A Shot of Espresso Contains Less Caffeine Than a Cup of Coffee

Many coffee purists swear by espresso, a form of coffee made by grinding the beans very finely and subjecting them to hot water at high pressure. Espresso has a more concentrated flavor, so it must have a higher concentration of caffeine, right?  Well… kind of. Though, ounce for ounce, espresso does have more caffeine than a regular drip brew, a shot of espresso has 120 to 170 mg of caffeine, whereas a cup of coffee has 150 to 200 mg. In fact, it would take two or three espresso shots to equal the caffeine in a 16-ounce Starbucks coffee.