Does Blonde Coffee Have More Caffeine? [A Serious Buzz Or Not?]

Last updated on January 22nd, 2024 at 13:32

Light roast coffee tastes, well, lighter but does blonde coffee have more caffeine? This is a question that is often asked by members of our active online coffee group.

If you are in a rush and a need the quick answer there here it is…

Yes, there is more caffeine in a blonde coffee.

Keep reading to find out how much more and if you will get a serious caffeine kick…or not.

Does Blonde Coffee Have More Caffeine?

Yes,

a blonde coffee has more caffeine than a medium roast coffee and a dark roast coffee. It’s a light roast coffee, which is known for having a slighter amount of caffeine than other roasts. A blonde roast is the lightest of the light roasts – other than the very rare and hard-to-find white coffee, also known as a half roast.

A white coffee is more popular in Asia and hard to find outside the continent and has 5% more caffeine than a blonde coffee.

Let’s have a look at the caffeine content of blonde coffee using Starbucks as reference point:

Starbucks Blonde Roast Beverage	Short 8 oz (240 ml) Caffeine Content	Tall 12 oz (360 ml) Caffeine Content	Grande 16 oz (480 ml) Caffeine Content	Venti 20 oz (600 ml) Caffeine Content
Brewed Coffee	180 mg	270 mg	360 mg	475 mg
Cappuccino	85 mg	85 mg	170 mg	170 mg
Latte	85 mg	85 mg	170 mg	170 mg
Flat White	150 mg	150 mg	225 mg	225 mg
Single Espresso Shot	85 mg	N/A	N/A	N/A
Doppio Double Espresso Shot	170 mg	N/A	N/A	N/A

Now that we have the caffeine content we can compare that to the caffeine content that is in their regular coffee beverages when made with their signature Pike Place:

Starbucks  Beverage Pike Place	Short 8 oz (240 ml) Caffeine Content	Tall 12 oz (360 ml) Caffeine Content	Grande 16 oz (480 ml) Caffeine Content	Venti 20 oz (600 ml) Caffeine Content
Brewed Coffee	155 mg	235 mg	310 mg	410 mg
Cappuccino	75 mg	75 mg	150 mg	150 mg
Latte	75 mg	75 mg	150 mg	150 mg
Flat White	130 mg	130 mg	195 mg	195 mg
Single Espresso Shot	75 mg	N/A	N/A	N/A
Doppio Double Espresso Shot	150 mg	N/A	N/A	N/A

It is absolutely evident that blonde roast of all types has more caffeine than Starbucks Pike Place, which is a medium roast coffee and used as Standard, unless requested for their beverages, including their espresso shots.

It is claimed by many websites, and all respect to them, that roasting time or temperature does not have an effect on the amount of caffeine in a coffee. These websites, unfortunately, appear to be incorrect as the roast level does play a role in the amount of caffeine in a coffee bean.

However,

the role that roasting time and temperature has is minimal since the difference in caffeine in a single shot of espresso between a regular espresso and a blond roast is only 10 milligrams of caffeine.

To be honest, caffeine and coffee beans is a very complex and complicated topic as there are many variables to consider and take into account. You should never make the assumption that a coffee bean is stronger in caffeine simply because of the roast level.

The variety of coffee counts a lot (Arabica vs Robusta) – Robusta has 2.2x more caffeine than an Arabica. Also, the amount of coffee used as a ratio to the water. A more concentrated coffee has more caffeine.

Even the water temperature plays a role – the hotter the water, the more caffeine that can be extracted. Even the grind size and brewing time have an influence on how much of the stimulant that gets into the beverage.

Read: How much caffeine in Starbucks blonde roast?

Blonde Vs Dark Roast Coffee Caffeine

A blonde roast coffee does have a slightly greater amount of caffeine than other coffee roasts, only slightly so and is only slightly higher than a dark roast coffee.

Here are a few key examples of the caffeine content in a blonde roast when compared to a dark roast coffee.

The table below indicates clearly that a blonde roast coffee for all drink sizes has more caffeine than dark roast coffee.

Beverage	Short 8 oz (240 ml) Caffeine Content	Tall 12 oz (360 ml) Caffeine Content	Grande 16 oz (480 ml) Caffeine Content	Venti 20 oz (600 ml) Caffeine Content
Featured Dark Roast Brewed Coffee	130 mg	195 mg	260 mg	340 mg
Blonde Roast Brewed Coffee	180 mg	270 mg	360 mg	475 mg

• The caffeine content in a short 8 oz (240 ml) brewed blonde roast coffee has 180 mg of caffeine while the same beverage as a dark roast has 130 mg of caffeine.

Coffee drinkers often mistake a strong coffee flavor means more caffeine. This is not the case; often when you have a strong traditional and typical coffee flavor it is a medium-dark or dark roast and thus a reduced amount of caffeine has the same coffee been a lighter roast.

Read: What is Starbucks blonde roast?

Blonde Roast Vs Medium Roast Caffeine

Let’s now compare a blonde roast Vs a Medium roast caffeine content. At Starbucks, their medium roast coffee is their signature Pike Place coffee.

Let’s examine the table below and see how a blonde roast compares with a medium roast in terms of the amount of caffeine in a variety of coffee beverages.

Beverage	Short 8 oz (240 ml) Caffeine Content	Tall 12 oz (360 ml) Caffeine Content	Grande 16 oz (480 ml) Caffeine Content	Venti 20 oz (600 ml) Caffeine Content
Pike Place Brewed Coffee	155 mg	235 mg	310 mg	410 mg
Blonde Roast Brewed Coffee	180 mg	270 mg	360 mg	475 mg
Cappuccino (Pike Place)	75 mg	75 mg	150 mg	150 mg
Cappuccino (Blonde Roast)	85 mg	85 mg	170 mg	170 mg
Latte (Pike Place)	75 mg	75 mg	150 mg	150 mg
Latte (Blonde Roast)	85 mg	85 mg	170 mg	170 mg
Flat White (Pike Place)	130 mg	130 mg	195 mg	195 mg
Flat White (Blonde Roast)	150 mg	150 mg	225 mg	225 mg

Note: A single shot of blonde roast espresso has 85 mg of caffeine, while a Pike Place roast has 75 mg of caffeine per shot.

Clearly from the table, which is data that I extracted from Starbucks own website, shows that for all types of coffee drinks and the drink sizes that a blonde roast has more caffeine than a medium roast cup of coffee.

Read: Blonde roast

Tall Blonde Roast And Venti Blonde Roast Caffeine Content

Let’s see the amount of caffeine in a tall blonde roast and a venti blonde roast for all the coffee drinks by reproducing a section of the table above, for ease of reading:

Beverage	Tall 12 oz (360 ml) Caffeine Content	Venti 20 oz (600 ml) Caffeine Content
Pike Place Brewed Coffee	235 mg	410 mg
Blonde Roast Brewed Coffee	270 mg	475 mg
Cappuccino (Pike Place)	75 mg	150 mg
Cappuccino (Blonde Roast)	85 mg	170 mg
Latte (Pike Place)	75 mg	150 mg
Latte (Blonde Roast)	85 mg	170 mg
Flat White (Pike Place)	130 mg	195 mg
Flat White (Blonde Roast)	150 mg	225 mg

For all the different types of coffee beverages there is considerably more caffeine in a Venti than there is a Tall blonde roast. Volume, the amount of coffee in a beverage plays its role in the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee.

Does Blonde Roast Coffee Have More Caffeine Than Espresso?

Yes,

comparing the caffeine content of blonde espresso and regular espresso, it is 85 mg of caffeine vs 75 mg of caffeine in favor of a blonde espresso.

For brewed coffee, a blonde roast coffee has the following amount of caffeine for each of the drink sizes:

• Short 8 oz (240 ml) Blonde roast brewed coffee has 180 mg of caffeine.
• Tall 12 oz (360 ml) Blonde roast brewed coffee has 270 mg of caffeine.
• Grande 16 oz (480 ml) Blonde roast brewed coffee has 360 mg of caffeine.
• Venti 20 oz (600 ml) Blonde roast brewed coffee has 475 mg caffeine.

To compare a blonde roast coffee with a shot of espresso, be the espresso a regular or blonde roast coffee there is evidently in all drink sizes more caffeine in a blonde roast brewed coffee than even a double shot of espresso.

Frequently Asked Questions About Does Blonde Coffee Have More Caffeine

Is Blonde Coffee Stronger?

Yes, blonde coffee has ever so slightly more caffeine content than other roasts, however, the amount is insignificant. The difference between a Starbucks regular espresso shot and a blonde roast espresso is only 10 milligrams of caffeine.

In terms of flavor, a blonde coffee is certainly weaker than a dark roast and a medium roast. It’s lighter, more floral and has more of the unique flavors from the origin than other roasts.

What Coffee Has The Most Caffeine?

The coffee that has the most caffeine is Black Label by Devil Mountain. It has over 1,500 mg of caffeine per serving, which is highly caffeinated and certainly not for the faint-hearted. It is so highly caffeinated it is almost 4x the recommended daily amount of caffeine set by the FDA.

You could say it is devilishly high in caffeine and is more than 1.5x the amount that medics say is toxic.

What Kind Of Coffee Is The Strongest?

The most concentrated coffee, the most focused coffee beverage is a Ristretto. A Ristretto is a more focused shot of espresso with a stronger coffee to water ratio with a ratio of 1:1 compared to 1:1.5. The result of the more focused ratio is a stronger and more dominant flavor. 

Are Blonde Shots More Caffeinated?

Yes, a blonde shot is slightly more caffeinated than a medium, medium-dark or dark roasted espresso shot, and only slightly more – don’t expect some kind of caffeine kick just because you ordered a blonde espresso!

• A regular espresso at Starbucks has 75 mg of caffeine.
• A blonde espresso at Starbucks has 85 mg of caffeine. 

The 10 mg of caffeine extra that a blonde roast has in a single shot is not something that you will notice. 

Why Are Blonde Shots Stronger?

A blonde shot is stronger due to the roasting process. All coffee beans start off as the same green coffee beans and then are roasted. The higher roasting temperature and duration, the caffeine content in the beans becomes slightly unstable and gets lost during the roasting process.

I like to view it in the sense that a blonde roast and other light roasts maintain more of the caffeine that was originally in the beans than higher roast levels of the same beans.

Is Blonde Espresso Easier On The Stomach?

No, due to the higher acidity level of a blonde espresso, it will not be easier on your stomach. If you have a sensitive stomach, it will be in your best interest to skip over the thoughts of having that blonde roast.

Final Thoughts – Does Blonde Coffee Have More Caffeine?

This question – Does blonde coffee have more caffeine? Has been answered comprehensively and if you have read this far you know how much more a blonde roast has when compared to other coffee roasts.

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