Does boldness of coffee roast correllate to amount of caffeine, or is it just flavor?

Question

Like Starbucks Breakfast Blend (mild) versus Sumatra (bold), do they have the same amount of caffeine, just taste different?

Answer 1

Coffees from Central and South America tend to be smooth and mild while from East Africa tend to be more acidic and sharper.  Sumatra is sort of in a class by itself.  Some 'cultivars' have slightly more or less caffeine, but they're all pretty much the same.  In fact, the darker coffee is roasted the less caffeine it has.

Answer 2

The darker the roast gets (which leads to it being more bold), the less caffeine the coffeebeans retain. So if you want a lot of caffeine, look for the lightest roast possible.

Answer 3

it's flavor... in actuality the more you roast coffee the less caffeine it has.... caffeine is a layer on the outside of the coffee bean... the more you roast it the oils come out and it disipates!!! Boldness also depends on where the coffee is grown and what variety it is... whether it's Arabica or Robusta...etc...

Answer 4

Pikes place sux gimme Verona or Estima anyday

Answer 5

There are two primary strains of coffee plants, Arabica and Robusta. Robusta coffees grow at low altitude, cost one fifth the price, have terrible flavor and about five times as much caffeine as Arabica mountain grown coffee.

Until Starbucks tells how much of each type of coffee they are using for each of their blends, the only way we can know the caffeine content is having analyzed in a food laboratory.

Roasting does not change the caffeine content of coffee by very much.