I’ve heard that a shot of espresso made from a measure of ground coffee has less caffeine than a cup of brewed coffee made from the same measure, and I searched the web and found data that seemed to contradict this. That is, I found that a shot of espresso has marginally less caffeine than a cup of brewed coffee.
Then howcum I get such godawful heartburn if I drink American style brewed coffee, but none at all if I drink espresso? If caffeine were the trouble, both espresso and coffee would bother me. If caffeine weren’t the problem, I wouldn’t be bothered by chocolate, tea and Coke (which I am).
I’m not sure about the caffeine issue, but I also find that “regular” American coffee upsets my stomach more than “gourmet” coffees. My assumption is that regular coffee is made from a type of bean that is more acidic, or that something about the gourmet roasting process reduces the acidity. I find this to be true even in the case of decaf coffee, so it may not be the caffeine that is giving you heartburn. Coke is pretty acid, too, and tea has chemicals in it that can be irritating. You’ve got me on the chocolate, though.
Not a scientific answer, but anecdotal: have a grain of salt with this:
You’re not the only one who encounters this: (American Coffee = Heartburn, Espresso != heartburn); My mother, for one, is the same way. What seems to me to be the operative difference is the acid content, and that relates to the bean/roast more than the brewing process. I find that most coffees roasted for American Brewing are more acidic, with the cheapest coffees being the worst, and the most likely to screw with my insides…
Try making a shot of espresso with Folgers (yarf), and compare that with a shot of espresso made with (E.G.) Qualita d’Oro (true-blue italian espresso). Similarly, try brewing American Coffee with both and see if they both give ya heartburn.
I have no idea what my response has to do with chocolate, tea, or coke, but hey!
It might be the acidity in the beans themselves. I know a lot of American coffee is made with South American beans (all together now - “Columbian, the richest kind.”). Many of those varieties are high in acidity - you might consider trying Indonesian beans for a change, since they tend to be lower in acid. I have to admit I don’t know what variety is generally used for espresso - or whether the longer roasting process has an effect on the acid content.
Try my favorite - Celebes Kalossi. It ain’t cheap, but it seems easier on my heartburn button. I’m not an expert in the chemistry of the beloved bean - just a world class caffine addict.
To sum it up, scientists watched what happened (via endoscopy, I suppose) when they introduced chocolate into a digestive system, and it turned out the culprit was serotonin! The same stuff in chocolate that gets you “high” will also give some of us world-class heartburn. Drat.
I did a little more research on the coffee question, too, and one site stated that decaf could also cause heartburn! So it sounds like everyone here who speculated that it might be acid content rather than caffeine content is right in the neighborhood. But I do know that caffeine can relax the top sphincter muscle of the stomach and allow that lovely hydrochloric acid up into the esophagus.
seawitch: “Celebes Kalossi” sounds interesting. Does Starbucks carry it?
Something I was taught in a marketing class:
The coffee makers used to make the standard american coffee (i.e. foldgers, maxwel house, etc.) from the top grade south american beans. Then something happened and the price shot up (either crop failure or increase in demand). Some coffee makers tried to switch to the lower cost - lower grade bean. This been didn’t taste the same and was bitter. Other’s mixed their beans together and slowly phased out the high quality been. Those companies gained market share and we have been drinking ‘grade B’ coffee ever since.
Now I don’t know if that is entirly true but we were suppose to be studying actual case studies. The diffrence was discribed as top of the plant and ripened in full sun compared to the lower branches not grade A and B. But maybe your stomach problems come from drinking coffee that isn’t fully ripe.
You are correct espresso is made with a much higher concentration of robusta beans and they have a lower acid content.
Also it’s true that espresso has less caffeine than brewed coffee, I think it’s due to the amount of time water is in contact with the grounds. Coffee has several minuets to extract the caffeine while espresso has mere seconds.
I think you have it the wrong way around. Espresso uses all or primarily arabica coffee, which has less acid and caffiene. Robustica is used in instant and cheap coffee.
Espresso depends on the pressure of the steam, the temperature, type of beans and coffee. Home machines have higher temperature and pressure and thus will have a much different taste than a professional machine. .