Has anyone else ever noticed that the coffee at Starbucks packs quite a jolt? I thought it was just me, but then I read this article today that says something jolting is going on.
The online story basically says that Starbucks brew is 56% stronger than the regular joe.
QUOTE:
In pursuit of a bolder taste, coffeehouses typically brew their blends much stronger than a trusty old cup of Folgers. But a powerful side effect is unusually high levels of caffeine, according to a national test of ready-made coffee run by a laboratory. House blends at Starbucks …and other gourmet coffee chains have an average 56% more caffeine than samples tested at 7-Eleven Inc. stores and 29% more than those at Dunkin’ Donuts in USA.
One of the strongest happens to be the most successful: The Starbucks house blend had 223 milligrams of caffeine on average per 16-ounce “grande,” or medium, cup size. Starbucks says that on average, its array of coffee drinks contains even more – 320 milligrams in a medium cup. That’s nearly double the caffeine in Folgers, the leading grocery-store brand.
"But in light of mounting research on how the body reacts to higher caffeine, the stronger brew suggests another reason coffeehouses have resurrected a beverage that once had considerably less buzz in the U.S. However accidentally, their business may be thriving in part because customers are habituated to a drug, albeit one legal and relatively harmless.
For caffeine, scientists usually use the term “physically dependent” rather than “addicted,” a term they reserve for severe cases, as in a hooked heroin user or someone who smokes a few packs of cigarettes a day. But in recent years researchers have quantified specific doses of caffeine and linked them with withdrawal symptoms including headache, drowsiness and difficulty concentrating.
Hmmm. Interesting research, but well… As far as I know, the coffee craze which started in Seattle some 25 years ago, has italian roots.
Now, the basis for Italian coffee beverages such as latte, macciato, cappucino, mocca, con panna etc is the espresso, which is 1-1.5OZ of coffee, brewed for 18~25 seconds under 8~10 bar pressure using 7-8 grams of finely ground coffee. You can see that the water is in shorter contact with the grounds than say in a percolator (horrible invention), where the water is in repeated contact with the grounds. Acid and caffeine content will therefore be lower than if any other brewing method is used.
Grocery blends usually use a fair bit of robusta, which is higher in caffeine content, whereas the premium blends are usually purely arabica - esp in the US (apart from the italian ones, such as Miscela D’Oro, Illy, Mokador etc, who often put a bit of robusta in for the taste).
What we are seeing in starbucks is either horrible over-extraction (also seen in Taiwan very often BTW) or a very sloppy brewing procedure, or perhaps both, since they seem to be able to get all the caffeine out of the beans. But then, their standard house joe is made on those horrible american-style drip taste killers anyway.
I personally think that Starbucks is shite - poor machines, too big and milky lattes, poorly trained staff, honestly the best espresso I have had in Taiwan was up in the mountains at a coffee cart, where the crema was thick enough to keep the sugar granules from sinking for 10 seconds.
The coffee at ecoffee is good. A caramel latte for NT$60! Moreover, it’s often owners pulling the shots, and they seem to care more about getting it right than a university student at Starbucks. They also often use the machines made by my former employers, and they are very reliable and thermostable machines.
Some of the local chains use superautomatics (Starbucks has started to do that too in some locations) - really ruin everything, but at least they can employ chimps to press the “latte” button.
Caffeine??? What’s bad about that? I mean that’s the point of drinking a cup in the morning. It might stop you from sleeping, but at least it’s not harmful.
Wow, I found that article quite surprising. It was always my understanding that caffeine is directly related to the roast: the longer the bean is roasted, the less caffeine it has. Espresso, although tasting strong, has the least amount of caffeine of any type of coffee, followed by dark or “French” roasts. Your average weak-ass “American coffee” is the lightest roast, and, ironically, gives the greatest caffeine jolt.
I’d heard caffeine is also related to the bean and contact time with the water (hence the reason why briefly steeped tea leaves yield far less caffeine than a typical teabag), but I never realized until I read this article that brew ratio was so important. Maybe I’d better put one less spoon in the coffee press. Actually, maybe I’d better add one more…
Anyone else use a press? I like them since paper filters tend to soak up all the oils, and permanent filters tend to get gunked up. Also, with a press you can control contact time. Every once in a while, though, I forget and drink the cup to the bottom (blech).
Well said Mr He. But, for me I use a percolator for one thing, ICE COFFEE. I cant explain why, but i really enjoy the filtered taste when I drink ice-coffee. It takes ages to make that way, but, call me fruity, i just prefer it.
Starbucks is really shoddy. I went into one in England and asked for some liquid sugar for my ice-coffee. The guy went and asked his supervisor what it was as he’d never heard of it. The supervisor came over and said they didnt carry liquid sugar, as there was little call for it. Yuk, granulated sugar in a cold drink.
Seriously, there are quite a few of them around. They are a local franchise, doing what Taiwanese are best at, undercutting on price. Their coffee is good though.
When it comes to ice coffee, then try to cold brew it. Steep grounds in cold water overnight, filter it, and voila, you have coffee extract. Cold brewing.
Use any container and a filter for the same result.
When it comes to coffee presses, then one good thing about Taiwan is that you can pick up a coffee (tea) press all over the place. I, however prefer Danish Design, and yes, I use it every morning.
It’s ironic at Sturbucks, that to order a cup of something that actually tastes like coffee, you have to ask for “a double”, and then to get something that tastes like a latte, you need real milk…
I’ve had some fun trying to make coffee with one of those Japanese “siphon” coffeemakers (you know, the one with the glass beakers and a filter), but the 16-bar espresso maker I’ve been using here in the office is much simpler.
There’s a little cafe (“Family Roast”, I think) along the street beside Yang Kang St near Ta-An Park; their coffee is pretty good, as is the brew at the Italian restaurant behind California Gym on ZhongXiao East Rd Sec 4.
Starbucks coffee is really not that strong. I mean, I’ve had coffee that was much much stronger. I mean Swartzenegger strong. This stuff would eat the paint off your cell phone if you put it too close to the coffee cup. I drink Starbucks coffee of the day everyday and it doesn’t affect me that much. I’m not addicted. It is a little overpriced but the aroma is great. It’s great to get up in the morning and get to work with a big cup of coffee in my hand except when it spills it can be quite painful. That’s why sometimes I wear insulated gloves which can be uncomfortable on a warm day but it’s better than having your hands scortched off. Maybe I should sue them like that lady that sued McDonald’s, but then I would have to scald the hell out of my lap and I don’t think I am quite prepared to do that. Oh well what I want to say is that I like Starbucks anyway and they play some good music in their stores.
Thanks He. It’s amazing how ecoffee popped up without my even noticing. But even more amazing: with the incredible number of stores they have, not one is located in Hsintien. I guess I’ll have to stick to Kohikan which does it the Japanese way–not bad in my opinion but extraordinarily expensive unless your coffee comes with a full breakfast.
Anybody here ever had Cuban coffee? I believe it is boiled (not brewed, boiled) then sugar added until the coffee has a consistency of Karo syrup*. I used to get it served in mason jars in Tampa.
I like Japanese style siphons, as they give a high degree of control of the brewing, and look cool too.
I start the day out with a french press, bodum chambord 8 cups, and yes, I usually drink it all. Then I move on to a bit on the mokapot later in the day. Due to financial concerns, I have to stick with a blade grinder, and that’s far from perfect.
When outside, I usually go for ecoffee, as the beans are roasted OK, and the proces are lower. I avoid the big chains, esp. the ones using superautomatics as the quality sucks.
[quote=“Mr He”]I like Japanese style siphons, as they give a high degree of control of the brewing, and look cool too.
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Those are great. If I get a sit-down cup outside i’ll always look for one of these places.
a french press in the afternoon for me and a cup of the “maxim” instant they sell in wellcome there–which is pretty good–or one or two ecoffees.
get my beans in hsimending, “fengda” down the block from where tower used to be. they have beans from all over the world, you order a day in advance and they will roast them up for you. the cuban lanshan they have ready-roasted there rocks.
