Personally speaking, I've always chosen light roast coffees because somewhere along the line I read that light roasts have more caffeine. I live in NYC so if you know anything about this place, you know that some of us, like myself, survive off of the sweet, sweet jolt that bean juice provides us. But is it true? Did I read that factoid on Wikipedia before we realized it really wasn't the most reliable source to cite? Let's find out. (for the record, I'd much rather read a YA novel than do research but I care about you so I'm sucking it up.)
Thankfully, Kicking Horse Coffee did some science-y stuff for me and actually ran an experiment to prove (or disprove) my long-time belief. Long story short, roasting a bean longer doesn't bake out the caffeine so there really isn't much difference in the amount you get based on the roast.
There is a small difference in how much caffeine you get depending on how you measure your coffee. The key to all of this is that the roasting process causes a dark roast to lose more of its water mass. If you use weight to measure your coffee, dark roast will provide you with more caffeine as more beans are needed to meet the same weight as light roast beans. If you measure your coffee by scoops (like me) you'll find that light roast coffee will have more caffeine. I guess this is where my laziness pays off because now I know I'm choosing the right coffee for my measurement process.
If you want me to prove my love to you and research more topics, @ me in The Soma Crew group on Facebook.
Now, please excuse me while I read the Twilight series for the 6th time and sip my light roast coffee while feeling superior.
P.S., I highly recommend reading the whole blog post by Kicking Horse Coffee. It's actually pretty cool and I don't regret taking a moment away from my YA books to read about this.
P.P.S., we have a new ceramic mug for you to keep your caffeinated beverage of choice hot (or cold). It's good looking and functional. Check it out.