Have you heard that dark roast coffee has less caffeine than light roast?
It’s one of the most common coffee myths out there. It sounds logical… but science tells a different story. Let’s break it down and set the record straight.
The myth everyone repeats
At every farmers market where we serve coffee, we hear the same question:
“Dark roast has less caffeine, right?”
The first time we heard this was in Colombia, while roasting coffee with the Nasa Indigenous community in Tierradentro, Cauca. We looked at each other and thought:
“Less caffeine? That’s not how it works…”
But we realized this myth has been traveling from café to café, blog to blog, for years.
The simple science
• Caffeine is heat-resistant. Caffeine doesn’t break down at normal roasting temperatures (356–464°F / 180–240°C). You’d need much higher heat to destroy it.
• What does change is the bean’s weight and volume
• Light roasts keep more water, are denser, and weigh more.
• Dark roasts lose more water, expand, and weigh less.
Where the confusion comes from
It all depends on how you measure coffee:
• By volume (like a scoop): Dark roast beans are lighter and less dense, so one scoop will have slightly less caffeine than a scoop of light roast.
• By weight (like 20 grams on a scale): Caffeine levels are almost identical between light and dark roasts.
Real example:
20 g of light roast ≈ 200 mg caffeine
20 g of dark roast ≈ 195–200 mg caffeine
The difference? Basically nothing you’d notice.
What really matters
Caffeine content does not depend on whether the coffee is light or dark roast.
It depends on how much coffee you use and how you brew it.
If you want more caffeine:
• Use more coffee by weight.
• Adjust your coffee-to-water ratio.
• Choose a brewing method that extracts more (like espresso or French press).
But don’t pick a roast level thinking it will drastically change your energy boost.
Our philosophy
At 23 de Mayo Coffee and Cafecito Power, we roast to bring out the best in every bean:
• Light roasts that are bright and fruit-forward.
• Dark roasts that are bold and chocolatey.
All carrying the same caffeine kick, sourced directly from the Nasa families in Tierradentro, Cauca, Colombia.
The flavor changes, the story changes, but the caffeine… it’s still there, ready to power your day.
💡 Pro tip:
Choose your roast based on the flavor you love — not caffeine myths. That way, you’ll enjoy every cup for what it truly is.