<p>There are a number of concrete factors that will impact the stimulation you get from a cup of coffee, but it probably boils down to <strong>the amount of caffeine (and any other stimulants) that are in your cup</strong> that get extracted from the beans. Here's a few factors that affect the caffeine content of coffee, with links to other related questions on this site:</p>

<ul>
<li>Certain beans have more caffeine (themselves, per mass) than others, so there's more of it to get extracted into the cup;</li>
<li>Certain roasts (e.g., lighter) have more caffeine than others (see also <a href="https://coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/29/what-type-of-roast-has-the-lowest-caffeine-content">lowest-caffeine roast</a>, or <a href="https://coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/79/how-can-i-figure-out-how-much-caffeine-is-in-my-cup">calculating caffeine content</a>)</li>
<li>Certain preparation methods have more caffeine (e.g., <a href="https://coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/128/what-preparation-method-yields-the-most-caffeine">caffeine content of preparation methods</a>)</li>
<li>There are factors in <a href="https://coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/1564/what-do-the-terms-extraction-and-strength-mean">strength and extraction</a> -- e.g., more grounds and higher extraction will generally provide more caffeine.</li>
</ul>

<p>I'm lumping this all under "caffeine", but there are probably other stimulants in coffee besides caffeine (e.g., as suggested in <a href="http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/106/23/2935.full" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this article</a> and others). </p>

<p>And then there's the intangible factors in "stimulation", such as marketing, cafe atmosphere, and so forth, which might have some other kind of effect (like "conditioning" or other "mind games") that might help you <em>feel like</em> the coffee is even more stimulating than it would be otherwise. These veer off-topic too much to discuss further.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-02T00:10:56.073Z
Thank you for the thorough answer and for editing the question!
jetlej
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-01T19:55:27.403Z
2015-03-01T19:55:27.403Z
2017-04-13T12:51:53.733Z
hoc_age
<p>I've had all types of coffee, but certain brands or preparations seem to get me more 'speeded up' (like Starbucks coffee) than others. What causes certain coffee to be more "stimulating" than other coffee? Is is the caffeine content? How it's brewed? </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-01T15:11:26.797Z
Hello and welcome to Coffee.SE! Unfortunately I think this question is going to get closed for being too opinion based. You could maybe rework it to ask if Starbuck's house blend has a higher caffeine content than average coffee? If you have any questions join us on the chat: http://chat.stackexchange.com/ or review the tour: http://coffee.stackexchange.com/tour
Justin C
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-01T20:14:10.310Z
I changed around the question to be (hopefully) still what you're after, but more objective: Why is some coffee more "stimulating"? and left one answer about factors that affect caffeine content. If this isn't what you're after (or if others disagree!) feel free to suggest edits or close.
hoc_age
<caffeine><beans><strength><starbucks><extraction>
Why does some coffee "hit me" harder than other coffee?
jetlej
# Why does some coffee "hit me" harder than other coffee?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-03-01)

I've had all types of coffee, but certain brands or preparations seem to get me more 'speeded up' (like Starbucks coffee) than others. What causes certain coffee to be more "stimulating" than other coffee? Is is the caffeine content? How it's brewed?

**Tags:** caffeine, beans, strength, starbucks, extraction

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Hello and welcome to Coffee.SE! Unfortunately I think this question is going to get closed for being too opinion based. You could maybe rework it to ask if Starbuck's house blend has a higher caffeine content than average coffee? If you have any questions join us on the chat: http://chat.stackexchange.com/ or review the tour: http://coffee.stackexchange.com/tour  
> **username_2**: I changed around the question to be (hopefully) still what you're after, but more objective: Why is some coffee more "stimulating"? and left one answer about factors that affect caffeine content. If this isn't what you're after (or if others disagree!) feel free to suggest edits or close.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2015-03-01. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

There are a number of concrete factors that will impact the stimulation you get from a cup of coffee, but it probably boils down to **the amount of caffeine (and any other stimulants) that are in your cup** that get extracted from the beans. Here's a few factors that affect the caffeine content of coffee, with links to other related questions on this site:

* Certain beans have more caffeine (themselves, per mass) than others, so there's more of it to get extracted into the cup;
* Certain roasts (e.g., lighter) have more caffeine than others (see also [lowest-caffeine roast](https://coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/29/what-type-of-roast-has-the-lowest-caffeine-content), or [calculating caffeine content](https://coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/79/how-can-i-figure-out-how-much-caffeine-is-in-my-cup))
* Certain preparation methods have more caffeine (e.g., [caffeine content of preparation methods](https://coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/128/what-preparation-method-yields-the-most-caffeine))
* There are factors in [strength and extraction](https://coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/1564/what-do-the-terms-extraction-and-strength-mean) -- e.g., more grounds and higher extraction will generally provide more caffeine.

I'm lumping this all under "caffeine", but there are probably other stimulants in coffee besides caffeine (e.g., as suggested in [this article](http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/106/23/2935.full) and others).

And then there's the intangible factors in "stimulation", such as marketing, cafe atmosphere, and so forth, which might have some other kind of effect (like "conditioning" or other "mind games") that might help you *feel like* the coffee is even more stimulating than it would be otherwise. These veer off-topic too much to discuss further.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you for the thorough answer and for editing the question!  

---

