Have you ever wondered if speciality coffee has a bigger caffeine kick compared to the stuff you find in supermarkets? Let’s find out!

If you’re someone who can’t start the day without that first mug of coffee, you’re probably wondering if speciality coffee packs a bigger caffeine punch! After all, it tastes better. Surely, it has a higher caffeine content, too, right?

Well, the answer isn’t as simple as you might think. So, grab your favourite brew and join us as we dive into the details and figure out the general opinion together!

 

Coffee in Mug

What is speciality coffee?

To get things started, let’s take a moment to quickly review what speciality coffee is! If you’ve been a Two Chimps fanatic for a while or have just joined the troop (big monkey hugs for you), you may know that we only ever roast speciality coffees. But what exactly does this mean?

Speciality Coffee has been graded out of 100 by professional Quality Graders from the Speciality Coffee Association (SCA). The coffee is cupped and tested, ranked in dozens of categories. Things like mouthfeel, aroma, and even the size of the bean are all important during the judging process. Anything that scores over 80 gains this ‘speciality’ recognition, whereas anything below this grade is titled as a commodity.

We only get the speciality stuff as the flavours are just top-notch. Each sip is packed with unique tastes from the finest coffee cherries and the best farming practices, and we aren’t the only people who think so! These are all factors considered by that Q Grader, and if they didn’t think it was good enough, it would have got that all-important speciality certification!

Our best selling speciality coffee!

Right. Now we’ve got that covered- it’s time for the juicy bit!

Does speciality coffee contain more caffeine?

To give you the short answer…..no.

Speciality coffee has roughly 59mg of caffeine in a 140ml cup, whereas a standard cup has 85mg. But why is this? Ready for the long answer. Let’s go!

With coffee, there are two main types of beans: Arabica and Robusta. Robusta coffee is often seen as a lower grade, and it’s pretty uncommon to find it with a speciality grading. Here at Two Chimps, we exclusively focus on speciality Arabica because we love the rich and complex flavours it offers!

Generally, Robusta beans have been found to have a bit more caffeine, usually around 2.2% when they’re unroasted. In contrast, Arabica beans can have as little as 1.2%. However, there’s some variability—Robusta can sometimes go as low as 1.5%! So, it really depends on the specific bean you’re looking at.

Is less caffeine a bad thing?

We don’t think so! While coffee is often seen as the go-to drink for a morning pick-me-up, we believe it has so much more to offer than just a caffeine boost. We love our speciality coffee as it is freshly roasted, carbon neutral, ethically sourced, and, of course, has the best flavours around! (Plus, it’s not decaf; it still has enough caffeine to kick-start your mornings!)

Craving the ultimate morning coffee that packs the perfect punch and delivers a satisfying caffeine kick?

Check this out!

Andy Cross

Meet the chimp behind this article!
Head Chimp founded Two Chimps alongside Laura in 2016 after being self-employed from the age of 21. He caught the coffee bug from using an at-home roaster, and the rest is history!

What Andy does outside of the treehouse:
When the weather’s nice, Andy loves going on bike rides with his trusty sidekick, microchimp Felix (who always leads the way, of course). Andy also enjoys spending time tending to the family’s vegetable garden, and looking after their at-home farmyard, which includes a cat, two guinea pigs, and six chickens!

Andy says…
“I believe every day is a school day, and I’m always looking for opportunities to stick my head in a book and absorb new knowledge. I also love a problem to solve and fix – there’s no such thing as problems, only solutions.”

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