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The false god of coffee

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Re: The false god of coffee

#51

Post by mdemare »

Mongoose wrote: post #45
mdemare wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Black tea contains about as much caffeine as Red Bull (per liter). Admittedly less than coffee, but hardly minimal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine

Comparing caffeine content in tea vs coffee is a tricky argument to make. The caffeine content in tea varies on many factors, including oxidation level, steep time, and leaf agitation. On average, the amount of theine/caffeine in a cup of tea is much less than that of a cup of coffee.

Yes, it's less (about 1/3 to 1/2), but it's significantly more than cola. Don't switch to black tea if you want to kick your caffeine habit.

Here's another source:

http://www.stashtea.com/caffeine.htm

Re: The false god of coffee

#52

Post by jseliger »

JshWright wrote: post #50
arketyp wrote: post #10

I dunno. I drink coffee because it good.

Home roast, decent grinder, and a press pot... Doesn't get much better... While I do drink coffee for the caffeine (and experience withdrawal symptoms without it), a substantial motivation is that I simply enjoy the flavor of a properly made cup of coffee.

"a press pot"

Try a Chemex: http://www.chemexcoffeemaker.com/ . It's not as bitter.

Re: The false god of coffee

#53

Post by berntb »

ekiru wrote: post #48
berntb wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Check the link... the disadvantages come directly after the benefits. My note on paper filters came from that. Very, very few things in life are without both positive and negative effects. But coffee is bad mainly for people with certain stomach problems or those who are too sensitive to caffeine -- blood pressure doesn't seem to increase from coffee use, claims later research. (This paragraph added since it seems yo…

I did check the link, but I thought that you were only referencing the benefits. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding.

I would have reacted the same way if someone had claimed health benefits for e.g. Coca Cola. :-)

It just haven't reached the public conscious yet that coffee weirdly seems to be such a good lifestyle choice.

Re: The false god of coffee

#54

Post by old-gregg »

He is complaining about mood swings, not coffee. If that's the case, I'd concentrate of stopping having mood swings as opposed to stopping drinking coffee.

It's like avoiding women and sex due to mood swings, elevated heart rate and other "impractical" side effects they may cause.

Re: The false god of coffee

#55

Post by randallsquared »

old-gregg wrote: post #54

He is complaining about mood swings, not coffee. If that's the case, I'd concentrate of stopping having mood swings as opposed to stopping drinking coffee. It's like avoiding women and sex due to mood swings, elevated heart rate and other "impractical" side effects they may cause.

If he liked coffee because of the taste or warmth, that would be useful, I agree. He apparently doesn't care about those, though, from what he says. Since he actually cares mostly about the caffeine, and since high levels of caffeine produce mood swings for him (and me), going off coffee would seem to be the solution he wants.

Personally, I'm willing to put up with the mood swings, since it's not so much really high and really low as really, really high and kinda low. :) But that's just me.

Re: The false god of coffee

#58

Post by dubcomesaveme »

xtho wrote: post #25

Coffee isn't a drug or something. I love the taste of it. But I have done my research and know of studies that have shown that coffee has adverse effects on cognitive capabilities. So I drink coffee during meetings in order to stay awake but never when I have something important to do that requires all my concentration.

"Coffee isn't a drug _or something_". lol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drugs

First picture caption: "Coffee is the most widely used psychotropic beverage in the world. In 1999 the average consumption of coffee was 3.5 cups per day per U.S. citizen."

Caffeine is a CNS stimulant\adenosine receptor antagonist. It increases wakefulness\helps focused thought but impairs memory. It's a stimulant drug, not a very good stimulant drug, but the most commonly used one with a large social presence.

Vastly superior safe legal stimulants imo: Rhodilia Rosea, L-Tyrosine, Cocoa, Galantamine, Spirulina

Others legal ones I know a lot of people swear by: Piracetam. (and relatives such as Oxiracetam, Aniracetam) Becoming decently common among college students.

Adderall is also EVERYWHERE you look in competitive colleges, but long term amphetamine use is a very bad idea in terms of burnout unless you are super human like Paul Erdos, and its a controlled substance.

Re: The false god of coffee

#59

Post by gord »

Recently took the plunge and went from 7 cups coffee plus 5 tea per day.. to around 1 coffee and 2 tea per day.

First few days were very surreal.. equivalent to slight hangover. Drinking lots of water seemed to help.

For me it was more some kind of subconscious routine habit that was too addictive, rather than the actual caffeine fix.

I think I enjoy coffee more now I drink less of it. More of a treat, and I make sure its a really good one, plunged or in an Italian pot (not instant).

Re: The false god of coffee

#60

Post by gord »

rudyfink wrote: post #31
sjs wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Red bull is not the strongest energy drink at all. I need to chug 2 of the normal size cans in succession to feel anything at all. Monster and Rock Star are fantastic if you need to keep up physical work but I worry about their effect on my heart after reading about how bad they can be. http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSSYD58461200808...

Here is a sortable table of caffeine amounts in products. The numbers are quite striking. http://www.energyfiend.com/the-caffeine-database For example (mg caff / oz): Red Bull = 80 / 8.46 Rockstar = 160 / 16 Coca Cola = 35 / 12 Fixx Energy = 400 / .17

Surprisingly drinking chocolate has a few mg of caffeine also.
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