Zoey Jeffries
Organic Chemistry Period 3
September 10th-17th 2024
Caffeine Percentage in Hawaiian Coffee (5 points)
Objective / Purpose (10 points)
The purpose of this experiment was to decaffeinate coffee and calculate the percent of caffeine in a
sample of coffee.
Introduction (10 points)
The percentage of caffeine in coffee could be helpful to people who want to know what they put in
their bodies or the FDA when companies are reporting what’s in their new product. Separatory
funnels work because when the liquids separate into layers with the densest at the bottom. Distillation
works by heating a liquid until it evaporates and then that gas moves into the condenser where the
cold water condenses the gas back into a liquid. The liquid moves into the second RBF where it can
be collected. Mass of
For this lab think about…
-practical applications of separating caffeine from commercial products
-how does extraction using a separatory funnel work. Be brief, but complete.
-how does distillation work?
-include the mass percent generic equation.
Procedure (10 points)
Chemicals Used: Hawaiian Coffee, Distillated Water, Sodium Carbonate, Dichloromethane, NaCl
Solution, Ethanol.
Equipment Used: Distillation Apparatus, Buchner Funnel, Separatory Funnel, Test Tube, Hot Plate,
Organic Scale, Filter Paper, Melting Point Apparatus.
Lightly boiled 10g of Hawaiian coffee (coffee) and 60 mL of distillated water for 15 minutes. 4
grams of sodium carbonate was added before to assist the dissolving of the caffeine in the coffee.
Results (20 points)
Table 1: Data table collected during lab.
Coffee mass (g) 10.0002g
Volume of Coffee w/o grain 175mL
Dichloromethane and caffeine volume 50mL
Impure Caffeine Crystal Mass 0.693g
Filter Paper Mass 0.399g
Filter Paper and Caffeine Crystal Mass .420g
Different Group’s Melting Point of Caffeine 236℃-239℃
Caffeine Crystal Mass .21g
Include your data table here.
Include any graphs you may have needed to make for the lab here. Include title, x and y
axis labels, and a figure notation.
Look at your lab handout. This will tell you what calculations need to be shown. Work out
your calculations. You can type up your calculations, or take a picture of calculations
done by hand and import them here. If you upload a picture your work should be clear
and easy to read.
Data tables will have titles of “Table 1: description” above the table.
Calculations will have titles of “Figure 1: description of calculation” below the figure.
Discussion / Conclusion (30 points)
The percent composition of impure caffeine in the coffee was 6.9299%. The Folger’s classic roast
percentage is much smaller than the Hawaiian. It is possible that companies can understate how much
caffeine is in their coffee. These differences could otherwise be explained by the details of the lab. Folger’s
probably didn’t use the exact things we did or the chemicals we did. Depending on what Folger’s used as a
solvent the percents could be different. Or this lab could have had a longer extraction time or higher
[Link] is more soluble in DCM because DCM is non-polar while water is polar. This is
because the polarity of caffeine is close to DCM and water is too polar to dissolve caffeine effectively.
4. Caffeine DOES dissolve in butanol. Could butanol be used for an extraction solvent
for caffeine? Explain completely.
5. If the separatory funnel didn’t have a vent, pressure would build up and the liquids
will mix and not separate.
6. If you didn’t use a Buchner funnel, what would the result of the lab been? Why would
this be problematic?
7. If we tried to extract caffeine from coffee beans instead of aqueous coffee, would this
be more or less effective. Explain completely.
References (5 points)
-Citations for any outside resources your used. Typically references are for in text citations you used
in the introduction.