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I saw a question on here about cold brew vs hot brew caffeine content and was wondering what is the easiest (or best) way to measure this at home (if possible)

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If you can find Ethyl Acetate (some nail polish removers), you can probably do this.

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  • this is exactly the kind of hacky stack overflow answer i was looking for... since you can measure the caffeine as a solid left afterwards, you can actually compare results... or rub it on your gums.
    – bound008
    Commented Jul 21, 2010 at 2:22
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    I wouldn't eat it. I doubt it is too pure (bicarbonate, sulfate, and impurities in NP remover), but do whatever makes you happy.
    – Adam Shiemke
    Commented Jul 21, 2010 at 2:32
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    The experiment you link to doesn't mention ethyl acetate. It does however require dichloromethane, sodium sulfate, and a fume hood, which you may or may not have lying around the house.
    – Nate Eldredge
    Commented Jan 16, 2015 at 1:47
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I don't think anything short of HPLC or extraction and purification will give you a precise result. If you'd be ok with more of a rough idea of whether something has a lot or a little caffeine, there are test strips available.

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  • I've done simpler extractions than that... I'll have to find the procedure.
    – Adam Shiemke
    Commented Jul 19, 2010 at 11:00
  • Test strips - nice!
    – sdg
    Commented Jul 19, 2010 at 16:37
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    Test strips are not available anymore. Starbucks probably made sure of that.
    – user28649
    Commented Oct 13, 2014 at 0:12

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