<p>According to the <a href="https://phytochem.nal.usda.gov/phytochem/chemicals/chemFarmacyList/17073?count=24&amp;max=20&amp;offset=0&amp;actTotal=21&amp;plantTotal=24&amp;sort=amt_or_hi&amp;order=desc">Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases</a>, Coffee Arabica has one of the largest amount of theobromine in its <strong>seed</strong> (20 ppm). However, this amount is just a bit more than 1/2500 th of the amount what Cocoa includes (48 223 ppm). So... Coffee is not really considered a theobromine source, but Cocoa is.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-06T21:31:40.663Z
2016-06-06T21:39:32.900Z
2016-06-06T21:39:32.900Z
MTSan
<p>I suspect the reason is that theobromine is much less soluble in water than caffeine. <a href="http://www.chemicalforums.com/index.php?topic=56837.0" rel="nofollow">A forum post is here</a>.</p>

<ul>
<li>Caffeine – 21600mg/L water</li>
<li>Theobromine – 330mg/L water</li>
</ul>

<p>So potentially the grounds have theobromine but it doesn't dissolve during brewing.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-06T15:43:10.310Z
Good idea, but tea is a significant source of theobromine despite being brewed in water.
Don Reba
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-06T14:27:21.087Z
2016-10-27T20:05:05.587Z
2016-10-27T20:05:05.587Z
Lyrl
<p>Wikipedia lists coffea arabica as a plant species with a high theobromine content, but does not include coffee on the list of significant dietary sources. I searched around, and it looks like the theobromine content in coffee is essentially zero. How can this be? Is all the theobromine contained in parts of the plant other than the beans? Maybe it is removed by the extraction process?</p>

<chemistry>
Theobromine in coffee
Don Reba
# Theobromine in coffee

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-06-06)

Wikipedia lists coffea arabica as a plant species with a high theobromine content, but does not include coffee on the list of significant dietary sources. I searched around, and it looks like the theobromine content in coffee is essentially zero. How can this be? Is all the theobromine contained in parts of the plant other than the beans? Maybe it is removed by the extraction process?

**Tags:** chemistry


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-06-06. Score: 13 | Accepted answer

According to the [Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases](https://phytochem.nal.usda.gov/phytochem/chemicals/chemFarmacyList/17073?count=24&max=20&offset=0&actTotal=21&plantTotal=24&sort=amt_or_hi&order=desc), Coffee Arabica has one of the largest amount of theobromine in its **seed** (20 ppm). However, this amount is just a bit more than 1/2500 th of the amount what Cocoa includes (48 223 ppm). So... Coffee is not really considered a theobromine source, but Cocoa is.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2016-06-06. Score: 5

I suspect the reason is that theobromine is much less soluble in water than caffeine. [A forum post is here](http://www.chemicalforums.com/index.php?topic=56837.0).

* Caffeine – 21600mg/L water
* Theobromine – 330mg/L water

So potentially the grounds have theobromine but it doesn't dissolve during brewing.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Good idea, but tea is a significant source of theobromine despite being brewed in water.  

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