How can you measure the caffeine content of a liquid at home?

Question

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)

score 12 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 19 '10 at 16:08

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

answered Jul 19 '10 at 16:08

Adam Shiemke

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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 Jul 21 '10 at 02:22
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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 Jul 21 '10 at 02:32
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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 Jan 16 '15 at 01:47

score 8 · Answer 2 · edited Jul 13 '15 at 21:06

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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.

edited Jul 13 '15 at 21:06

chbrown

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answered Jul 19 '10 at 07:21

Ward - Trying Codidact

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I've done simpler extractions than that... I'll have to find the procedure. – Adam Shiemke Jul 19 '10 at 11:00
Test strips - nice! – sdg Jul 19 '10 at 16:37
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Test strips are not available anymore. Starbucks probably made sure of that. – Oct 13 '14 at 00:12

How can you measure the caffeine content of a liquid at home?

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