How much caffeine does coffee have?

What factors determine how much caffeine is extracted in drip coffee?

• I've tried french presses, drip, paper and plastic filters, hot and super-hot(boiling) water, fine and thick grinds, but I can't figure out the pattern. My goal is to get coffee that is strong in flavor but has mid-range caffeine content, but I often get coffee that is weak in flavor and loaded with caffeine.

• Answer:

  You'll need a chemistry set to figure that one out exactly. The caffeine content should correlate roughly with the acidity of the coffee so you could try and use the pH as a proxy for caffeine content. Holding constant the type of beans, you could play with the preparation to find a happy medium within the range of pHs for a given coffee bean. Here is a list of all of the the factors that will determine caffeine content: Type of bean Where it was grown The method and extent of roasting The type of grind Brewing method Proportion of coffee grind to water The length of contact with water The temperature of the water If you want to get into roasting your own beans that is another layer of control, but it would be far easier just to experiment with the preparation.