Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

what are the processes involved in getting the caffeine content of certain coffee drinks?? help! i need ur replies asap!!

The website <http://wilstar.com/caffeine.htm> gives the amount of caffeine (in milligrams) in 8 ounces of drip, brewed, espresso, and instant coffee. If you're trying to find the amount of caffeine in a particular drink, you'll probably need to determine how much coffee (and what type) is is the drink. The only way to measure caffeine content yourself involves using benzene, which is unsafe. It would be much easier simply to determine the amount of coffee per drink (which might require contacting manufacturers in some cases).

Christie

bikinibiAtch wrote:what are the processes involved in getting the caffeine content of certain coffee drinks?? help! i need ur replies asap!!

There are several experimental methods of determining caffeine, but you would probably need access to a fairly good lab. Methods either involve dangerous chemicals (as the other expert mentioned) or sophisticated equipment (such as a spectrophotometer or HPLC). Do you have access to a lab? Does this lab have a hood? Would a mentor be able to help you? I found several procedures that use solvents other than benzene, but each requires lab access (hood and proper chemical disposal) for safety reasons. If you need a procedure you could do at home, then I think you are out of luck.

Louise