok, that was a terrible example. You'd have to look up why that happens to be "the chosen" bean. Espresso is also brewed differently (pressured, rather than drip).

All in all, you'd be doing yourself a favor to get a few good articles, wikipedia is always a good start, and read the whole thing. It'll give you a far more complete understanding rather than miscellaneous tidbits here and there that aren't well strung together. It's quicker, and far more effective.

But maybe I'm just way too tired and with the full moon coming out, I'm turning into a troll. *logging off*

Of course I did search around, and my searches resulted in not finding anything specific about espresso beans. I also didn't find anything about caffeine enhancement, but the above comment prompted me to ask in case someone had seen something that I hadn't. I know to google, and I did for a little while before posting here. Also, sometimes a post will get you a quick response with links from someone that has already searched. I am new to this forum, but in other forums, a post will often result in an answer 5 minutes later, saving me an hour of googling. Posting in forums is part of the search process. It should be at least 10-15 minutes into the process, but it is part of it.

 

[Randy G.]

The beans of which I was speaking are the chocolate covered beans, not just plain coffee beans. Caffeine is water soluble and so when brewing coffee, the caffeine is readily extracted from the beans. I have no idea as to how much caffeine is left in the coffee grounds, but my guess would be it is a small amount.

"Espresso Beans"? There is no such thing. There is no such thing as "Espresso Roast" except as marketing hype. Although in the US there is a trend, seen mostly in the supermarket, to sell dark, oily beans as "Espresso Roast," that is just nonsense. Those dark oily roasts are just a way to sell to ignorant coffee drinkers, or to sell low-quality beans since when you roast that dark most of the coffee unique flavors are gone. You can create an "espresso blend" of beans that are used to create a specific taste, but that blend, if properly roasted, should taste good when used in most any coffee making device.

It is true that Robusta beans have more caffeine than Arabica, and they are sometimes added to Arabica beans for espresso since they enhance crema production in the extraction. Unfortunately, there are for more bad Robusta beans grown than good. The cheapest Robusta beans in the world come from some farms in Viet Nam. Think coffee that smells and has an aftertaste of burnt rubber inner tubes. On the other hand, there are Monsooned Malabar beans from India that are very good. I occasionally use those in my espresso blend because they are quite good in cappuccino.

 

[alsterling]

................. "Espresso Beans"? There is no such thing. There is no such thing as "Espresso Roast" except as marketing hype. Although in the US there is a trend, seen mostly in the supermarket, to sell dark, oily beans as "Espresso Roast," that is just nonsense. Those dark oily roasts are just a way to sell to ignorant coffee drinkers, or to sell low-quality beans since when you roast that dark most of the coffee unique flavors are gone. You can create an "espresso blend" of beans that are used to create a specific taste, but that blend, if properly roasted, should taste good when used in most any coffee making device.

With respect to those who may not know this, and are browsing the forum and reading this thread ........ and I'll gladly stand corrected if someone can add to this.

Randy's comment was timely, and critically important when discussing coffee. It's common for many to think of "Espresso" as specific to a "type of bean." Espresso is a type of brewing, or the finished beverage, unadulterated and derived from the espresso brewing process. It is extremely common to hear or read the term espresso being mis-used, especially when discussing beans.

There are some "single origin" beans, and some blends, that can be brewed using more than one brewing method. Coffee beans from various sources are "blended" for several reasons. As most are familiar, espresso blends are commonly created using three types of beans; making up an "espresso blend." The blending of beans creates and/or enhances the final brewed coffee product. And again, there are coffee blends which carry a recommendation for brewing drip and/or espresso.

To call a coffee bean an "espresso bean", would in the broadest sense, mean that it was most appropriate, when roasted to a specific profile, to be "espresso brewed." But I've rarely heard a knowledgable coffee person refer to an "espresso bean." They usually discuss the bean and its appropriatness as a coffee bean best roasted and brewed for espresso, as the final product, either consumed as a straight espresso, or in an espresso based drink.

And as regards "dark roast beans", in simple terms. As Randy mentioned, dark roasted coffees, as you see in many coffee shops, will show the essential oils within the bean, driven to the exterior of the bean. Oily beans are usually the result of over-roasting. When you see an oily bean hopper at any coffee shop, you should immediately be suspicious. Not only does it tell me the shop doesn't understand coffee, but oils go rancid, and that's exactly what one would end up drinking; usually old, stale coffee, void of whatever flavor might have been available.

Just sharing is all...... Al

 

[Jay_Raz]

Dark Chocolate Decaf Coffee Beans

Decaf Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans — Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans — Chocolates & Sweets — NutsOnline

 

[Emily]

According to Bowes and Church's Food Values of Portions there are 5 mg. of caffeine in a chocolate covered espresso bean.

Espresso has about 100 mg per 1.5 oz serving using a double basket.

There is far more stimulation achieved from 30 chocolate covered espresso beans over 30 coffee beans extracted into espresso due to the presence of additional alkaloids in the chocolate.

Theobromine and theophylline (to a lesser degree) are present in chocolate, according to studies the body's reaction to the small amount of caffeine in chocolate are amplified by the other two alkaloids.

There are about 28 mg. of caffeine in 1.5 oz of chocolate and about 250 mg of theobromine.

When larger amounts of caffeine are joined with the two theo alkaloids the resulting effect is an overall greater stimulation.

All three alkaloids are quite similar in chemical composition:
Caffeine
1,3,7-trimethylxanthine
Theophylline
1,3-dimethylxanthine
Theobromine
3,7-dimethylxanthine

Science aside, I can drink two cups with breakfast, go and cup coffee all morning, drink two espressos and not get jittery. A handful of chocolate covered espresso beans makes me sweat and shake.

That is really great to know! Thank you for finding this out so detailed - I often compared coffee chocolate to those beans and I wondered about the difference of caffeine in it. My mother simply loves those coffee flavored chocolates and I like to send chocolates to her (she is living in the UK) for I do not see her very often and she so knows that I think of her. But to be honest she has a little caffeine intolerance when eaten in a big amount.

 

[ron45]

I admit scanning thru the posts fairly quickly so I may have missed the part about needing water over 180 degrees to extract caffeine from coffee beans. It's why they make coffee and tea with hot water. And it's very often brought to a boil before pouring it on coffee. I was told this on one of these coffee forums where this question comes up frequently. I was also told this by the owner of a local brewery who is pretty up on his extraction chemistry.

This however, does not take into account the possibility that stomach acids may be able to extract or make more available, the caffeine in the beans. The amount of caffeine that winds up in a demitasse of espresso is what it is because of the amount of coffee used. It could be any beans. Espresso beans are just like any other coffee beans as far as caffeine content goes. Was I misinformed?

Ron