Coffee lovers will tell you the primary reason they drink coffee is the taste, but a close second is the buzz. While your can of Coke has just 40mg of caffeine, a cup of brewed coffee averages about 2 1/2 times that amount, and your quad shot of espresso has roughly 170mg of caffeine.

One of the most misunderstood facts about coffee is that lighter roasted coffees actually have more caffeine than the dark roasts. Also the coffee grown at the highest altitudes has a little less caffeine than those grown nearer to sea level.

My usual drink of choice at White Rock Coffee is a small “Jumpstart”, which is a 12 oz cup of brewed coffee (I usually get the coffee of the day), with a double shot of espresso. If I’m really dragging I’ll get a quad Jumpstart which has almost 300mg of caffeine. In the afternoon I’ll have a large iced latte which has 5 shots of espresso and it’s sure to get me out of the “afternoon letdown” mode, and add an ounce of chocolate to that for a iced mocha and the extra caffeine and sugar in the chocolate makes all well with the world.

Ever notice how a cup of Joe makes you focus and the mind appears sharper? That’s because caffeine supports a molecule in the brain called a cyclic-amp, which for a period of time keeps the brain more active.

So what’s your vote---TASTE OR BUZZ?

Learn more at our website, WRCoffee.com.