Know what caffeine is?

Caffeine alcohol is a diterpene compound in coffee. Caffeine is high in unfiltered coffee, such as Turkish coffee, but it is so low in filtered coffee that it is almost negligible.

In the 1980s, it was found that consumption of unfiltered coffee could raise serum cholesterol levels, and this result was caused by caffeinol and caffeinol in coffee.

Caffeine and caffeinol can be separated from coffee beans in oil, which are fat-soluble substances of diterpenes. The only difference between them is that coffee bean alcohol has an extra double bond.

The concentrations of these two substances vary from coffee to coffee. Arabica coffee beans contain caffeol and caffeinol, while Robusta coffee beans contain half caffeine and almost no caffeinol. These two substances account for 1% of the total amount of Arabica coffee beans.

Caffeine is more effective than caffeinol in raising serum cholesterol, and the mixture of caffeine (60 mg / day) and caffeinol (51 mg / day) is only slightly higher than pure caffeine (64 mg / day). Because coffee bean alcohol is difficult to purify and the stability of this diterpene is not good, the effect of pure coffee bean alcohol on improving serum cholesterol is unknown.

Both substances can be extracted by hot water but remain on the filter paper. This explains why Nordic boiled coffee, Turkish coffee and French compressed coffee contain relatively high levels of caffeol and caffeinol (6-12 mg / cup), while filtered coffee and instant coffee contain small amounts of caffeol and caffeinol (0.2-0.6 mg / cup). Although the content of diterpene is relatively high in espresso brewed under steam pressure, it is only a secondary source of caffeol and caffeinol (4 mg / cup) because of its low consumption.