[HN Gopher] I quit caffeine
___________________________________________________________________
I quit caffeine
Author : ezekg
Score : 194 points
Date : 2022-01-10 18:19 UTC (4 hours ago)
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| ai_ia wrote:
| I used to take a large number of black coffee throughout the day.
| Otherwise just feel tired even though I am fully rested.
|
| Recently started experimenting with nootropics as a replacement
| for coffee. Started L-theanine + caffeine capsules. Surprisingly,
| feel attentive throughout the day and better sleep at night too.
| Workout is better as well. Don't know how long these effects will
| last. But for now, I have quit coffee for good.
| srrge wrote:
| I tried many time to stop coffee and tea and for one year now I
| am sober. I am very happy with my decision. I feel much better
| and much less anxiety
| brightball wrote:
| I quit successfully several different times. The key to avoiding
| all the withdrawal symptoms is drinking a lot of water IMO.
|
| I've just reduced intake at this point though.
| marcosdumay wrote:
| > I quit successfully several different times.
|
| This phrase... I'm struggling to interpret it in a way that
| doesn't mean exactly the opposite of what you were trying to
| say.
|
| It's a good one to use in a joke.
| brightball wrote:
| Kinda the point. :)
|
| I quit for a period of several months many times though. Got
| past the withdrawal and was generally fine without it. It's
| easy to let it creep back in and hard to avoid it all the
| time.
|
| Now I just drink half-caffeine coffee in the morning and cut
| out soft drinks.
| wayoutthere wrote:
| Same experience. I didn't quit completely, but I do limit myself
| to one cup of coffee in the morning. The rest of my fluid intake
| is water. I don't have trouble sleeping anymore.
| FilMo wrote:
| loufe wrote:
| I quit coffee and tea 7 years ago. I loved the taste of black
| coffee but I had trouble sleeping and didn't love the idea of
| being addicted to anything. Weeks of headaches but I came out
| just fine. Sometimes I wonder if being addicted all my teenage
| years made my brain somewhat dependent on it, and if that has led
| to an off-caffeine lower IQ or something, that's a fun rabbit
| hole to go down.
|
| 7 years on it still tempts me, but not like seeing somebody enjoy
| a cigarette does. I work rotations and have 15 hour days
| frequently, I don't go for a coffee when tired and just deal with
| it. Stressful and engaging work is enough to keep me perky.
|
| Good luck to anyone who tries quitting. Try timing it at a time
| when you can afford to be less productive/sharp if you can. If
| not, just deal with it.
| Simplicitas wrote:
| Everyone has their own love/hate relationship with caffeine. To
| each their own.
| alexose wrote:
| I've definitely noticed a change in how my body handles caffeine
| now that I'm in my mid 30s. Less euphoria, more heart-pounding-
| through-my-chest. I still love the taste, though, and the routine
| of making pourovers/aeropresses/etc.
|
| One thing that's really helped me is to always have decaf as
| easily accessible as regular. It helps me separate the caffeine
| dosage from all of the other things I love about coffee.
| mirekrusin wrote:
| You can get bean-to-cup machine and mix 50/50 or even 70/30
| decaf and normal beans - it works very well (look at quality of
| decaf, make sure it's water or co2-decafinated not chemically-
| decafinated). Also as I said above L-Theanin works very, very
| well with coffee to relieve unwanted symptoms.
| carlgreene wrote:
| I quit caffeine about 8 weeks ago for mental health reasons. It
| has been TREMENDOUS so far. I'm still hesitant on writing about
| it because it's such a new experiment.
|
| When I was on caffeine I was on a lot of it. Probably around
| 400-600mg a day combining my pre workout with my daily coffees.
| It is one of my favorite drugs and I loved taking it. This was
| the last 15 years of my life.
|
| I became quite irritable over the past couple years with the
| inability for my mind to sit still which spiraled me into manic
| depression. I slowly weened myself off for a few months and
| finally quit altogether 8 weeks ago.
|
| I've noticed I am much calmer, my mind is quieter, and my bipolar
| 2 is no where to be seen. Life definitely seems "duller" which
| sucks. But the lack of excitement everywhere feels much
| healthier.
|
| Working out is definitely harder, as is being productive at work,
| but I'm slowly figuring out ways to combat that. If you haven't
| taken a break I highly recommend it. Even to just reduce you
| tolerance so you can feel just how powerful a drug this stuff is.
| qwertox wrote:
| I've quit drinking coffee and any caffeine-containing product
| for a couple of months, but I ultimately ended up with drinking
| one cup in the morning, a single teaspoon of instant coffee. I
| can sip from it for an hour, it's ok if it has become cold.
|
| Before quitting I was drinking around 5 or 6 cups of coffee a
| day with around 2 teaspoons each. Any decrease in caffeine
| intake would give me a migraine, which lowered my desire to
| drink coffee, leading to migraines of 3 days in duration. A
| detox. And I was always on the edge, felt super restless
| without actually being able to eliminate this feeling.
|
| Removing refined sugar from my diet is now priority #1,
| including chocolate and whatever contains it to enhance taste.
| Afterwards I may try fully quitting drinking coffee again,
| which shouldn't be that hard. It's just that it's a nice thing
| to be doing, like playing with a cigarette between the fingers
| and smoking it. You loose something if you remove this from the
| life, and what you gain isn't always that obvious. Well, the
| benefits of quitting smoking are easy to recognize, but it's
| harder with coffee.
| specto wrote:
| Exactly. Coffee is fine in moderation, 1 maybe 2 cups a day.
| Most people who talk about quitting are drinking 3-6 cups.
| spacemadness wrote:
| Everything being duller is what I recall the last time I tried
| quitting. My theory is that it takes quite a while until you
| achieve a new baseline. I was much calmer which is a good
| tradeoff I think. I cut my caffeine down to one cup of coffee
| in the morning and think I get the best of both worlds but
| maybe I should try quitting again and see if that holds.
| kzrdude wrote:
| Do you sleep better now, is that the explanation? I quit coffee
| for a few years, to fix my sleep, and it really did (now I'm
| back on caffeine and managing ok-ish).
|
| I would suggest to anyone curious to try. And if you quit
| coffee make it two weeks or so to really see the difference.
| carlgreene wrote:
| I dream more, but I didn't ever really have a problem
| sleeping.
| derbOac wrote:
| When I've read about people quitting caffeine, it seems like
| half of people see no difference and half of them feel like
| their lives have improved.
|
| I'm kind of thinking of stopping, only because it bothers me if
| I go on a trip or something and have to get caffeine to avoid
| headaches. Also, part of me wonders how caffeine is influencing
| me overall, if it's doing things I'm not aware of.
|
| To be honest, the reason why I'm reluctant to try it is because
| I tea and coffee occupy this place that I can't quite find a
| replacement for, which is something interesting, low-calorie,
| and not a depressant. By "interesting" I might mean "artisanal"
| or "varietal", but I'm not even sure I mean anything that
| specific: I just mean, there's interesting variety, differences
| in products to try. Coffee and/or tea also are pretty low
| calorie if taken black (like I do), and unlike things like wine
| or beer, which are also artisanal in nature, don't act as
| depressants per se.
|
| If there was something like coffee or tea, with lots of variety
| and skill involved, that kept me from consuming calories from
| other sources, and didn't have any kind of
| psychopharmacological effects, I could go to that. But I am not
| aware of anything like that.
|
| Maybe I just need to rethink my perspective on it and what I
| could do to address those issues in other ways, but there are a
| lot of benefits to caffeinated beverages aside from the
| caffeine.
| morsch wrote:
| Herbal teas? I'm sure there's a subculture of artisinal
| herbal teas. You can even grow your own.
| barbazoo wrote:
| Even black teas have far less caffeine than coffee and
| quite a bit of variety. If I were to quit coffee I'd start
| there.
| meristohm wrote:
| Since the water's hot for my partner's coffee, when I'm
| practicing going without caffeine I add a little lemon juice
| and ascorbic acid (vitamin C) powder to a cup of hot water,
| per Gandhi advice from a book he wrote in his 20s (?). It's
| too hot and acidic to quaff, and while I still miss coffee
| with whole milk, this is a workable substitute that allows me
| to have wonderfully engaging dreams as part of a full-night's
| sleep.
| rhino369 wrote:
| I quit and I just felt worse. I'm not a morning person and only
| caffeine lets me function.
|
| My trade off was no caffeine on the weekends. It lowered my
| tolerance a lot since I had over 48 hours off it.
|
| I don't have any mental health issues, so I can't speak to that
| trade off. But in the past, when I've had some anxiety,
| caffeine makes it worse.
| lmarcos wrote:
| After reading you, I wish I drink coffee so I can quit and
| experience the same feeling you experienced.
| berryg wrote:
| I stopped drinking coffee 20 years ago. Mainly because I suffered
| a lot from IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). After I stopped
| drinking coffee that quickly improved. And an added benefit was
| that I finally understood what sleeping and waking up properly
| really meant. What a difference! Later I worked hard to learn how
| to deal with stress. That further improved my IBS. My health has
| improved enormously. And still, after all these years, small
| amounts of caffeine, think chocolate, black of non-herbal tea,
| cola, etc., have an immediate effect.
| higgins wrote:
| Congratulations, @ezekg and keep it going! I recently went 1 year
| without it (though technically I did have chocolate a few times:
| https://encapsulate.me/writing/2021.html) and will continue off
| it.
|
| A few things I found helpful in my transition off it: - Panax
| Ginseng tea - Macca root - Regular weight lifting exercises -
| Regular good night of sleep
|
| Thanks for sharing!
| smcl wrote:
| One 2-cup moka (not huge) mid-morning and another after lunch is
| already a little too much for me sometimes. I cannot fathom
| taking in this amount of coffee, I would be an utter wreck.
| fredfoobar wrote:
| I just have one large cup of coffee in the morning for the taste
| and that's about it. I feel bad for this person.
| kseistrup wrote:
| I am currently trying to limit my caffeine intake by mixing
| increasing amounts of decaf beans into my regular coffee beans,
| as I do not wish to go through seeveral weeks with low mood,
| headaches and feeling tired. So far it's going beyond my
| expectations: I have tried to go decaf so many times in my life
| and has always relapsed because of the withdrawal symptoms.
| Slowly and gradually decreasing the daily caffeine intake seems
| to do the trick.
|
| I would love to try the Rasa coffee alternative that the author
| is talking about, but I can't seem to find a reseller within the
| EU.
| saganus wrote:
| I never realized how strong caffeine actually is, until I cut
| down my 5-6 cups a day intake to just 1 in the morning.
|
| Now very occasionally (perhaps once every couple of months) I
| drink another cup after lunch (but never after 4PM, or I won't be
| able to sleep properly that night).
|
| The problem is that I _really_ like the flavor. I've tried decaf
| as well and while it's not bad, I do prefer grinding my beans
| just before brewing my cup.
|
| I also hate that whenever I have quit cold-turkey I've gotten
| those nasty migraines. It's impressive how can a drink that we
| don't really think about much (Starbucks everywhere) can cause
| such strong effect on people.
| hlbjhblbljib wrote:
| You can get decaf beans, they are out there.
| saganus wrote:
| I think I've seen them before, but very rarely.
|
| I guess I'll need to look harder. Thanks for the suggestion
| northernexposur wrote:
| This is word-for-word, event-for-event what I just went through.
| I also have the same decaf intolerance, now, as well as
| sensitivity to any caffeine. This after years without issues.
|
| Uncanny. I still miss coffee, and the 'life feeling duller' thing
| is real. On the other hand, quieter mind, better sleep.
| rzimmerman wrote:
| Quitting caffeine cold-turkey is very unpleasant. It can take a
| full two weeks of withdrawal (bad headaches, general tiredness).
| I've had more success reducing the amount (3/4 caf -> 1/2 caf)
| over time.
|
| Anything more that 4 cups a day is probably unhealthy. Remember
| that 1 "cup" of coffee is actually 6 oz, so a normal coffee mug
| or latte is twice that. One coffee (2 "cups" or a latte) in the
| morning and one around 2pm works fine for me, but everyone's body
| is different.
| manmal wrote:
| There are also slow and fast caffeine metabolizers, so there's
| not one single safe amount.
| inglor_cz wrote:
| Quantity of coffee is probably better determined by the weight
| of dry coffee that went into the beverage than by the volume of
| the resulting drink. Someone adds more water, someone prefers
| less, but they both may be on the same amount of coffee.
|
| Everyone's body is indeed different. I switched to
| decaffeinated tea and coffee exactly a week ago. There wasn't
| any noticeable difference, maybe my sleep feels a bit
| different, but that is about it.
|
| I already suspected that I am more attracted to the flavor of
| tea and coffee than to their actual caffeine content, because I
| could drink six cups of coffee one day, zero the next day, and
| feel no withdrawal.
| fristechill wrote:
| I've 'quit' tea and coffee for long periods. It only takes a
| small daily quantity of caffeine to eliminate the withdrawal
| headaches. One 'Pro Plus' pill per day is probably sufficient
| (50mg anhydrous caffeine), reduced to half a pill per day after
| a week, then nothing after two weeks. Pills don't trigger the
| addictive yearning as much as the full coffee experience does.
| There's still sleepiness to contend with, however.
| JJMcJ wrote:
| Coffee has effects beyond just the caffeine, in a way that
| caffeine pills or even tea do not.
| lkxijlewlf wrote:
| Happens to me as well. Stress and caffeine = heart on a roller
| coaster. At that point I'll usually back down to 1 cup in the
| morning. But, alas, I eventually work my way back up to, ahem,
| never mind how many cups and start the cycle over.
| ceesharp wrote:
| I just buy caffeine pills. Easier! :)
| twox2 wrote:
| I used to have panic attacks a few times a week. Ever since I
| quit coffee, it's maybe few times per year. I wasn't a heavy
| coffee drinker either, just 1 per day on most days, sometimes 2.
| fareesh wrote:
| When I moved to University in Canada I was introduced to "Wake
| Ups" caffeine pills.
|
| I am not a coffee drinker, but I liked to stay up late, and I had
| to go to class, so I decided to try these out, since at that age
| you feel like you are invulnerable.
|
| These symptoms seem pretty consistent with some that I felt in
| extreme cases. I stopped taking them after a few attempts.
|
| The positives of Caffeine were great though. I felt "on" like
| never before. Sharp, quick-witted, alert. I appreciate why some
| find it difficult to quit. Is there anything else that has a
| similar effect minus the downsides?
| imilk wrote:
| Any stimulant that brings you up is also going to make you
| crash down. And with repeated use, the highs get lower and the
| crashes come when you don't take it. There are ways to manage
| the comedown (such as tapering), but no ways to avoid it.
| greyman wrote:
| So what exactly is the benefit of not drinking coffee? I usually
| drink 1-2 cups daily (espresso), and don't see it as a big deal.
| Sometimes I skip it for a day, and I don't feel much differently.
| bagacrap wrote:
| congrats, you're doing it right. For some people it becomes a
| necessity, and for others it disrupts sleep (even if they won't
| admit it to themselves or others).
| chmod600 wrote:
| I was never really into coffee, but I think it's probably good if
| you keep it around a cup per day. A small enough amount that you
| can skip a day without a problem, or have an extra cup when you
| need it and it will be effective without jittering.
|
| If you are able to sleep well consistently (less than 10% bad
| sleeps) then zero coffee is fine. You just don't need it. But not
| everyone is so fortunate.
| winrid wrote:
| Recently I got the stomach flu. It was a great opportunity to
| quit coffee since I pretty much just slept around all day anyway.
|
| Now I just drink a cup of black tea a day. I feel a lot "nicer",
| but definitely less productive, as expected.
|
| I'm trying to just keep my coffee drinking to Sundays when I work
| on my projects, and am less likely to get irritated with someone
| because they don't talk super fast :P
| m3kw9 wrote:
| It seem that people that quit caffeine and having good effects
| are the ones drinking 6 cups a day. I've quit drinking coffee
| before but I'm drinking 1-2 cups, and all I got was a 2 day
| headache maybe less urge to drink it. But the difference have not
| been very profound
| bluetomcat wrote:
| For me, giving up the second cup in the afternoon makes all the
| difference. With just one cup in the morning, I enjoy quality
| sleep, reduced jittery and no ache in the blood vessels. A second
| cup literally destroys my next day, and I would wake up tired,
| wanting even more coffee.
| llimllib wrote:
| I didn't quit caffeine, but I cut down massively by keeping it in
| a Zojirushi mug that keeps it hot all morning instead of drinking
| from a regular mug. Because it stays hot, I just sip it, and that
| way I only drink one mug in the morning and occasionally one in
| the afternoon, instead of the 3 or 4 mugs I would drink
| previously.
| patwolf wrote:
| +1 for Zojirushi. I do wish they made something shaped more
| like a traditional mug than a travel mug. I've tried various
| brands of insulated mugs, and at most they let me stretch out
| my cup of coffee to 45 minutes. With a Zojirushi I can make a
| cup last hours.
| stbtrax wrote:
| Zojirushi keeps the drink too scalding unless you pour it out
| into a different vessel. Try an Ember mug. A little annoying
| to keep it on the charging coaster but keeps it at a
| drinkable temp indefinitely.
| techwizrd wrote:
| I used to think the concept of a mug warmer or a heated mug
| was quite silly. My wife and I received Ember mugs a few
| months ago, and they're a lot less silly than I thought--they
| just keep your cup warm to exactly the temperature you
| prefer. If anyone is still on the fence, I highly recommend
| some kind of mug warmer or heated mug. There is something
| quite freeing about not worrying if you're drinking your
| coffee/tea/etc fast enough to avoid it getting cold.
| cactus2093 wrote:
| Have to say I disagree about the Ember mug. It's a little
| bit like the warmer setting on a diner coffee pot, the
| coffee will stay warm a long time but won't necessarily
| stay fresh. And if you drink your coffee with milk the
| Ember mug starts to develop a film along the sides of the
| cup after about 30 minutes which is kind of unappetizing.
| You also have to keep it charged on the stand in between
| uses so you can't put the mug away in the cupboard (unless
| you have an outlet in your cupboard).
|
| I stopped using it and now just use a Yeti tumbler. It
| keeps my coffee hot for at least 2-3 hours which is long
| enough for me, without any of the downsides of the heated
| cup.
| decafninja wrote:
| I know the Zojirushi is recommended a lot, but I'm not a fan.
| It certainly does a great job keeping stuff hot, but the
| silicon(?) parts pretty quickly takes on a strong smell of
| stale coffee that ruins it for me, at least when trying to
| drink from it directly. Pouring it out into a mug helps, but
| kind of defeats the purpose of it.
|
| I've tried everything to get rid of the smell but have not
| been successful.
| gnicholas wrote:
| This is an interesting technique. When I first started working
| in a place that had lots of free/good food, I was worried I'd
| gorge. Instead what I found was that knowing I'd always have
| access to good/free food meant I didn't feel the need to
| overeat ever.
| hammock wrote:
| Similarly, I use a really skinny mug that keeps coffee hot
| longer than usual, and I make sure it stays hot by going back
| to the microwave and reheating it as needed. The heat keeps me
| from chugging it.
|
| I also brew half-caf and mix it with half water before heating
| it. I know I sound like a crazy person.
| dr_orpheus wrote:
| Wait, why would a really skinny mug keep coffee hot longer
| than usual? Wouldn't that mean more surface area to cool a
| given volume. Ideally, you want a spherical coffee cup
| (impracticalities of that aside)
|
| Edit: Nevermind, its the cooling surface of the top of the
| coffee directly exposed to air. I'm just over here thinking
| about spherical chickens in a vacuum...
| [deleted]
| rejectfinite wrote:
| You are doing this wrong. Caffeine pill 100mg (one cup of coffee)
| Then take L-Theamine and Magnesium.
|
| L-Theamine is the calming agent in tea. Helps with anxiety and
| jitters. Magnesium help with that too.
|
| Would not take straight caffeine again.
| mellosouls wrote:
| _I throw a towel over it. Over the years, I learned that a towel
| keeps the coffee hot for longer._
|
| Aka "Tea Cosy".
| lee wrote:
| I never understood why people go cold-turkey to get off of the
| coffee addiction. Simply drink less coffee and gradually lower
| your intake. You can avoid the absolute misery of the withdrawal
| symptoms this way.
|
| Drink half your intake for a few days. Then halve that amount
| again. Soon enough you'll have weaned yourself off caffeine
| without the disruption.
| wbobeirne wrote:
| I catch a lot of flak for all the money I waste by buying coffees
| at coffeeshops, but it's my way of rate limiting. If I want a cup
| of coffee, I first have to make myself presentable, go for a
| walk, and pay a cost. I also feel a bit weird about going back to
| the same place twice in one day, so that usually dissuades a
| follow-up trip, or at least makes me go on an even longer walk.
|
| Caffeine plays with everyone differently, but it's a technique
| that's worked for me. I'll probably never get a full setup at
| home as long as I live in a city.
| nikanj wrote:
| Wait you have to presentable to get coffee from a coffee shop?
| I've made a terrible mistake
| onemoresoop wrote:
| It is solely up to you. At least you want to jump into some
| clothes and not go there in your PJs but that depends on you
| as well.
| AnotherGoodName wrote:
| Any excuse you can to go outside, walk around and interact
| during the work from home environment is a good idea.
|
| Posting this while waiting for my coffee :)
| dr_orpheus wrote:
| I like to rate limit with my own coffee snobbery. Free pots of
| coffee at work? No thank you, I don't want any of that swill.
| I'm going to use my mini hand-pumped espresso maker for a
| single shot of espresso.
|
| I did used to drink the coffee at work and ended up drinking a
| lot of it. Crappy coffee, better drink it fast cause I just
| need the caffeine. Or my cup is not warm anymore so better chug
| the rest of it, or add more hot coffee to the mug. Rinse and
| repeat.
| globular-toast wrote:
| I'm similar, except I'm not even that much of a snob any
| more. The only thing I really insist on is I grind the beans
| myself and make it in a cafetiere.
|
| When I was a student I drank coffee fairly randomly. Any time
| of day really, whenever I felt like it, but it was never too
| much. Then I started at a workplace that had a bean-to-cup
| espresso machine. It got a bit out of control. Coffee was not
| only nice but also an excuse to spark up a conversation. I
| was drinking something like 6-8 cups a day.
|
| Interestingly, I don't recall having any kind of withdrawal
| on the weekends when I would drink much less.
|
| At some point several years ago I decided 6-8 cups is too
| much, and I also read about the bad effects caffeine has on
| sleep. So I decided to have two cups per day: one in the
| morning and one at lunch time. It has become so normal now
| that the thought of drinking coffee at any other time seems
| absurd.
| TAKEMYMONEY wrote:
| Except a real snob would have a better espresso machine at
| home. My handpresso is ok for travel but even compared to
| pleb machines like my Pasquini Livia 90 the quality is bad.
| (Yes I'm using freshly ground beans that were picked and
| processed by virgins under moonlight, etc)
| niklearnstodev wrote:
| I have a similar habit getting similar flak, but with another
| added reason. As a remote worker, going to a place every day
| (often leading to small interactions with others) helps replace
| replace some elements of working from an office (commute, small
| chats with other frequenters, the getting presentable ritual
| you mentioned, etc). I'll append a gripe to this and say that
| employers should allow "work-from-home budgets" to be put
| towards credit at local coffee shops.
| Guest42 wrote:
| Pre-COVID this was my exact approach. I felt like there was a
| certain sense of randomness and adventure that was inspiring
| towards whatever I was working on.
| [deleted]
| oneplane wrote:
| I used to drink a lot of the crappy stuff as well but as soon
| as you know the taste of real coffee (be it an excellent
| 3-minute 1:15 V60 single origin or a double shot espresso fresh
| from the machine from a local specialty roasting place) it just
| doesn't go down anymore.
|
| While it wasn't really much of a caffeine thing for me, I did
| simply like the taste and the fact that it's warm, but once you
| see it for the watery slurry from a marginal blend of "we found
| some beans on a boat" factory that it is, your taste in coffee
| gets upgraded and as a result you end up drinking less because
| the good stuff is not always within reach.
|
| Most people I meet at high quality espresso places have had a
| similar journey, generally from the crappy supermarket pre-
| ground stuff, to paper coffee pads to metal coffee pods to
| actual coffee at which point even the memory of an amazing
| Costa Rica natural at 93degC from a week ago is better than
| whatever an automatic machine can give you.
|
| For me, the caffeine doesn't do the whole 'boost' thing,
| doesn't impede sleep either. Coffee does make me dry out faster
| and that's something other people tend to forget, mistaking a
| headache for coffee-related instead of dehydration. But I can
| often taste the difference in decaf processed coffee and I
| general it does a disservice to the bean.
|
| On top of everything else, you don't really _need_ a lot of
| coffee, and if large volumes of warm liquid is a joy in itself,
| we have things like infusions (ginger, mint, fruits, but also
| Rooibos) that doesn 't really "do" anything but definitely make
| for a tasty hydrating drink.
|
| Right now I just manually grind my coffee at home (weighing it
| of course and making sure the grind size is correct - coffee
| snobbery makes it more work to get a cup you like), and pour a
| V60 or make an aeropress.
|
| Whenever I do want an espresso I'll go outside and visit my
| favourite espresso bar that can pull shots I'll never be able
| to make myself (unless I become a full-time barista I suppose).
| credit_guy wrote:
| > as soon as you know the taste of real coffee
|
| De gustibus non disputandum est. I am one of those who tasted
| "real coffee". I read books about "real coffee", I bought
| equipment, I tried this and that, I went to coffee shops with
| stellar reviews (I live in NYC). I just apparently don't like
| what aficionados rave about. Instead, I used to love the
| ordinary Peet's coffee that I could buy in my office
| building. They don't sell it anymore, and I switched jobs
| anyway. Now I'm fine with Starbucks. I simply drink the
| coffee for the caffeine and not the taste. I guess 90% of the
| people do the same.
| xcambar wrote:
| Coffee snobs are leagues ahead in terms of snobbery of any
| other snobbery I know. And I am from a wine heavy culture, so
| born and raised in snobbery.
|
| And your comment highlights everything that can be irritating
| about coffee enthusiasts. Every paragraph is quote-worthy.
| Almost climactic.
|
| I don't know what has triggered such an elite-like culture in
| coffee but it never ceases to amaze/amuse.
| fleddr wrote:
| It's pure boredom.
|
| Compare it to BBQ culture. In simpler times, one would have
| a cheap metal grill and throw some raw meat on it. By the
| time it almost turns black, you'd eat it.
|
| Now people have a design baking skirt, a machine that can
| grill 50 things at once, temperature management, a slow
| cook schedule lasting days, hipster recipes for the sauce,
| and this doesn't even begin to describe what is now a
| "science".
|
| Back to coffee, the standard stuff is fine. Most machines
| at work now grind beans at the spot and mixes it under high
| pressure. It's much better compared to the work coffee from
| decades ago where you could see the bottom of the cup.
|
| The only meaningful difference with high-end coffee is that
| those have a softer, smoother taste. Less bitter. That's
| it. Yet you'd only notice if you pay attention, drink your
| coffee strong, with no milk, and very little or no sugar.
|
| To mess with me, my g/f regularly switches beans in our
| machine at home, and won't tell me that she did.
| Unknowingly, I was exposed to many types of beans. I did
| not notice any change whatsoever.
|
| Why not? Because I don't pay attention to coffee when I
| drink it. I don't analyze it, I just drink it.
|
| One time she did directly ask: how's the coffee? I asked
| why...did you change it? Yes. As I had already drank it and
| didn't notice a difference, I made up a reply: does seem to
| taste a little bit better.
|
| "Well, they're the cheap ones".
|
| Ok then. Feeling like an idiot, I then started to pay
| attention and actually analyze the taste, which is
| something a normal person doesn't do. I can now tell the
| beans apart consistently, without prior knowledge. But only
| by actively focusing on it.
|
| The only detectable change is softness. The problem is, now
| you're aware of it, and internally associate it as
| superior. And this is how new coffee snobs are born.
| serf wrote:
| >The only meaningful difference with high-end coffee is
| that those have a softer, smoother taste. Less bitter.
| That's it.
|
| respectfully disagree, and i'm not even a coffee snob --
| just a life long addict who doesn't analyze, just drinks.
|
| Wine tastes like shit to me, but i'd never be so sure
| that my interpretation of it was correct that i'd try to
| explain why wine snobs exist. I understand there all
| wines have nuances that I may miss as someone who is
| inexperienced with wine and without a preference towards
| it.
|
| Coffee , more so than most other plant products, has a
| wide variety of tastes. How could it not? It's a plant
| grown in varied areas with varied problems, varied soils,
| and then roasted or treated in varied manners.
|
| We disagree, I understand I won't convince here, but I
| can confess my own experience : coffee is a spectrum of
| flavors , and not everyone has the tongue (or time) to
| notice -- but to dismiss it as 'pure boredom' is
| something I absolutely disagree with.
|
| You don't need a 12kUSD espresso rig to notice that there
| are more than two taste profiles in the world of coffee.
| agumonkey wrote:
| real life and society as rate limiting balancing mechanism :)
| vmception wrote:
| I do something similar only because I'm a social caffeine
| drinker. I only go to cafes when on a walk or date, in prior
| times it would be during a break at the office with coworkers
| walking around the neighborhood. Nowadays that would be like 1
| cafe latte every other week.
|
| But the only reason I have any setup at home at all is because
| I occasionally wake up next to people that believe they need
| coffee in the morning. I dont really know how to operate the
| machine.
|
| Adaptations.
| hffftz wrote:
| > but it's my way of rate limiting
|
| caffeine aint that bad... why do you kneed to do that?
| wbobeirne wrote:
| Everyone's got their own personal tolerances and limits. Did
| you read the blog post? Sounds like OP was having a pretty
| bad time.
| wila wrote:
| Good.. congrats!
|
| Now fix Janurari into Januari (Sorry my OCD kicked in, cannot
| unsee)
| outworlder wrote:
| > When I stand up, my heart skips another beat. Weird. This is
| getting annoying, I think to myself.
|
| Wow, I can relate. Had some tests done because I was having so
| many palpitations I couldn't sleep. Multiple per hour. They
| became far worse whenever I shifted positions (standing -> laying
| down, vice versa). I've always had some infrequent palpitations,
| but those scared me. Tests, as usual, didn't catch anything. Only
| reason my doctor even saw something is that I managed to capture
| some with the Apple watch.
|
| This was even during a break so it wasn't even work-related
| stress.
|
| I was drinking a whole lot of caffeine (couple of big mugs) plus
| maybe 1L of Earl Gray tea.
|
| I cut caffeine - palpitations got _worse_ (initially). Then they
| subsided. It's been one year. I even went back to some coffee
| again. There seems to be a threshold.
| [deleted]
| Unklejoe wrote:
| Same. I was having PVCs, which felt like skipped beats, but
| it's actually a premature contraction (that you sometimes can't
| feel) that occurs between beats, so there's a compensatory
| pause, so it feels like there was a skipped beat.
|
| I was having 20,000 a day. I was consuming a shit ton of
| caffeine (like 600 mg a day), and I quit cold turkey once I
| noticed the insane PVCs. The PVCs did reduce in the following
| months, but I still ended up having an ablation to get rid of
| them.
|
| Maybe if I would have waited longer they would have gone away
| completely, I don't know.
| alexambarch wrote:
| Stories like this make me reconsider making that second cup later
| on in the day. It's just that it's so hard to let yourself be
| tired when the solution is so easily accessible.
|
| I find that making a french press or V60 encourages me to make a
| lot more coffee just because I can, so I've since switched to the
| aeropress. People often state they wish it made more coffee, but
| it's been a nice way for me to limit caffeine consumption without
| feeling like I'm really restricting myself.
| wanderr wrote:
| I have quit caffeine several times. I love the taste of coffee
| and tea, but I become dependent on caffeine very quickly, and
| have to keep upping the dose just to feel normal. Eventually I
| don't feel human until half way through the day and there is no
| amount of caffeine that will give me energy. The withdrawal
| headaches are too excruciating for me to bear so I found a way to
| effectively wean myself off of caffeine using caffeine pills.
| Once you figure out how much caffeine you need to feel ok, you
| know your actual dose and can simply take a little less each day.
| For me that means a week or two of feeling a little groggy, but
| avoiding the headaches. I'm not a morning person, so I'll never
| feel perky in the morning but I at least feel human.
| comboy wrote:
| Have been drinking it for 25 years. Had a few months without here
| and there. It's not much different unless your usage has been
| excessive, which clearly was the case here.
|
| Different people have different metabolism of caffeine and
| different reactions. It's very well documented. I'm one of those
| who have it easier to nap after strong coffee than before it. But
| I do love my espresso.
|
| If you are looking for a reason to start a new better life with
| some different drug read about caffeine influence on adenosine.
| For some people coffee can influence their sleep pretty bad and
| that's no good.
|
| Moderate amounts of coffee correlate positively with better
| health.
|
| Also watch for slight dehydration and if you like it white - the
| fact that many people have at least a tiny lactose intolerance.
| In Italy almost nobody drinks coffee with milk after noon.
|
| And really, statistically, it's one of the easiest popular drugs
| to quit. Maybe a few headaches here and there and you're done.
| It's mostly about the ritual and lifestyle.
| Bellamy wrote:
| I agree with you in almost everything. Even with the 25 years
| drinking period. :)
|
| What I don't agree is the easy to quit part. I get headaches
| and don't stay awake. Even worse is the depression that
| follows. I know I feel better without (quit two times) but
| quitting is really tough.
| stjohnswarts wrote:
| Quitting cold turkey is bad. The only way I successfully did
| it was become very aware, used the same cup for getting it
| and cut down 1 cup a day every week until there were no more
| cups. I didn't get any headaches. When I quit cold turkey
| massive headaches for hours that required aspirin to function
| as a coder.
| mirekrusin wrote:
| Just get L-Theanin and pair it with coffee - palpitations and
| panic like feeling will go away.
| stjohnswarts wrote:
| The only thing I've noticed is caffeine helps my alertness. I'm
| fine as long as I don't have any after 6pm. I'd say my quality of
| life is fine, and I have 3 or 4 cups of chai/coffee a day.
| ovnz wrote:
| A question to the guys who had severe withdrawal symptoms: did
| you drink it with or without sugar?
|
| I personally don't put sugar into coffee or tea and have quit
| cold-turkey a few times without any issues, so I wonder if the
| headache and stuff might be somewhat related to sugar withdrawal,
| not just caffeine. Ideas?
| Antshockey wrote:
| I get withrawal headaches when I cold-turkey quit tea and I
| drink that with no sugar
| p45please wrote:
| I quit cold-turkey around 3 years ago. Caffeine started to affect
| me differently the older I got, and it wasn't until I was almost
| hospitalized from dehydration during a house move that I realized
| I was perhaps a little too dependent on it.
|
| The following couple of weeks after quitting was hell. Migraines,
| shakes, generally feeling awful. I doubted my decision, but
| powered through, and am thankful I did.
|
| Waking up is easier, going to sleep is easier, and personally I
| wasn't a fan of the adrenaline rush feeling I would get after
| drinking coffee. Your mileage may vary, but if you're getting
| older and feeling jittery then definitely give it a try.
| taylorius wrote:
| I use coffee (just Nescafe Azera) to kickstart me in the
| mornings, but I stop consuming at lunchtime. This limited window
| acts to keep some sort of lid on the quantities I consume, as
| well as hopefully leaving me un-caffeinated by bedtime.
| dlbucci wrote:
| Switching to decaf coffee was one of the best health choices I've
| ever made. I used to regularly have a mild headache on Sunday
| every week, but I haven't had that once since quitting. It's also
| super nice to be able to skip coffee in the morning (for whatever
| reason) and just get on with my day.
|
| I did have a mild headache for about 2 weeks when I did quit, but
| honestly, the fact that that happened was just more evidence I
| was doing the right thing. Still, I have yet to convince another
| human being to give it a try. I guess most people are just too
| addicted.
| onemoresoop wrote:
| I drink my first cup as regular and when I get into the office
| I get another one, this one decaf. Though it is not functional,
| I enjoy sipping from throughout the day.
| honksillet wrote:
| The most interesting part for me was "fresh roasted shipped to my
| door". Anyone recommend any services?
| ezekg wrote:
| Author here. I used https://www.drinktrade.com. Lots of
| variety.
| CapitalistCartr wrote:
| Four years ago I decided for New Years to get myself addicted to
| caffeine and alcohol. I couldn't get the alcohol to work, but the
| caffeine has been _wonderful_. I am quite happy with the effects;
| it 's great stuff. No more afternoon drowsiness, easier to get up
| in the early AM, etc. For me, it's sweet tea, rather than coffee,
| though.
| hunterb123 wrote:
| Caffeine is the hardest drug to quit.
|
| Takes two weeks of miserable migraines.
|
| You can lapse at any time later just indulging in one craving.
|
| It just takes one bad morning to break it.
| spacemadness wrote:
| I know you were just exaggerating for effect, but obviously a
| lot of illicit drugs (and not so illicit depending on the
| person: alcohol) are a lot harder to quit for various reasons.
| hunterb123 wrote:
| Not really, I've done a lot of hard drugs, except
| heroin/opioids/benzos, and I'd say caffeine is the hardest to
| quit. Literally been on a 3 day binger awake and couldn't
| figure out why my head hurt, thought it was food, water, oh
| no whoops it was a caffeine withdrawal.
|
| Everything else I can do on and off, some things it's been
| years, caffeine I've only quit once. Lapsed and haven't been
| able to again.
| spacemadness wrote:
| I was specifically thinking of heroin and friends which can
| have massive withdrawal symptoms and need plenty of
| external support to overcome. "all illicit" is too big an
| umbrella I agree. Change that to "some" instead "a lot".
| hunterb123 wrote:
| Certainly, benzos and opioids are very addictive and the
| feedback cycle isn't your friend so you don't fuck with
| em.
|
| That's not saying much about caffeine though, being
| slightly less addictive than heroin is not a high bar.
|
| Compared to any other stimulants though, caffeine is the
| most addictive, with the worst withdraw, in my
| experience.
| bagacrap wrote:
| going cold turkey off benzos can literally kill you
| Ergo19 wrote:
| When I quit, I tapered down at the rate of 5oz a week and never
| experienced headaches.
| shmel wrote:
| I successfully reduced caffeine to zero a few times before
| (usually after reading posts like this). I didn't quit cold
| turkey though, I gradually tapered it off over couple of weeks.
| No withdrawal effects at all.
|
| If you consider caffeine very addictive, use techniques
| developed for fight addiction to addictive drugs like benzos.
| xboxnolifes wrote:
| That seems pretty excessive. Whenever I've gone off caffeine,
| it's only taken 2 days of light headaches. Am I an outlier
| here?
| throw1234651234 wrote:
| Two days for me, for energy drinks, which are worse than
| coffee. I think they just overclock your CNS, so you are
| wasted the next day, and maybe the day after. Then I am fine
| if I sleep enough.
| comboy wrote:
| > Caffeine is the hardest drug to quit.
|
| I kept giggling for a few minutes so much that I got back here
| to thank you for that.
| dwaite wrote:
| A small amount of caffeine has been enough to keep the
| withdrawal headaches from occurring for me.
|
| When I've stopped in the past, I usually take one diet soda I
| don't especially enjoy (like a Diet Pepsi) and drink a quarter
| of a can a day in the morning.
|
| As you might surprise I've never attempted to quit caffeine
| permanently, just to reduce my consumption or to stop for a few
| months. It is indeed an easy habit to start back on.
| Jtsummers wrote:
| I do the same, but wait until the headache starts, rather
| than anticipating it, to drink something caffeinated. I've
| found this helps me quit faster, and a 10-minute headache
| isn't insufferable (a single caffeinated beverage usually
| ends the headache quickly for me). I've never needed more
| than 2-3 days to get passed that part.
|
| But, like you, I've never tried to totally quit. I "test"
| myself by usually abstaining from caffeine on the weekends.
| If I get even a slight headache, then it's time to cut back.
| livinglist wrote:
| I agree
| livinglist wrote:
| but you can alllways find replacement like tea
| syntaxstic wrote:
| That's what I did. One cup of green tea a day.
| ezekg wrote:
| > You can lapse at any time later just indulging in one
| craving.
|
| This rings very true. I tried coffee one time after quitting
| and the withdrawal migraines came back the next day like I was
| back in the thick of it.
|
| I haven't had caffeine since then.
| Ancalagon wrote:
| Does tea or soda give you the migraines as well? Or just
| coffee?
| WheelsAtLarge wrote:
| I switched to decaf and found out it helps me by not having to
| stop my daily routine. But my days start later and I go to bed
| earlier. It's true the world runs on caffeine.
|
| The world's GDP would collapse if caffeine went away.
| loves_mangoes wrote:
| Congrats on beating your drug addiction!
|
| Even if it's "just" caffeine, it's never easy. Methylxantines are
| a tool, and like every other chemical it's best enjoyed in
| moderation.
| daxfohl wrote:
| I'll be the contrarian. I was a pot per day drinker and quit for
| three months and felt no different, just missed the coffee. I
| quit the quit and I'm back to a pot per day, feeling much better.
| savanaly wrote:
| Same for me but with sugar. Quit for a week, felt no different,
| went back to my usual (not particularly high) consumption. It's
| a bummer too because I had read so much strong criticism of
| sugar on HN and about how much it affects us without us
| realizing it, I thought maybe I'll actually feel something
| better which would be exciting! Nope, just bored because I had
| to cut out most of the interesting (to me) food in my life.
| molloy wrote:
| > felt no different
|
| > feeling much better
|
| Does not compute :P
| smcl wrote:
| I interpreted this as
|
| > felt no different
|
| Felt no physical difference, just missed the coffee
|
| > feeling much better
|
| I'm happier now that I'm back on coffee
| daxfohl wrote:
| "no different", meaning no particular reason to stay off it.
| Just a bit groggier in the mornings.
| chomp wrote:
| It depends on the person, I can go on and off caffeine with no
| repercussions, but my wife goes through grueling withdrawals
| when she does it.
|
| A pot per day can be a lot, or a little depending on the bean
| and the roast, so I can't comment on that.
| shmel wrote:
| Caffeine metabolization speed varies wildly across the
| population due to genetic reasons. When you compound it with
| multiple cups per day, you will get a quite different
| experience.
| toper-centage wrote:
| I never have withdrawal symptoms just cravings, usually after
| lunch. But I strictly drink maximum 1 cup per day, 2 if I
| didn't sleep so well, and when I feel my tolerance going up,
| I take a week or two of caffeine break to reset the
| tolerance. Cafeeine is a tool to me.
| graeme wrote:
| Did you quit caffeine too? Tea, chocolate, soda etc
|
| If so, awesome! If not, I tried a similar thing but only
| _really_ noticed the difference once I quit all types.
| daxfohl wrote:
| Yeah, I don't really drink soda or tea, and I didn't
| specifically avoid chocolate but I don't eat much of it to
| begin with.
|
| I only had minor withdrawal headaches for a day or so and
| after that it was fine.
| makach wrote:
| I haven't quite quit caffeine, but I have quit drinking hot
| coffee. It was necessary. In the end I was bringing two cups of
| coffee into meeting rooms for meetings lasting 30 minutes. It was
| bad.
|
| Instead I binge on sugar free caffeinated fizzy drinks. I consume
| a lot less caffeine. I tried many times to quit but I just can't.
| Writing this I admit that I do have a problem, that I shamefully
| should do something about - but I am weak, and powerless - might
| be linked to my slight depression because of my current job
| situation. But then again, there is always an excuse.
| bagacrap wrote:
| I quit my 3+ cups/day habit and my health (in particular my
| sleep) improved dramatically. I drank close to zero caffeine for
| a couple years before reintroducing one cup of joe in the early
| mornings. I definitely experienced drawbacks to overdoing it, but
| a single cup of coffee doesn't seem to cause problems, and helps
| me get going faster in the morning, especially during the dark
| winter months.
| [deleted]
| djrogers wrote:
| > But even having more than one cup of decaf brings on the shakes
| and skipped beats. The caffeine microdosing adds up, I guess.
|
| You may have a problem other than a caffeine addiction. Cutting
| out caffeine may be the easiest/cheapest way to address it, but
| it is _not_ normal or healthy for a few mg of caffeine to give
| you jitters or affect your heartbeat.
|
| I'd talk to a cardiologist to make sure you're not just hiding
| the symptoms of a life-threatening problem.
| SunlightEdge wrote:
| I love the taste of coffee. Unfortunately I can't drink it as I
| get a near euphoric high followed by unpleasant hyperactivity and
| weird anxiety. Seriously. It's so unpleasantly strong for me. Tea
| I can drink but I don't touch it during work hours.my problem is
| having too much energy so I drink a lot of red bush tea during
| work hours. It's very calming.
| Engineering-MD wrote:
| Not even decaf? Yes, the flavour isn't the same and it still
| has some caffeine, but I still enjoy the flavour.
| BossingAround wrote:
| I realized caffeine was making my migraines worse. I always
| thought it was helping my headaches and migraines better, and it
| was, for around 1 to 1,5h. Then, it made me miserable, and I
| never realised, until I took long-enough PTO, and decided to try
| and cold-turkey quit.
|
| I love coffee and I'd love to go back to drinking it, but I don't
| think I can. If you get frequent headaches/migraines, try cutting
| back on caffeine. You might be surprised.
| shinycode wrote:
| I don't know why but I never ever miss caffeine and I can drink
| coffee any time, even before bed, without any kind of effect. I
| hate the taste of most coffee, but great coffee, which is well
| and lightly roasted and grinded the right way with a good machine
| gives an amazing taste. Of that coffee, expresso, I can drink any
| kind of amount, any time of the day without any kind of
| repercussion or addiction. Sometimes I stop drinking coffee for
| months and I can go back to coffee for the taste only. When I
| stop I just drink water instead.
|
| So what kind of coffee are we talking about here ? Because I
| never ever felt any kind of addiction and I'm genuinely wondering
| how that is possible to be addicted
| linsomniac wrote:
| I quit about the same time the author did, I stopped back in July
| or Aug. I never really had jitters. I'd drink 1-2 10 cup carafes
| in a day along with my wife, I'd drink the bulk of it.
|
| I decided to stop for two reasons: I sleep pretty crappy, and I
| was doing a bunch of other diet changes so I figured why not one
| more...
|
| Everyone is different, but in my case switching to decaf was
| pretty easy. I had headaches a couple days, otherwise I honestly
| couldn't tell the difference. I didn't find mornings more of a
| struggle. But I also didn't find I slept better (confirmed by the
| fitbit sleep stats).
|
| I read a few days ago that decaf coffee still has theobromine,
| which can also help focus.
|
| Unlike the author, I like my coffee with cream most times, and
| the decaf I've switched to tastes just fine. I even found some
| instant decaf which I took on a camping trip shortly after
| stopping caffeine, which tastes pretty good. Mount Hagen, for
| reference.
| micimize wrote:
| I precisely constrained my usual intake to a known gram amount.
| Currently I have a clever made with 25g coffee beans. Overdoing
| it never helps my focus, so I rarely do, exception being if I get
| a large while traveling, but having a precise does at home really
| helps keep things from getting out of hand.
| kraftman wrote:
| I'd be less worried about the damage that the coffee is doing and
| more worried about the damage waking up at 6am every day is
| doing. (assuming that if you arent stopping for the day until 9pm
| you aren't going to sleep at 10pm)
| frankus wrote:
| I've heard (but not verified) that ibuprofen is a vasoconstrictor
| like caffeine, and can be more helpful in easing withdrawal
| symptoms than other OTC pain meds.
|
| That said, it's likely also tolerance-inducing
| (https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/stopping-the-vicious-
| cyc...), so don't overdo it.
| shmel wrote:
| Actually ibuprofen is a vasodilator unlike caffeine.
| hunterb123 wrote:
| They're a very common combo used for pain and migraines
| though.
|
| Cannabis can be used for instant relief, but it opens your
| veins, causing headaches or worsening your migraine.
|
| Caffeine for extended headache relief. Sometimes you need an
| Advil and/or Aspirin depending on the pain. IANAD.
|
| Aspirin Acetaminophen and Caffeine or AAC is very effective.
| shmel wrote:
| I can totally see ibuprofen helping against headaches as it
| is a very common painkiller. I just pointed out that it
| works differently than caffeine.
| ruined wrote:
| caffeine is both a vasoconstrictor and a vasodilator, over
| the course of a dose. dilation is the second and longer-
| acting effect, and acclimation to that is what causes the
| withdrawal headaches. other vasodilators should help if the
| mechanism is different, to prevent continuing dependency.
| spansoa wrote:
| Well there is L-theanine[0] which I always found was the opposite
| of caffeine, and when you combine it with caffeine (500mg
| theanine & 200mg caffeine), you get a sort of flow state without
| the jitters of caffeine.
|
| L-theanine takes the edge off caffeine. You could also just try
| L-theanine on its own.
|
| This person needs to experiment with other nootropics besides
| caffeine. I've tried various stacks over the years like Alpha
| Brain, Mindlab Pro and a few others. They've been instrumental in
| getting shit done on a tight schedule, and I don't get that
| jittery 'wired' feeling you get taking plain caffeine supps on
| their own, just a mild flowy state (thanks to the L-theanine).
|
| [0] https://draxe.com/nutrition/l-theanine/
| hunterb123 wrote:
| Green tea will give you L-theanine and caffeine in a natural
| way.
| csdvrx wrote:
| But at an unknown dose that varies depending on where you buy
| the tea from, the batch they currently use, etc.
| Barrin92 wrote:
| _" My heart skips a beat. It's been happening more frequently, so
| I look it up and they're apparently called "palpitations." I
| ignore it. It's 9am. I'm anxious. Nothing out of the norm,
| though.[...] But even having more than one cup of decaf brings on
| the shakes and skipped beats. The caffeine microdosing adds up, I
| guess._"
|
| If you feel permanently anxious in the morning to the point that
| it's perceived as normal it might not be the caffeine that's the
| issue, and a few cups of decaf have so little caffeine it should
| not give you any physical symptoms. (a few cups of decaf contain
| about as much caffeine as a few pieces of chocolate). Might be
| worth checking out if there's some other reason for it.
| ericbarrett wrote:
| This stood out to me, too. There are other things that can
| cause similar heart palpitations, like stress, cannabis (in
| some), and actual cardiovascular problems.
| zoneone wrote:
| I like that he kept a ritual going with the press: using non-
| caffeinated herbals. I'm thinking about quitting caffeine too.
| Caffeine plus neuropathy makes very shaky hands, and I don't need
| ANY extra free-floating anxiety.
| jasonpeacock wrote:
| For me, I didn't like being physically addicted to something.
|
| I've switched to decaf coffee, because I still like coffee and
| the morning ritual. But I limit myself to 2 cups, and I have
| herbal tea later in the day if I still want something to sip on.
|
| The same goes for (added) sugar - it's amazing how you feel when
| you stop eating candy/ice cream/sweetened drinks/etc. And it's
| surprising how bad you feel when do you have sugar after you've
| been off a while - same as the author's experience with caffeine.
| kshacker wrote:
| Oh man, sugar :( I stopped taking sugar for 2 years after I had
| a heart issue. Then somehow it came back in life, and it has
| been 4 years, and maybe 99 attempts (because the 100th will
| succeed:)) and it is just so hard to give up sugar.
|
| But when I had stopped, I remember the taste had changed - just
| simply sauteed vegetables tasted much better, and in those days
| sugar tasted ugly. The good old days. And after hating
| chocolates all my life, I think it was our EPM who got addicted
| me to chocolates by always keeping a supply at her desk, right
| next to my desk. Now on my 99th attempt to give up sugar for
| the past 5 days, and this time determined to go much much
| longer.
| potatochup wrote:
| Have you found good decaf anywhere? I drink only espresso and
| haven't found any decaf that isn't miserably bland.
| osener wrote:
| If anything, I am drinking the best coffee of my life after
| switching to decaf, after saying no to bad supermarket and
| office coffee. In many big cities it is possible to find very
| high quality specialty decaf coffee in local roasters.
|
| My favourite is Colombian beans decaffeinated with the "Sugar
| Cane Process". In my opinion this method produces the best
| tasting coffee that preserves the qualities of the origin
| beans and it might be more environmentally friendly compared
| to methods that require double shipping the beans to a 3rd
| country for decaffeination.
| c0nsumer wrote:
| I've been buying decaf from Happy Mug. Price is reasonable,
| comes as beans or ground, is fresh, and I think it tastes
| good: https://happymugcoffee.com/
| marklar423 wrote:
| The Starbucks decaf espresso is pretty strong. It can be hard
| to find though.
| 1121redblackgo wrote:
| I like Dunkin Decaf
| 2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote:
| > I need a quick fix. I make a Nespresso. It's good enough. I'll
| make a french press after this cup wakes me up.
|
| Sounds like you approach caffeine like an addict. Coffee is
| actually good for you though:
|
| https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/coffee-be...
| lambdaba wrote:
| Coffee the plant may be good, caffeine the molecule is not.
| There are other things in coffee that may be helpful, but
| caffeine is a poison and only that, I think there is no
| debating that (but I'm interested if anybody has hints to the
| contrary).
| meepmorp wrote:
| Dose makes the poison.
| outworlder wrote:
| > but caffeine is a poison and only that, I think there is no
| debating that
|
| There's so much data to dispute that that it isn't even
| funny. Countless articles have been written.
|
| What's usually under debate is to what extent consumption can
| be beneficial or detrimental.
|
| Caffeine is only very obviously a poison when it comes to
| arachnids.
| lambdaba wrote:
| Isn't that about coffee not caffeine? I don't see how what
| caffeine alone does could be in any way helpful, outside of
| as a pure performance enhancer for very specific
| situations.
| maze-le wrote:
| Like with every substance, the dosage and regularity of intake
| are the key factors that determine what it does to you. Coffee
| can be good for your health, but it also can be detrimental...
| Every habit can become an addiction, even coffee -- with less
| severe withdrawal symptoms than other stimulants, but still...
| rcarmo wrote:
| I'm one of those people who stopped taking 5-6 Espressos a day
| (an average amount for a Portuguese person, given that we
| imported Cimbalino machines from Italy a few decades ago and just
| couldn't kick the habit nationally).
|
| I did that for around 20 years (with occasional breaks), then
| progressively petered out to 2-3 cups a day and, last year, I
| finally removed the last Espresso (the breakfast one) from my
| diet.
|
| I switched to one cup of black tea in the morning (I'm partial to
| Earl Grey) and one or two mugs of barley 'coffee' a day (in
| Winter time, typically zero in Summer) and lots of water. I will
| occasionally have non-black tea during the Winter time as well -
| mostly mint and ginger.
|
| Now drinking a can of diet Coke (which I typically do in two
| doses, whenever I feel like I'm struggling through the day) gives
| me a good enough buzz, and I _know_ coffee will work if I need to
| stay up late (which I usually don't anymore).
|
| But, in general, ditching coffee improved my well-being a _lot_.
| I sleep better, I don't have (the same kind of) headaches, and I
| don't push myself beyond what my body can take and spend 2-3 days
| recovering from a particularly intense day.
|
| I do miss the flavor and enjoy a hot beverage (hence the barley),
| but I don't miss the stress it induced, or the crutch it was.
| kkjjkgjjgg wrote:
| I would think diet Coke to be much worse than coffee, am I
| wrong?
| throwaway1777 wrote:
| I quit caffeine for a few years, but I went back to it during the
| pandemic. It was kind of a substitute for commuting as a trigger
| that it's time for work.
| LAC-Tech wrote:
| I haven't quit, but I have cut down by about half - replaced my
| regular strong instant coffee with 'mild', which was a very
| noticeable drop off.
|
| After getting over the hump, I noticed I would fall asleep much,
| much more easily. It was great. However recently I've started
| doing 18:6 intermittent fasting, from 9:30-14:30. I've noticed it
| keeps me up a lot longer. Weird side effect I did not envision.
|
| Anyway, would be keen to replace my mild with decaf at some
| point. I'm not a big fan of tea. Or starting the day with a
| water.
| mdip wrote:
| I did something similar years ago but for different reasons: I
| suffered from Migraine headaches since age 17, am intolerant to
| the most effective medications for alleviating the pain and found
| that caffeine was one of the few things that could reduce the
| pain I experienced.
|
| At age 17, I had a trip to the ER thinking I was dying -- worst
| headache of my life up to that point. It subsided during my stay
| and several tests later, any major problems were ruled out. I was
| not a regular caffeine drinker at that time, and caffeine has
| never caused Migraine headaches[0] for me. Over a few years of
| early mornings/jobs, I started drinking coffee regularly to be
| sharp/awake and experienced many of the same problems as the
| author. The biggest problem, though, was that I had become
| tolerant to the most effective medication (for me) to eliminate
| my headaches.
|
| I would not advise quitting cold turkey. It sucks. The headaches
| are _intense_ , but not Migraine[0]. After doing that for a few
| days, I took a different approach -- to replace my coffee
| consumption with decaffeinated coffee. At the time (I'm not sure
| if this is still true), decaffeinated did not mean caffeine free.
| It had just enough to ween me off of caffeine, while keeping my
| routine the same for a month. The dull headaches were manageable
| with a single Ibuprofen when they were the worst, but often
| required nothing at all. At the end of a month, the beans sat
| unused.
|
| I treated caffeine as a medication from that point forward. I
| kept a container of beans in the freezer and would brew up a cup
| of coffee any time Migraine reared its ugly head. It took about a
| cup and my symptoms would be reduced -- sometimes remaining there
| until the headache passed. I've since found a prescription which
| prevents Migraine entirely, for me and have resumed coffee
| drinking, but limit it to a single cup a day and _not_ daily --
| just when I 'm feeling "dull", mentally. But I have to be careful
| -- the jitters are very strong after the second cup and end up
| turning that sharpness into anxiety at times.
|
| [0] I think people misstate a "bad headache" as a Migraine
| headache. I get different kinds of headaches, Migraine is _very_
| distinct to me, including auras and other symptoms that otherwise
| awful headaches do not. They also barely respond to common OTC
| medications, so I don 't bother with them when I know it's a
| migraine.
| andreyk wrote:
| My own approach is to try to drink 2-3 cups per day at most, but
| also drink decaf later in the day. I just enjoy the taste of
| coffee while working.
| sleepysysadmin wrote:
| Caffeine is in so many things. Even more interesting is that it's
| a stimulant that is unique. Every other stimulant is controlled
| if not illegal. Amphetamines or cocaine for example. The problem
| is that it has a long history and government would not be
| successful in controlling it. Even though they clearly would if
| they could.
|
| How many corporations literally provide coffee to their workers.
| Even to the point of paying you to drink it on a break? This drug
| is clearly beneficial to these corps. The increase in focus and
| productivity is obvious. This boost to cognitive function is what
| created the age of enlightenment.
| anonymousiam wrote:
| I gave up all forms of caffeine about 35 years ago. My
| experiences were similar to the author, but worse. I had been
| drinking coffee from about age 12. The first time I quit (at age
| 24) I had bad headaches. I "fell off the wagon" after a week or
| so. A month later I quit again and then felt so bad that I missed
| two days of work. I lapsed again after about a month. The third
| and final time I quit (maybe a month later), the withdrawal
| symptoms were so bad that it made me never want to go through it
| again. I am talking about cold sweats, shakes, and vomiting.
|
| It's easy to get caffeine, and somewhat difficult to avoid it.
| Caffeine is so common that it's easy to justify using it.
| ("Everyone else does, so it can't be that bad. Right?")
|
| My wife is still a user, and I often make coffee for her in the
| morning. It still smells delicious to me, but I haven't (and
| wont) go back to it. She is like a zombie before she has her
| morning coffee, and she often has trouble getting to sleep at
| night. I am awake and alert in the morning, and sleep soundly.
| throw1234651234 wrote:
| Sugar is in the same boat of "well, everyone does it, not that
| bad."
| manmal wrote:
| The metabolic and cardiovascular effects of coffee are vastly
| preferable over sugar's (or, to be more precise, fructose). I
| personally also don't react well to caffeine (one weak cup
| can totally mess up sleep), but at least it's easy to find
| out when it's doing more harm than good.
| shmel wrote:
| It is well-known that people metabolize caffeine with different
| speed due to genetic reasons. Therefore people can experience
| wildly different peak blood concentration after drinking many
| cups per day. I suppose it influences how strong withdrawals
| are.
|
| I personally used to drink a lot of coffee and rarely
| experienced any withdrawal effects. I also know (from comparing
| myself with other people) that I am a very fast caffeine
| metabolizer.
| sdze wrote:
| I think I can only quit coffee with suicide. It is impossible.
| During my days as a student I managed to be 9 days coffee free.
| But I relapsed.
|
| I get all kinds of symptoms.
|
| Coffee is the hardest drug to get clean from.
| lambdaba wrote:
| Get on a lot of magnesium + thiamine (this is important, they
| go together). Whether you quit coffee or not, but these two
| will help you with the withdrawal symptoms (and they are BOTH
| depleted by regular caffeine intake).
| sdze wrote:
| magnesium oxide ok? (cheapest one)
| lambdaba wrote:
| Magnesium Chloride is the cheapest, magnesium oxide has the
| strongest laxative effect. Take between 5-10 grams per day
| spread out throughout the day. That will yield around
| 625-1250 mg elemental magnesium, 1.5 to 3x the RDA, but you
| likely need to it up from a deficiency. There is no way to
| overdose (gut rejects it automatically).
| sdze wrote:
| Thank you for your insights. I will try that next
| vacation.
| munch117 wrote:
| I suggest you talk it over with your doctor first.
| goddamnyouryan wrote:
| I have been told that oxide is not very bioavailable at
| all, Magnesium Citrate or Glycinate are better.
| TheSocialAndrew wrote:
| Caffeine is delivered quite differently based on the brewing
| method. I find that 4 or more shots of espresso a day will lead
| to an eye twitch, while one or two cups of Philz deliver the
| caffeine far more smoothly.
|
| French press seems to be somewhere in between, the extraction is
| different than pour over. Philz's extraction time is even shorter
| than a regular pour over. They use a lot more beans than Blue
| Bottle but the water flows through the grounds much quicker.
|
| If you can't go cold turkey, try avoiding espresso and French
| press and the jittery feeling might subside.
| 0xcoffee wrote:
| I also quit, for me what helped was simply drinking plain hot
| water instead.
| fallat wrote:
| +1 for hot water. Massively underrated. Like so much so I
| wonder why no one talks about it.
| wnolens wrote:
| Because it sounds terrible. Plain hot water? Hmm
| tinyhouse wrote:
| Just squeeze in a bit of lemon or put a few leave from the
| garden inside. It's called tea :)
| fallat wrote:
| Yes, plain hot water. I challenge you to try it for a week
| seriously. You will be surprised, I was.
| GnarfGnarf wrote:
| I used to be a purist and disdained decaffeinated.
|
| The I was forced to switch. I can honestly say I do not notice
| the difference. Decaf tastes just as good.
| amelius wrote:
| I asked it before, but can anyone explain why a single cup of
| (normal strength, not starbucks) coffee easily gives me the
| jitters, while drinking a 2L bottle of cola does nothing?
| btgeekboy wrote:
| I've tried quitting caffeine in the past, but the problem I run
| into is that I'm actually not a coffee drinker, but a Diet Coke
| drinker. I don't enjoy the taste of plain water. So at a
| restaurant/drive thru/etc, my options are diet soda (with 0
| calories) or something caffeine-free with hundreds of calories.
| When you're trying to budget calories, that hurts a lot.
|
| At least I've been able to reduce my overall consumption of
| caffeine a bit, but I haven't been able to cut it out completely.
| mkaic wrote:
| Zero-sugar, zero-caffeine sodas seem to be slowly rising in
| popularity recently. I'm hopeful that we'll start to see them
| more often as options in restaurants, because like you said,
| it's frustrating when I go to a restaurant and must choose
| between drinking massive amounts of sugar, or drinking
| caffeine. Usually, even though I'd _like_ to order soda, I end
| up ordering water because I struggle to justify either
| stimulant to myself internally.
| btgeekboy wrote:
| I would love for more places to serve things like Bubly/La
| Croix/etc or Fresca, both of which I enjoy at home but rarely
| out and about.
| kazinator wrote:
| I've quit caffeine more than once.
|
| Probably the worst time went like this: in addition to the
| headaches, my entire body was overcome by a muscular weakness,
| and this lasted almost two weeks.
|
| About three days into it, I went for a simple little four mile
| run. I was in good running shape at the time. Because of how I
| was starting to feel, I took it easy. Yet, the next day, every
| muscle hurt in my body. Arms, legs, abdominals, back. It was as
| if a completely unfit, untrained, unaccustomed body had been made
| to race the distance.
|
| The soreness took days to dissipate.
| klyrs wrote:
| I had similar experience around the author's age, but I love my
| coffee too much. I decreased slowly over the years. First, not
| having coffee past 9, then 5, then 3, then noon. Now, I have two
| small cups in the morning, it does jolt me awake, and outside of
| the rare exception, that's all I get. Sometimes I forget my
| second cup. It's a missed opportunity on flavor, but I don't have
| withdrawal headaches.
| livinglist wrote:
| same with me
| einpoklum wrote:
| I was never encouraged into drinking coffee in the first place.
| Could never figure out why people liked the taste of it. I mean,
| Caffeine - yes, I drank a lot of Cola when I was young, but
| coffee is definitely an acquired taste.
|
| Anyway, when I was about... 20 years old, I think, I decided to
| quite Caffeine. I went "cold-turkey", and it was actually really
| hard not buying my fix of Cola at the supermarket! I stuck with
| it though, and switched to (somewhat watered-down) cherry juice.
| The taste was strong enough to distract me from thinking about
| Cola :-)
| mkaic wrote:
| I grew up in a house where coffee wasn't allowed, so I've
| actually never had it before. I have avoided nearly all caffeine
| my whole life out of habit (one of those cases where a rule you
| grow up with sticks with you even if the original justification
| for it didn't).
|
| Drinking a Coke is enough to make me bounce off the walls. I've
| often wondered what would happen to me if I tried coffee or an
| energy drink, but based on how strong the effects of sugar and
| small caffeine doses are on me, I'm far too scared to experiment.
| I do think coffee smells amazing, though--walking into a
| Starbucks is always delightful, even if I only ever buy hot
| chocolate there.
| can16358p wrote:
| That bouncing off effect might be related to sugar too. If you
| really want to see caffeine's effects you might "microdose" a
| quarter of a cup of filtered coffee or a half shot of espresso,
| without mixing it with anything but water.
| mandelbrotwurst wrote:
| Will a Diet Coke give you the same effect as a Coke? I'm
| curious how much of your bouncing is due to the caffeine versus
| the sugar and/or some synergism.
| koof wrote:
| It's worth noting that Diet Coke has about 50% more caffeine
| than regular.
| ashtonbaker wrote:
| I never knew this! Thanks for that.
| mkaic wrote:
| I think so? I've had the same question and have been meaning
| to do a actual controlled experiment, but haven't ever gotten
| around to it. I know I react badly to sugar, and I'm _fairly
| certain_ I also react badly to caffeine separately, but don
| 't have enough data points to draw a solid conclusion yet.
| coldpie wrote:
| I think you should give it a shot. Unless you have some pre-
| existing condition (severe anxiety or something), there's
| basically no risk. Head to a coffee shop some morning and spend
| a few bucks for a small coffee. Maybe you'll find a new small
| joy in life. I have one cup, each morning when I get up, it's a
| tasty little ritual. Or maybe you won't like it after all, and
| then you'll know.
| cortexio wrote:
| kkjjkgjjgg wrote:
| Don't forget the risk of getting addicted. Are there even any
| actual upsides apart from the (acquired) good taste?
| renewiltord wrote:
| Amphetamine is so much better. And I know that people claim it's
| addictive but I haven't used it in a month and don't really feel
| an urge. I usually just use it when I want immense task focus but
| I get pretty good focus manually myself now that I remember the
| amphetamined feeling.
|
| I got into caffeine about six months ago and after the first week
| I got a headache when I woke up so I quit it because that's not
| okay.
|
| I recently restarted with a drink of coffee about thrice a week
| (irregularly) and have found that I get no withdrawal when I stop
| on this cycle.
| thenerdhead wrote:
| I had this exact same problem just back in November.
|
| Regular coffee drinker (1-2 cups), having pre-workout before the
| gym.
|
| Starting having an absurd amount of anxiety and what I can best
| describe as a panic attack or flu-like symptom making my heart
| race & feelings of palpitations.
|
| Go to the ER, they find nothing wrong. Doctors say "cut your
| stimulates and lower your stresses".
|
| Seemed to be a combination of work stress & the stimulates. Ever
| since going cold turkey, I've been better than ever. I continue
| to get headaches but they are manageable with plenty of water.
| onemoresoop wrote:
| I had this problem a long time ago but I was drinking way too
| much coffee, I think 5 cups a day. Down to 2, one of them is
| decaf so basically down to one.
| kkjjkgjjgg wrote:
| Did you get vaccinated? I had these symptoms after the
| vaccination, but I am not 100% if other things changed at the
| same time, like increased coffee consumption or unrelated
| external worries.
| xupybd wrote:
| What pre workout were you taking? Some have over 10 cups of
| coffee worth of caffeine.
| toper-centage wrote:
| Doesn't pre-workout contain a fair amount of caffeine as well?
| thenerdhead wrote:
| It does. About 1.5-2x the amount of a cup of coffee.
| garren wrote:
| I experienced something similar (minus the hospital visit.) I'd
| regularly gone with 4-6 cups a day for years, with no
| noticeable problems. I ran into a particularly stressful month,
| then experienced a 2-month bout with insomnia and anxiety.
|
| Insomnia is brutal, and I did everything I could to get over it
| including eliminating caffeine/coffee completely for around 6-7
| months.
|
| I didn't experience any issues stopping. After the sleeping and
| anxiety were under control I figured I'd stick with it - I'd
| heard others say they experienced a few positive benefits by
| cutting caffeine completely. I didn't notice anything.
|
| When I decided to grab a cup again the productivity boost was
| pretty amazing. I settled on 1/2 caff up to 11am, then decaf
| only. I drink a lot less coffee now, and if there's even a hint
| of an issue sleeping I'll skip it for a day or two.
| thenerdhead wrote:
| That's awesome that you were able to find a moderation
| change. I just went cold turkey because of experience itself.
| fallat wrote:
| Another anecdote here. Going on decaf was one of the best choices
| I could do. I've gotten back on caffeine and the palpitations are
| back for me also.
|
| It makes me wonder: do people in the older generations have the
| same symptoms but just don't say anything?... Kind of concerning.
|
| Edit: This thread inspired me to get on hot water asap again.
| Thanks everyone :) Just poured myself some.
| throw1234651234 wrote:
| Personal anecdote. I work, study, and lift heavy (for me). I
| sleep 7-8. This is not enough. I started drinking Monsters
| (energy drinks).
|
| Was twitchy, sweated a lot, got sick easier, slept worse, and got
| worse results at the gym. It works great for a day, and then you
| crash hard, it's also addictive. Spikes blood pressure. Another
| poster reminded me about the headaches, which I normally NEVER
| have. I am under the impression that its worse than drugs (dont
| do drugs, so can't tell). Affects are very, very strong.
|
| Solution is to lift lighter and sleep MORE than 8 hours. I still
| don't believe all the successful people (eg Schwarzenegger) who
| claim to sleep less than 8, especially athletes. I still drink a
| bunch of caffeinated black tea, but it's not even close to
| coffee/energy drinks.
|
| No point to this other than "Don't drink energy drinks, they are
| probably worse than coke".
|
| Last note - the military studied caffeine pills since they
| control ideally for dose. Maybe something to consider not to
| stain teeth and standardize if you HAVE to have your coffee.
| paulcarroty wrote:
| I quit caffeine when meet an addicted man and watched how the
| addiction looks like: he consumed 12-15 cups daily.
|
| Have never looked back and recommend you to do the same.
| desman wrote:
| Almost exactly the same story here. 6-8+ cups a day, cold turkey
| with no replacements. Two weeks of misery and headaches and a
| beautiful new beginning. I drink one decaf or mate a day from
| time to time now. And I drool like a bloody St. Bernard when I
| pass by a coffee stand where they serve the real stuff. So I am
| still a coffee junkie, my body is no longer addicted but my mind
| is. But it was definitely worth it to quit.
| temptemptemp111 wrote:
| zeta0134 wrote:
| I do one reasonably weak cup with lots of creamer first thing in
| the morning with breakfast. Then, on a normal day, I have mostly
| water. This solves two problems for me: (1) by the end of my
| typical day, enough caffeine has flushed back out of my system
| that I have no issues falling asleep, but also (b) I'm
| maintaining a tolerance, so if I'm out with friends I can have a
| glass of whatever and not totally wreck my system doing so.
|
| I've considered ditching the coffee entirely; it's mostly the
| _routine_ I enjoy, and I could probably replace it with an herbal
| tea. My system on an actual energy drink is just as jittery and
| anxious as the author describes. But for now, keeping my intake
| low seems okay.
|
| The biggest surprise for me was really switching to plain water
| as my beverage of choice. Growing up on sugary beverages I craved
| them something fierce; now I actually crave water, and enjoy the
| taste. The only downside is that at restaurants, the servers will
| swing by and refill an ordered soda (or tea) endlessly, and they
| get this funny look if I try to explain that "no really, just one
| is enough."
| oneplane wrote:
| I'm curious if there are a lot of people like this that really
| feel some extreme effect from caffeine like this.
|
| I've read articles about people drinking too much, too little,
| being addicted, or having withdrawal symptoms, but I never really
| experienced any of that during my coffee-life so far. I also
| don't often meet people that do, but sometimes when I do meet
| someone that has a really intense relationship with caffeine it
| does tell me that there must be something to it.
|
| You'd think that if this is such a potent 'drug', it would affect
| everyone at last at some base level, and others even more. But in
| my variations of 1 to 8 cups each day, sometimes none for days,
| sometimes only espresso, sometimes only filter coffee it's never
| really done anything 'different'. Granted, the larger quantities
| of coffee were the crappy kind which probably never really got a
| good extraction anyway, but even 2 or 3 proper cups of filter
| coffee would have a caffeine content that should create the same
| symptoms or dependency I would think. But it doesn't (for me).
| I'm not really more less sleepy depending on the coffee quantity.
| I can sleep minutes after drinking coffee (if tired), yet not
| drinking coffee doesn't make it 'hard' to stay awake.
| abletonlive wrote:
| Actually we already know that people metabolize caffeine
| differently.
| https://pharmrev.aspetjournals.org/content/70/2/384 - but
| caffeine is also very transparent drug. You can use it for
| years without realizing the negative/positive impact it has on
| you. How long have you even quit caffeine for? Withdrawal
| effects tend to show up in 2 weeks or so for me. The anxiety
| that it causes for me isn't very acute either. It's more like
| just background anxiety.
|
| I used and abused coffee for most of my twenties without ever
| realizing it had such an impact. Nowadays I just drink small
| cups of tea.
|
| Also would like to point out:
| https://www.audible.com/pd/Caffeine-Audiobook/B083MVZ91Y is a
| pretty fun read. Not super scientific but interesting
| nonetheless.
| oneplane wrote:
| I've had pauses of a few months when there wasn't any good
| coffee around; sometimes there wasn't even any decent tea
| (green/black). There was mediocre chocolate (supermarket
| stuff) but I don't think I ate a whole lot of that either (as
| a caffeinated-coffee replacement). Mostly happened when I was
| doing a weird combination of travel for work and not knowing
| where the good coffee spots were, coming back home after
| being away for two weeks to then move to a house I bought
| that was finally ready to move in to so another few weeks of
| having too much stuff packed away to make any coffee (and too
| busy to do it anyway). And then when the move was over, on
| vacation for a few weeks, again with no clue where to get
| coffee and all there is, is Starbucks, gas stops, and
| restaurant coffee (which more often than not is terrible
| anyway).
|
| Maybe it does have an effect but being too busy to notice
| masked it?
|
| I've had shorter pauses as well, broke a few bones in a
| sporting accident and didn't really feel like getting or
| making coffee, was very into ginger infusions, sometimes
| tamed with a bit of honey or lemon.
|
| On one hand this makes me very curious to just not drink
| coffee for a few weeks and see if it does anything, on the
| other hand I pretty much stopped drinking sugary drinks years
| ago so that just leaves water and tea for me, and tea would
| have to be paused as well because I have a variety of teas
| where some have caffeine as well. Maybe if there was a good
| decaf around I'd just drink that as an experiment, but I
| haven't found one that doesn't taste weird yet.
|
| That said, I'm not drinking all that much coffee (1 or 2
| filters or 2 espressos or maybe one of each is about
| average), and sometimes I just forget to make some if I'm
| busy doing stuff.
| clktmr wrote:
| This comment could be written by me a year ago. Only when I
| drove my caffeine consumption to zero for a whole week (no
| coffee, no tea, no coke..) I had this massive headache. I am
| now back to one or two cups of coffee per day, which I enjoy
| much more.
| dfinninger wrote:
| You and me both. Also my father and grandfather. However, my
| wife has terrible headaches around 3pm if no caffeine has been
| ingested. So I suspect something different in our genetic
| makeup.
|
| I do find that later in the evening if I'm started to feel
| tired coffee makes it a little easier to shrug off the
| sensation. Otherwise it doesn't have a grand effect. I tend to
| drink it because I like the ritual (and I'm already brewing for
| my wife).
| cycomanic wrote:
| One of the best investments I've ever made was a good espresso
| machine and grinder (Rancilio Silvia and Rocky for those who know
| something). Espresso coffee tastes so much better than drip (I
| really hate French press so that's not even a comparison).
|
| I find espresso also much more agreeable. While I feel jittery
| after several cups of drip I find I would need to drink a lot
| more (unrealistic amounts) espresso coffee for the same effect.
| It also helps that its not a type of coffee where one has a big
| pot of it sitting around and one can get constant refills.
|
| Interestingly I don't get withdrawal symptoms (I often don't
| drink coffee when travelling as I rather not drink coffee than
| drink bad coffee). So I might not be too strongly affected by
| caffeine.
| can16358p wrote:
| About the withdrawal symptoms: anything that you substitute in
| place when you don't drink coffee? When I don't drink at
| morning I always have headache after a few hours, and I'd like
| to see any non-caffeinated (natural) substitutions that'd keep
| the headache away.
| 123pie123 wrote:
| >When I don't drink at morning I always have headache after a
| few hours
|
| for me in the past that would be a warning sign to cut back
| on the number of cups a day. I've settled on two espresso's a
| day
|
| I have a bean to cup machine and to cut back I would miss one
| cup or make it weaker
| code51 wrote:
| I think that there can be a significant difference between every
| batch of coffee. Both the origin and conditions of the specific
| land where coffee grows matters in my opinion. People often
| imagine this as a factor that only changes flavor. I suspect the
| soil and the ecosystem (e.g. nearby plants, rivers) can trigger
| such negative effects even for an individual who's not sensitive
| to caffeine and consuming in moderation.
| gjulianm wrote:
| I noticed how much caffeine was affecting me when I started
| getting way too sleepy at a certain new job after lunch. It was
| weird, because before I didn't really feel tired after eating
| unless I stuffed myself, but now I was really tired and sleepy
| and could barely function.
|
| Turns out that this new job offered free coffee, so I was
| drinking one cup of coffee before commuting, another one when I
| arrived, and maybe one or two more later, but before lunch. The
| only reason I was sleepy was coffee: I was making my body
| dependent on caffeine to function normally in the morning, and I
| wasn't giving it coffee in the evening.
|
| Luckily I caught it early and could quit without problems, but it
| was interesting to see how quickly your body builds a tolerance
| and makes you dependent on a drug. I back up the advice of the OP
| and I'd suggest to everyone who drinks coffee regularly to check
| themselves, because they might be addicted even without having
| those noticeable symptoms the OP talked about.
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