So this morning he says: "What do you DO with these shots, anyway?"

[progmom]

Um...I drink them? What do you do with four shots of espresso?

[On the Road]

1. Personally? I Back Away Slowly

I love expresso, but that much caffeine does strange things....

[progmom]

2. Isn't there less caffeine in espresso than there is in coffee?

:shrug:

[tjwmason]

3. Yes (sort of)

Because espresso is made so much quicker there is less time for it to absorb caffeine from the coffee-grinds; and therefore less caffeine serving for serving.

That said, 4 shots of espresso is going to pack quite some punch.

[On the Road]

4. I Think It's the Same Amount

in the dry coffee grounds, and that the difference is mostly in the roasting and brewing processes.

But they use more grounds per ounce for expresso than for normal coffee. I always counted one of those little demitasse cups as equal to a full 12-ounce cup of regular coffee.

[On the Road]

5. Here's a Comparison

There seems to be quite a range, with expresso in between drip and brewed:

Drip       115-175 mg of caffeine 
Espresso       100 (1 serving of 1.5-2oz) 
Brewed      80-135 
Instant     65-100 
Decaf, brewed  3-4 
Decaf, instant 2-3 

http://www.starkravingnormal.com/smartdrug/caffeinefaq.html

[progmom]

7. oh, so my 4 shots of espresso equals

anywhere from 2 1/4 to 5 cups of coffee?

Oh.
Well there you go.

[On the Road]

10. Yeah -- Your Body May be Fine with That

When I drink a lot of coffee, however, I spend half the day in the bathroom and am more likely to get nighttime headaches. So it's one daily 20-oz cup of 7-11 coffee, half decaf. Seems to work.

[ProfessorGAC]

11. Ya Beat Me

The overroasting breaks down a bit of the caffeine, but not much. Caffeine is only thermally stable to about 470 degrees Farenheit. So, some break down occurs because the time is longer in roasting. If it didn't 2 oz. of espresso would be the same as 8 oz. of coffee.

But, it's still awfully high, and since we only drink espresso in 2 oz. increments, the concentration of caffeine is WAY higher than in regular coffee.

The absolute amount vs. an 8 oz. cup of coffee is lower, but the concentration is about 3 times higher.
The Professor

[leftofthedial]

6. I use them to slowly dye my teeth brown

[ScreamingMeemie]

8. I take a bath in them.

:)

[Magrittes Pipe]

9. Don't send him to the alternative medicine forum.

:scared:

[Misunderestimator]

12. You should tell him next time that you use them for enemas...

maybe he'll stop asking.