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I quit caffeine

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Re: I quit caffeine

#251

Post by oneplane »

fleddr wrote: post #244
serf wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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…

No. there's only two coffee tastes: hard and soft. Relax, I was intentionally simplifying. I am fine with people deeply exploring every nuance of every coffee, the only real challenge and pushback I have is that much of it is learned. People think coffee at work (or any other "regular" coffee) is bad because somebody else said it. Not because they discovered this on their own. Likewise, discovering "better" coffee is…

I'd say it's not as much better or worse just because it was learned to be better or worse; it's more like comparing things you know with each other.

Say you taste something with a very generic taste that you can't really describe other than 'brown with a bit of a toasty taste', then if taste something else that makes you have a much more descriptive or complicated taste and you also like that new taste, you now have something to compare against.

This has nothing to do with coffee per se or 'better vs worse', just with what you taste and if you want to explore it.

The same goes for details within a taste. A raw potato tastes different from a cooked potato, and the texture of that same cooked potato but mashed makes you experience it differently as well. If you fry that same potato, now it's different again. It doesn't really change the potato itself into something else (like changing it into a carrot or something silly like that), but it does change what you experience when eating it.

Re: I quit caffeine

#252

Post by oneplane »

fleddr wrote: post #223
xcambar wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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". Bac…

> By the time it almost turns black, you'd eat it

No thanks. Not 20 years ago and not now.

> the standard stuff is fine.

For some people maybe. There is no universal truth. Most people 'make due' and don't really form an opinion about anything. (yet engage in discussion anyway)

> I don't pay attention to coffee when I drink it.

So you have no stake in this. Why did you bother to write about it anyway?

Re: I quit caffeine

#253

Post by oneplane »

xcambar wrote: post #205
oneplane wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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.

You're probably reading in to it too much. I wrote about 3 personal experiences, 1 generalisation and 1 thing about tea in there, and a joke about coffee snobbery making your life harder.

I'd compare wine snobbery to the coffee snobbery that is about beans that have to be eaten by a cat and pooped out to be "good". I think those are illegal in most countries anyway, but that's about the same level of nonsense as a 20+ year old bottle of alcohol.

Re: I quit caffeine

#254

Post by oneplane »

credit_guy wrote: post #186
oneplane wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> 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'…

> I am one of those who tasted "real coffee".

I don't think those words mean the same thing to us. There is no "official" real coffee or what someone else can decide is the best coffee for you. That'd be like someone deciding for you that apple juice is the only real juice. It's about finding something that interests you and has properties you value.

> I simply drink the coffee for the caffeine and not the taste.

So you don't have much of a stake or (refined) opinion but you felt it necessary to tell everyone how much you don't care?

Re: I quit caffeine

#255

Post by onecommentman »

Meta comment: 7 hours in on the post, and the first 25 comments on a posting about giving up an addiction are by folks saying how the “drug” is actually great and even better if you get the right stuff. You have to get past those comments to get a few comments about how someone also had a positive experience quitting, then a post about a “contrarian” supporting the drug again.

Don’t know how to interpret this: defensiveness by addicts, “Big Coffee” trying to do damage control, etc.. I know what I would think if this was about quitting a fentanyl addiction…

The 3-4 times a month I drink coffee (and I do drink the good stuff without obsessing), I make it at home almost as a psychological diagnostic. If it makes me sleepy, then I know things are just fine body-mind wise. If it charges me up, then I’m under more stress than I’d like (as a baseline). OK if I’ve got some early morning physical work to do, not OK otherwise.

Re: I quit caffeine

#256

Post by hffftz »

wbobeirne wrote: post #219
hffftz wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but it's my way of rate limiting caffeine aint that bad... why do you kneed to do that?

Everyone's got their own personal tolerances and limits. Did you read the blog post? Sounds like OP was having a pretty bad time.

No post body was provided.

Re: I quit caffeine

#257

Post by pcthrowaway »

fleddr wrote: post #244
serf wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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…

No. there's only two coffee tastes: hard and soft. Relax, I was intentionally simplifying. I am fine with people deeply exploring every nuance of every coffee, the only real challenge and pushback I have is that much of it is learned. People think coffee at work (or any other "regular" coffee) is bad because somebody else said it. Not because they discovered this on their own. Likewise, discovering "better" coffee is…

I don't agree with this; I don't consider myself of a coffee snob, but I do generally buy what I think are 'high end' coffees, because I buy fair trade coffee and that's basically what you get.

There is so much variety between types of coffees, and even preparation methods (we mainly use french press and aeropress, but the grind size, brew time, water temperature, and of course the amount of grind, all make enough of a difference that the same beans can give different flavours)

And yes of course I like the flavour of coffee, but mainly drink it for the ritual and the increased alertness in the mornings. There's something so satisfying about a good cup though; again, I don't get science-y about it and measure things accurately, just throw the water in the kettle, and mix it with a few scoops of coffee in the french press sometime after it boils.

But sometimes a cup is just perfection, tones of chocolate, smoke, warmth, boldness. And sometimes the cup is just meh. Then when I'm at a hotel, it's almost painful trying to choke down whatever passes for coffee in their lobbies.

Re: I quit caffeine

#259

Post by MissionInfl »

throw10920 wrote: post #235

It's always interesting for me to read posts like this by (former) caffeine addicts (soda anyone?). I'm so sensitive to the stuff that if I have a full cup of coffee in the morning, or a soda in the afternoon, I sleep poorly that night - so I have to avoid caffeine as much as possible. Is this what normal people feel like when I tell them that I got addicted to a video game?

I am the same way. I currently drink one can of Diet Coke per day (46mg) on days where I don't take Concerta and approximately one half can if I do. Anything more will cause me to feel very anxious and a bit sick to my stomach. And I mean _anything_ more, for example today I drank probably 55% of the can and felt pretty anxious in the afternoon.

Seeing this post makes me want to try to quit again and see how it goes. It is pretty rough being ADHD with such a sensitivity to stimulants.

What is even more weird is that in college and a few years after I would drink 200mg of caffeine every single day (2x Guru [1]) and felt fine. I am not sure if to what extent this is explained by being younger and being accustomed to being anxious at the time but it is definitely both.

[1] https://www.guruenergy.com/en-us/products/guru-organic-energ...

Re: I quit caffeine

#260

Post by giardini »

Vietnamese iced coffee (cafe sua da) is my favorite.

I use a $4 single-cup coffee brewer (from a local Chinese vendor) and "Cafe du Monde" coffee (orange can) which has chicory. Add the brew to a few teaspoons of "La Lechera" sweetened condensed milk under a cup of ice.

https://steamykitchen.com/492-vietnamese-iced-coffee.html

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