# Caffeine levels?



## Heligan (Aug 24, 2013)

Does anyone know how much caffeine levels vary between different beans? I know robusta has a higher level than arabica, but I'm wondering if there's much variation within arabicas. I'm intrigued that sometimes anything beyond my usual double in a flat white at breakfast can give me the jitters and yet other times (like today) I can have more without a problem, albeit with different beans. It would be nice to know in advance if I'm safe to have another!


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

any blend with robusta in it will have a higher caffeine content than a single origin arabica. I believe there are variances in the caffeine levels between SO beans but am not sure where you would get that information from. I find if I stick to SO origin beans, the amount of coffee I can drink before the shakes set in is a lot more than a coffee with robusta in the blend.


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## mike 100 (Jul 15, 2010)

I believe that a lot of Mexican coffee's are generally lower in caffeine, so may be worth a try, or my solution was to buy Rave's de-caff blend which is excellent!


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## Heligan (Aug 24, 2013)

Coffeechap - I have been mainly buying blends as, rightly or wrongly, I perceive them to be more forgiving of a beginner's technique. I think only a couple have had robusta in them though. I had a problem with one blend in particular which made me feel really jittery, perhaps that's one for me to avoid, although it did taste delicious.

Mike100 - that's interesting about Mexican coffees. I have tried two or three decafs and I'd agree that Rave's is very good. I suppose the trick is to try to forget that it's decaf, otherwise I tend to feel that there's something missing!


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## mike 100 (Jul 15, 2010)

Heligan, Union also do some good decaf's you could always experiment with your own blend of say 50% decaf and 50% of a good single origin bean, has worked for me with a decaf/yirgacheffe blend


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Londinium decaf is knockout ...


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## Gangstarrrrr (Mar 4, 2013)

coffeechap said:


> Londinium decaf is knockout ...


Agreed.

Didn't like rave decaf, found it quite tangy. Back to the londinium I think!


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## Heligan (Aug 24, 2013)

coffeechap said:


> Londinium decaf is knockout ...


I'll give it a go. Londinium beans are quite expensive and so is their postage, so it could be quite pricey to try small quantities like I've been doing so far. How well will they work in the Gaggia, are they tailored more to lever machines?


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## Gangstarrrrr (Mar 4, 2013)

Heligan said:


> I'll give it a go. Londinium beans are quite expensive and so is their postage, so it could be quite pricey to try small quantities like I've been doing so far. How well will they work in the Gaggia, are they tailored more to lever machines?


While they're supposedly tailored to the L1 profile, I've used them in my classic and was very impressed.


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## mike 100 (Jul 15, 2010)

Gangstarrrrr said:


> Agreed.
> 
> Didn't like rave decaf, found it quite tangy. Back to the londinium I think!


I also found this, but after 10 days it seems to become more mellow with a caramel flavour to it, so now I give it 10 days minimum before starting on it. Must try the Londinium though


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## Gangstarrrrr (Mar 4, 2013)

Just went to buy some londinium decaf but I notice prices have gone up and subscriptions don't have delivery included anymore... Will have to see if one can pick up.


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## Anthorn (Sep 14, 2013)

Although there is around 35% more caffeine in Robusta than in Arabica beans there is a way of reducing the caffeine in a Robusta blend while preserving much of the Robusta contribution. That's by including Excelsa beans in the blend which are very light in the caffeine department but taste a lot like Robusta. Excelsa beans can also be added to an Arabica decaf to give it more punch.

Sometimes it's what we're not told that is most relevant


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