Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Simple living, extreme early retirement, becoming and being wealthy, wisdom, praxis, personal growth,...
JamesR
Posts: 947
Joined: Sun Apr 21, 2013 9:08 pm

Re: Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Post by JamesR »

I've never really been much of a coffee drinker at home. At the office I do sometimes drink the coffee.

Imagine this:

I started a new job in 2014 and I started partaking of the coffee to help me stay productive.

First day I'd have 1 cup in the morning. And then nurse tea the rest of the day. All this caffeine would affect my sleep.

Second day I'm a bit tired from lack of sleep, so I acquire more caffeine. Thus it begins, my sleep is even worse.

Day 3 to 5 I'm consuming up to 3 to 5 cups of coffee. My sleep is terrible. I'm struggling energy wise, with serious mid-day slumps.

On the weekend, since I don't have coffee at home, it never even occurs to me to drink coffee! I ended up crashing hard and napping a lot, and having some brain fog.

The following Monday morning, my caffeine dependence has been reset. I once again have 1 cup of coffee on Monday. The energy-death spiral thus begins all over again.

I did this for about 2-3 months before I realized I should switch to decaf. Decaf reduces the caffeine by 90% while maintaining the same taste.

After that I was able to average about 2 cups of decaf daily during the week, and no coffee on weekends. Much more sustainable!

Coffee is a great social drink to have with coworkers. A group of us at work would walk to a coffee shop every morning for a nice $1 cup of joe.

OTCW
Posts: 437
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:55 am

Re: Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Post by OTCW »

I drink it. I like the taste and the smell.

guitarplayer
Posts: 1300
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 6:43 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Post by guitarplayer »

I drink coffee, but I sometimes have long streaks without it (once over a year, usually 1-2 months).

I would sometimes stress over drinking it and I guess this would contribute to lots of effects I would attribute to coffee itself, e.g. reflux, troubles with sleep and similar.

Recently I have started keeping it in check objectively. I use 50g (with kitchen scales or 10 heaped teaspoons) or slightly less of ground coffee level 3-5 (mostly 3 or 4) most days. According to my research this should correspond to the max daily 400mg of caffeine recommended by the NHS (perhaps slightly over). Sometimes when I have a busy day outside I will use half of that. I prepare it in 2-4 batches (mugs of jugs), just pour hot water over it and let the ground beans sink to the bottom. I drink coffee in the morning / brunch time, and eat in the afternoon or evening.

Coffee is a little pleasure that I am going to keep for the time being, partly because it is abundant, good quality (always organic, acquired from co-ops though admittedly from another continent) and very cheap where I am at.

I think importantly, once I stopped stressing over it and put the 50g bar, any coffee related issues ceased.

User avatar
Alphaville
Posts: 3611
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:50 am
Location: Quarantined

Re: Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Post by Alphaville »

guitarplayer wrote:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 4:23 am
I use 50g (with kitchen scales or 10 heaped teaspoons) or slightly less of ground coffee level 3-5 (mostly 3 or 4) most days. According to my research this should correspond to the max daily 400mg of caffeine recommended by the NHS (perhaps slightly over). Sometimes when I have a busy day outside I will use half of that. I prepare it in 2-4 batches (mugs of jugs), just pour hot water over it and let the ground beans sink to the bottom. I drink coffee in the morning / brunch time, and eat in the afternoon or evening.

[...]

I think importantly, once I stopped stressing over it and put the 50g bar, any coffee related issues ceased.
i like this post because it offers precise measurements. could you please explain what you mean by “coffee related issues”?

i do 18 to 36g daily...

Dream of Freedom
Posts: 753
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2012 5:58 pm
Location: Nebraska, US

Re: Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Post by Dream of Freedom »

I love coffee, but I have had to develop some rules for myself. I don't drink coffee after noon so I don't interrupt my sleep. I also don't drink it on the weekend to keep me sensitive to caffeine.

guitarplayer
Posts: 1300
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 6:43 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Post by guitarplayer »

@Alphaville, sorry that was a mental shortcut on my part. I mean problems I have been attributing to drinking coffee that actually may be caused by something else, like for example:

- heartburn
- problems falling asleep
- restlessness

I think there is certainly a possibility of physical overdose, this is why having the 'g' limit makes sense for me. In terms of time of the day, if I could get up whenever I wanted I would probably relax the breakfast/brunch condition and sometimes have coffee later, stay up longer and wake up later the next day.

But sometimes I have to wake up at 6.30am for the job, and so if I had a coffee at lunchtime or later I would have probably stayed up a bit longer and not catch enough sleep. Not enough sleep is no good and can contribute to restlessness and heartburn.

When there is too much mental work in a short time (as in, with a deadline), coffee sometimes was a natural go-to for me. But actually I discovered it distracts me from the task and so the job does not get done (or ends up being lousy), ergo stress and again, above issues. So now I just tend to tell my boss that I might not manage to get it done on time and move the deadline ;)

Or sometimes I would just stress about the troubles falling asleep coffee would bring me and therefore would have the troubles falling asleep aka self fulfilling prophecy.

Coffee works great for me if there is lots of physical work to be done, it really boosts the system.

Otherwise, I really like the state of mind coffee puts me in and for sure it makes me more creative when thinking about topics of my choice, so like ERE for example :) Sometimes I can almost feel the neurons hitting these new connections, proper state of flow.

I can get a similar state after exercise and this might be my way of getting there more often once good quality coffee stops being abundant and cheap for me.

By the way, if anyone has other ways of getting to the state of flow I would very much appreciate sharing, I am trying to have a collection of these.
EDIT: I might try to look up if there was a thread on 'flow' on the forum and if not, set one up.

User avatar
Alphaville
Posts: 3611
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:50 am
Location: Quarantined

Re: Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Post by Alphaville »

guitarplayer wrote:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 9:19 am
@Alphaville, sorry that was a mental shortcut on my part. I mean problems I have been attributing to drinking coffee that actually may be caused by something else, like for example:

- heartburn
- problems falling asleep
- restlessness

I think there is certainly a possibility of physical overdose
ah i get what you mean now, thanks. i thought you meant “not getting enough” (the real problem :lol:)

i think if you overdose you’ll just feel crummy, but won’t keep drinking more, which is why we don’t have real coffee junkies the way we have cokeheads or alcoholics. (of course pills/powders are different and can be dangerous.)

coffee seems to have built-in limiters... i forgot where i read that, some science news or journal or talk or something.searching for this bit of info lands me on scaremongering articles with no evidence.

this however:
https://www.healthline.com/health/caffe ... -on-body#1
mentions 45% decreased suicide risk for coffee drinkers, so I’LL TAKE IT :lol:

CS
Posts: 709
Joined: Sat Dec 29, 2012 10:24 pm

Re: Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Post by CS »

My morning coffee is hands down is my favorite time of day. On a great day, I get right into my most pressing task while sipping on the hot deliciousness. Even when working gigs, I always got a coffee and took the time to wake up at work. In solitude if it was good gig.

I used to do french press, but with the chaos of moving around I've adapted to whatever is around. Supporting the local coffee stand at work, or the hotel coffee, or at home, Via packets. I love the simplicity of turning on the water heater and just pouring my drink a few minutes later. I have one packet split over two cups of water every day. It helps that coffee doesn't taste as good to me after two cups. There is an excellent organic decaf I occasionally have in the afternoon before 5 pm when a craving does hit, but even that decaf, which is low in caffeine even for a decaf, can keep me up if I have it too late.

There is some guilt for the waste of the packets, but it hasn't been enough for me to change my ways yet. You can get boxes of 50 off Amazon for a decent price.

guitarplayer
Posts: 1300
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 6:43 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Post by guitarplayer »

Alphaville wrote:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 10:36 am
ah i get what you mean now, thanks. i thought you meant “not getting enough” (the real problem :lol:)
:D

I think part of the reason there are no real coffee junkies is also that it is difficult to consume a lot of caffeine in a short amount of time by just drinking coffee - because of the limited amount of liquid one can drink at once, the limited amount of caffeine that can be extracted from a ground coffee infusion and the unbearable taste of instant coffee made from half a jar of it.

So by the time you feel like more coffee, you are already feeling crammy and rather pass.

By the same token, I would imagine that if hangover were to come 30min after having shots rather than the next day, there would be much less if any alcoholics.

Dream of Freedom
Posts: 753
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2012 5:58 pm
Location: Nebraska, US

Re: Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Post by Dream of Freedom »

There are plenty of coffee junkies. You just don't see the affects of them getting restless and jittery because they become tolerant. Your body does eventually figure out that your adenosine receptors aren't working and adapts.

User avatar
Alphaville
Posts: 3611
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:50 am
Location: Quarantined

Re: Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Post by Alphaville »

Dream of Freedom wrote:
Fri Jul 17, 2020 11:31 am
There are plenty of coffee junkies. You just don't see them getting restless and jittery because they become tolerant. Your body does eventually figure out that your adenosine receptors aren't working and adapts.
nah, that’s a limited dependence, a junky is a different sort of human—the hardest working people in the world actually.

BeyondtheWrap
Posts: 598
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:38 pm
Location: NYC

Re: Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Post by BeyondtheWrap »

I never liked the taste of coffee.

I always preferred to get my shitting out of the way in the morning before my shower so I don't have to worry about it for the rest of the day. Back when I was working as a cashier, I worked a variable schedule that could be as early as 8-4 or as late as 3-11. I noticed that I was often unable to take a shit before my early morning shifts, as if my asshole had not opened for business yet. Then when I got to work, I would sometimes have a can of Coke from the vending machine because I was so tired. About 30 minutes later, the farting started. This pattern got me thinking that maybe the caffeine was inducing farting, and by extension, that caffeine could be the solution to my early morning constipation.

I found that at CVS I could buy an 80-count bottle of 200mg caffeine tablets for $13.49. That's 15 cents a tablet, which has as much caffeine as 1 to 3 cups of coffee (depending on who you ask). With time I found there were even better deals for larger quantities online.

At first I would only take them on the days I worked mornings, but eventually I was taking them everyday including weekends to avoid withdrawal headaches. One per day was all I needed though, because I didn't have problems staying awake, I just needed help with my morning shits. Especially once I switched to a job with a morning schedule everyday.

I also participated in evening classes and activities, and after a few years I found myself needing a caffeine boost on those evenings due to tiredness and/or withdrawal headaches. So, on those days I might add another caffeine tablet, an energy shot, or an energy drink depending on how well prepared I was.

When I started working from home due to COVID-19, I gave up caffeine the first week. The withdrawal headaches were brutal the next day, and manageable the day after that. It also took a few days before I had to shit again.

Dream of Freedom
Posts: 753
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2012 5:58 pm
Location: Nebraska, US

Re: Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Post by Dream of Freedom »

The farting doesn't sound like a caffeine thing, but a fructose thing. Bacteria in your gut ferments the fructose in the soda produces hydrogen and methane gases.

BeyondtheWrap
Posts: 598
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:38 pm
Location: NYC

Re: Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Post by BeyondtheWrap »

@Dream of Freedom:
That's possible. I guess the carbon dioxide could also have played a role.

Nevertheless, though the inspiration may have been incorrect, caffeine ended up being an effective solution.

catpepper
Posts: 49
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2020 9:19 am
Contact:

Re: Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Post by catpepper »

For some reason coffee makes me sleepy. And seems like my threshold for caffeine is very low. About 3 or 4 cups of coffee will cause me to get over-caffeinated. The first time I experienced it, it was terrible. I kept yawning and felt like I was gonna black out, but I just couldn't. Had to drink lots of water and went out for a walk before it subsided.

I mostly drink tea. Tea keeps me awake better. I go for black tea like big red robe. They aren't sweet at all and I feel like it "detox" my body better? I know detoxing isn't a thing but I feel like it cleans my teeth and lowers my blood sugar.

Cheepnis
Posts: 303
Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2018 11:52 am

Re: Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Post by Cheepnis »

I like coffee. Drink it mostly black, maybe a little cream. However I only drink it sparingly and never for the effect. Maybe brew a cup with breakfast on Saturday during fall/winter.

User avatar
Lemur
Posts: 1612
Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2016 1:40 am
Location: USA

Re: Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Post by Lemur »

Every morning.

Because caffeine helps me focus.

bostonimproper
Posts: 581
Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2018 11:45 am

Re: Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Post by bostonimproper »

I don't drink coffee. My mother used to have a couple mugs of it daily and went through terrible migraines when she went cold turkey. The tradeoff never seemed worth it.

Also, I feel like I'm pretty intolerant of caffeine. Like, I'll occasionally have green tea and if I'm not careful about how much I put in my tea strainer, I could be jittery af with heart palpitations. OTOH sometimes a cup of caffeinated tea will make me sleepy and nudge me toward an early nap.

BookLoverL
Posts: 294
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 4:17 pm
Location: England

Re: Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Post by BookLoverL »

Regarding coffee making people sleepy, apparently that's pretty common in people with ADHD. I've heard that from multiple people I know with ADHD and also seen it on some websites. It makes sense that coffee might act differently in the case of ADHD, I suppose, since ADHD is commonly treated with stimulant medication.

JamesR
Posts: 947
Joined: Sun Apr 21, 2013 9:08 pm

Re: Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

Post by JamesR »

For most of my 20's and early 30's I had a couple of associations in my head:

1) The main purpose to drink coffee is to acquire caffeine (and thus be stimulated/wide awake!)

2) Decaf is for the weak, is dumb, is crap.
..

But when I realized the caffeine was interfering with my work, I was forced to directly confront the association of "decaf is crap".

In my personal opinion Decaf tastes just fine. To me, it tastes like a slightly watered down regular coffee. It still tastes great.

It makes logical sense to prefer decaf. It's 90% of the flavor, 10% of the caffeine, 100% of the fun.

I really urge people to try & appreciate decaf more. Don't be a decaf snob!

Post Reply