How Many Shots Of Espresso Are In A Regular Cup Of Coffee?

"It's all just coffee, right?" Wrong! We aren't just talking about heady, subjective criteria like "artistry" or "origin," either. The most immediately obvious difference between a shot of espresso and a regular cup of coffee is volume. A cup of hot drip coffee is 8 fluid ounces, while a standard shot of espresso requires just 1 fluid ounce of water to pull. Many cafes serve straight espresso as double shots rather than single shots, which comprise 2 fluid ounces. Regarding fluid ounces alone, it would take about eight espresso shots to fill a coffee cup. However, we strongly advise against drinking that much espresso. The per-ounce caffeine concentration of espresso (63 mg) is far higher than drip coffee (about 12 mg per fluid ounce).

The exact caffeine amount can vary from one type of coffee to the next. Robusta coffee beans have a naturally higher caffeine content than Arabica beans. Other factors, such as roast level (i.e., light versus dark roast), brewing method, and extraction time, can also impact exact caffeine contents. However, as a general guideline, an 8-ounce cup of regular drip coffee packs about 96 milligrams of caffeine. A 1-ounce espresso shot, by comparison, packs roughly 63 milligrams of caffeine; a double shot contains around 126 milligrams, exceeding the buzzy strength of a cup of coffee. So, roughly one-and-a-half espresso shots deliver the caffeine equivalent of an 8-ounce drip coffee. Watching your caffeine consumption? Roadmap Blue Ridge is our favorite brand of decaf.

Drip coffee's larger serving size compared to an espresso shot reflects the utility-versus-experience dynamic. As the great Gertrude Stein puts it, "Coffee is a lot more than just a drink; it's something happening. Not as in hip, but like an event, a place to be, but not like a location, but like somewhere within yourself. It gives you time, but not actual hours or minutes, but a chance to be, like be yourself, and have a second cup," (via Goodreads). The key here is the element of speed, of pace.

Keep in mind how caffeine hits the body. It's the same situation as ripping a shot of tequila versus slowly nursing a glass of wine. Caffeine is significantly more concentrated in an espresso shot (which is drunk quickly) compared to a cup of drip coffee (which is sipped slowly). Even though an 8-ounce drip delivers roughly 96 milligrams of go-go by the time you reach the bottom of the cup (about 30 milligrams more than an espresso shot), its arrival in the body is slower and more spread out. Slam an espresso shot and watch a powerful caffeine buzz hit within a matter of minutes. Slam a double shot, and you've already exceeded the buzz that a whole cup of coffee will deliver, and deliver much more slowly.