Newsflash: Gourmet Coffees Have Lots Of Caffeine 500
Evangelion writes "According to the Globe and Mail, gourmet coffees (Starbucks, Second Cup, etc) apparently have
lots more caffeine than their non-gourmet competitors. One jumbo (20-oz) contains an entire day's worth of C8H10N4O2." Remember, for best effect, drink it through the day, not all at once.
I knew it! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I knew it! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I knew it! (Score:5, Informative)
Wrong. "Espresso" is a technique for producing a coffee beverage. It forces hot water under high pressure through tightly-packed grounds. Espresso *does* have more caffeine than brewed coffee, mostly since it is stronger. However, the article appears to be talking about ordinary brewed coffee.
I must agree that "Charbux" coffee is extremely over-roasted. When Cook's Illustrated did a coffee comparison, their tasters didn't like Starbucks. When they had some people that work blending coffees check them out, their opinion was that Starbux beans were higher quality than the others, but they were so burned that the result was just plain ol' nasty. I'd give a reference to the article, but it's subscription-only. It [cooksillustrated.com] is clearly the nerd's cooking magazine, though.
Re:I knew it! (Score:5, Interesting)
They have to do that to get consistancy. The point of the franchise is that everywhere you go in the country or world you get exactly the same product. They couldn't do that if they let the natural flavors come through.
No you don't! (Score:3, Informative)
I mention in general because espresso is more uniform in their bean selection (arabica), roast (dark), grind (fine) and method of extraction (less tha 20-25 seconds @ 8-10 bars of pressure). Compared to drip coffee which can be prepared in a variety of ways i.e bean (arabica or robusta), roast (light, medium, dark), grind (coarse to medium), and methods (ideal way is 4 minutes in french press but drip machines are inconsistent and so
I like my coffee the way I like my beer... (Score:3, Interesting)
If "Cook's Illustrated" used words like 'so burned' to write off every variety of the world's most successful coffee franchise then I suspect that using sources who were in the business may have compromised the objectivity of the article.
All you need to do... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I knew it! (Score:5, Informative)
To some extent, yes. However, the good-quality beans are just wasted if you char the coffee to the extent Starbucks does. The darker the roast, the less of the flavors are . . . well, "visible" is clearly not what I mean--maybe "perceptible" is. Certainly I don't want to interfere with your coffee enjoyment, but all their beans are roasted till they scream--a good roaster roasts different beans differently to enhance their characteristics.
All good, but they let the coffee stale before they use it. We have a local chain where everything is used within three or four days of roasting. Starbucks, by contrast, will tell you that freshly-roasted coffee must "age" before being used. This in my opinion is bunk--nothing is better than freshly-roasted coffee. Well, nothing that you can consume in public, to forstall the jokesters.
Judging by that standard, McDonald's coffee is a lot better than Starbucks, and the New Beetle is a better car than the M3 (if they still make one, that is). Starbux' success is more a triumph of marketing than of sheer coffee quality. I was going to link The Onion's article "New Starbucks Opens In Rest Room Of Existing Starbucks," but it isn't available any more. Dang.Re:I knew it! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I knew it! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I knew it! (Score:5, Informative)
To make things clearer, most brewed coffee comes from a drip machine. Water at close to boiling is "dripped" through ground, roasted coffee.
Espresso is a whole different animal. The water is a little warmer, and instead of dripping, it is pumped under about 9 bar of pressure through a puck of finely ground coffee. The ratio of coffee to water is also far higher (so it does have more caffeine on a unit volume basis).
Commonly coffee intended for espresso is roasted a little darker than coffee intended for drip, but it doesn't have to be.
Caffeine content in coffee (brewed by the same method, with the same degree of grind) has mostly to do with how it is roasted (darker = more burnt = less caffeine) and what kind of bean it comes from. It is usually claimed that robustas contain more caffeine than arabicas, and also that most premium coffees are arabicas. What's confusing is that Starbucks has a reputation for burning their coffee and presumably would use higher grade arabicas. *shrug*
Re:I knew it! (Score:3, Funny)
You should come up to Canada for a visit. I'd like to see the expression on your face as, after drinking a lot of it, you fall asleep due to lack of caffeine. (And our air doesn't have any oxygen which also surprises a lot of visitors. ;)
PFFFTTTTT! (Score:5, Funny)
Makes me wonder... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Makes me wonder... (Score:3, Insightful)
which is good because starbucks coffee is really gross! burnt to a crisp before brewing, yuck!
(and they make their employees work when sick. super)
Re:Makes me wonder... (Score:5, Funny)
My dad (coffee connoisseur) always complains about their "burnt coffee," and I always thought he was just trying to describe the flavor... then I bought a bag of starbucks dark roast whole bean.
No joke, that shit (or rather, those beans) are BURNT. They were also incredibly oily. Perhaps as a side effect of being burnt (fried?
(and they make their employees work when sick. super)
I'm afraid they don't make their employees do anything; they choose to work at Starbucks.
However, if they don't encourage their sick employees to stay home from work, that would be rather gross.
Personally I'll stick to my Dunkin' Donuts fresh ground coffee brewed in a french press (freedom press?).
Re:Makes me wonder... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Makes me wonder... (Score:4, Funny)
Three different roasting level categories: Mild, Smooth, and Bold.
In addition to that and the bean name, each one has a short description, such as "Light and Herbal" or "Bright with Citrus Notes"
Re:Makes me wonder... (Score:5, Interesting)
The place I worked at in New Haven, CT, Willoughby's (An old and well respected name in the coffee biz, btw), had numerous pamphlets describing coffee tasting terms, and the different tastes of the different types and roasts of coffee. They had professional tasters who would visit the coffee producing regions of the world and the big coffee trade shows evey year and rate the coffee, deciding what to buy based on what was good (and fashionable, to be honest) that year. They do it like wine tasters, noisily slurping pure strong coffee out of little cups then spitting it out and rinsing with water in between.
They trained us counter people really well. We kept a seperate grinder for flavored coffees so as not to contaminate the good stuff. We would always try to talk people out of buying flavored coffees and into grinding it themselves, "You know they invented flavored coffees to cover up the taste of bad beans, right? And you know it loses most of it's flavor two hours after you grind it, right?"
We would also try to talk people out of the really expensive and over rated stuff. Guess what, folks? Kona is crap coffee, weak and flavorless. It's only expensive because it's from Hawaii and it has a mystique. Know what else? Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is mediocre. It's almost identical to Columbian.
My favorites have always been Guatamalan Antigua for it's complex spicy flavor, and Kenya AA for it's acidity and winey taste. Full city roast, fresh from the roaster, ground, brewed and drunk right there. If you haven't tasted really fresh roasted coffee, you haven't tasted gourmet coffee at all. Coffee loses 90% of the volatile gasses trapped in the beans within two days of roasting, unless kept in a cool, dark, airtight container, in which case it takes a week. Know why they put those valves on sealed coffee bags? IT'S TO LET THE FLAVOR OUT! Seriously, the escaped gas that contains almost all the varietal distinction and aroma has to go somewhere or the bag will explode.
I got so addicted to the taste of fresh roasted coffe, I started roasting it at home in a cast iron skillet. Gave it up after a few months because it was too much work and made the house smell of roasting coffee (which doesn't smell nearly as nice as brewing coffee.)
Re:Makes me wonder... (Score:4, Interesting)
This is completely off topic, but I'll jump in with two feet... (I write as a former Starbucks partner with two years of experience from the bottom up to middle management)
Fortune Magazine consistently rates Starbucks as one of America's top 100 employers. There is a reason; they offer excellent benefits, reasonable compensation, and a good working environment. On paper, if you look at the training programs and advancement opportunities within the company, it looks fantastic from the outside. Specifically, there are company (and health code) regulations that forbid sick people from working.
However, these do no good within a company with an entrenched corporate culture that encourages and rewards dishonesty, bullying, cheating, and backstabbing. Unwritten rules always trump written policies making the job a joyless hell for some.
Consider this scenario: you work at Starbucks part time, about 20 hours a week. This is the cut-off point for heath converage (a quite generous plan); partner must maintain 20 hrs/week to be eligible for this coverage. Sick leave is not available for hourly employees. So if you are sick you face the tough choice of working sick or losing your health coverage. The kicker is that managers are trained (in the informal wink and grin style) to keep many employees' hours close to this level and use this leverage to minimize employees calling in and disrupting the business. It's a devious crock but nobody has been forced to work while ill.
Re:Makes me wonder... (Score:5, Insightful)
Caffeine withdraw (Was:Makes me wonder...) (Score:5, Interesting)
Every so often I quit coffee, just to do it.
Rather than quit cold, and get the nasty headaches, it's a heck of a lot easier to gradually reduce -- I start with my regular level, and then the next day have a bit more than half as much, and so on for a few days, till it's just a sip.
Or, you can quit cold and get a wicked headache for a day or so...
Re:Caffeine withdraw (Was:Makes me wonder...) (Score:4, Interesting)
Having a coffee addiction is nasty when you get sick and can't stomache it (eg gastro) and are forced to withdraw from caffiene while feeling particularly nasty for other reasons..
Re:Makes me wonder... (Score:5, Insightful)
I recently bought a pound of pure Arabica bean which has a very good flavor: no bitterness even in a very strong espresso. My mother who also tried the coffee immediately didn't like it because the caffeine content is much lower in the Arabica bean (most blends have Robusto(sp?) which is very high in caffeine and has a bad/bitter flavor) so she didn't get the normal buzz. "Does this coffee work?!"
Re:Makes me wonder...; about lawsuits, warnings (Score:2)
And if there is *any* evidence of this (and even if there isn't), I wonder about the possibility of mandated warnings and/or lawsuits. From the Globe and Mail article, Your morning habit holds chemical bomb [globeandmail.com]:
Re:Makes me wonder... (Score:3, Insightful)
If you want to avoid caffeine withdrawal and also the jitters and hunger pangs of coffee's caffeine, switch over to green tea; not only does it prevent the nasty headaches and sluggishness, it doesn't make you vibrate at high frequ
Re:Makes me wonder... | How much in Coke? (Score:3, Informative)
well that explains the jitters (Score:3, Funny)
Re:well that explains the jitters (Score:2)
Re:well that explains the jitters (Score:3, Insightful)
How you can actually drink Folgers is quite beyond me.
When I grew up, coffee came out of a two foot tall stainless steel urn (military special). It was nasty crap that required huge amounts of sugar just to choke down.
Now that I'm a discriminating adult, I have my beans imported from Costa Rica [cafebritt.com] (discovered the brand by accident while on vacation down there). I just plain can not get near a cup of freeze-dried crap anymore.
Do yourself a culinary favor; purchase whole beans, a grinder, and a good drip
Re:well that explains the jitters (Score:3, Interesting)
If you order green beans [sweetmarias.com] and roast them yourself [sweetmarias.com], you can take that experience to the next level, and even save a little money.
I roast once or twice a week, and will never go back to buying pre-roasted coffees. There is a quality of freshness to the cup that I have only tasted in coffee I ordered directly from this roaster [espressovivace.com], who ships it the day
But I do drink it all through the day.... (Score:5, Funny)
another large at 10
another at 12
another at 2
another at 4
another at 6....
Why is this considered newsworthy? (Score:4, Informative)
US "gourmet" coffee = normal coffee in the rest of the world.
US "regular" (aka "brewed") coffee = undrinkable bat's piss.
Of course it has more caffeine, that's what it's for...
Re:LARGE?!? ITS VENTI GODDAMNIT!!!! (Score:5, Funny)
So a certain anonymous individual went into a Starbuck's one morning last year, a bit cranky because he had to be up earlier than usual. He spoke to the individual at the cash register...
Anon.: I'd like a medium chai, please.
Register Person: Do you mean tall or grande?
Anon.: I mean medium.
Register Person: We don't sell a size called medium.
Anon.: "Medium" is a description, not a name. You sell three sizes. I'd like the one in the middle.
Register Person: We call that size "grande."
Anon.: Right.
Register Person: So what is it you'd like?
Anon.: I'd like a medium chai, please.
Register Person: You mean a "grande."
Anon.: Haven't we already been through this?
Register Person: I just would like to be certain.
Anon.: You can be certain I'm not going to use your ridiculous trademarked name, when a descriptive adjective completely connotes my intent.
Register Person: It's not a ridiculous name -- it's Italian!
Anon.: Yes, and "chai" is either Chinese or Sanskrit. What's that got to do with it? The word I want in English is "medium."
Register Person: Dude, what have you got against Italians?
Anon.: Nothing. Well, perhaps they bear some responsibility for Madonna, but I think she's actually from New York.
Register Person: Bay City, Michigan, actually. That'll be $3.50.
Wait... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Wait... (Score:2)
wittneesss (Score:2, Funny)
I Shall Not Drink Decaf. Decaf is the Mindkiller. (Score:2)
The hands acquire shakes!
The shakes become a warning!
BY CAFFEINE ALONE I SET MY MIND IN MOTION!
Re:wittneesss (Score:3, Funny)
Wuss.
--
In other news (Score:2, Funny)
Hah (Score:3, Funny)
First Cup! (Score:2, Funny)
Coffee or Espresso? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Coffee or Espresso? (Score:5, Informative)
"Although most people assume espresso to be as strong as in caffeine as it is in flavor and aroma, it contains less than one half to one third of the caffeine in a cup of coffee brewed from robusta beans, the cheaper coffee beans used for canned coffee. Arabica beans, the high-quality beans used for espresso, have less caffeine. The dark-roast process, which concentrates the flavor of the beans used to make an espresso blend, also has the effect of burning off some of the caffeine content, so that the darker the roast, the lower the caffeine."
Possibly not the best source of information, but for a book dedicated to the subject of espresso, its got to be pretty near the target. And I know what you mean, a lot of people drink fancy drinks as opposed to coffee, which I think actually requires a finer taste (well until you're addicted anyway, which might be the cause of the finer taste in coffee - the fact that we keep on drinking it.)
Misunderstood Myth! I have to correct this! (Score:3, Interesting)
Also, you are correct that the dark-roast process will burn off some of the caffeine found in these beans.
And, yes, when it comes down to it, ounce by ounce, "regular" coffee has more caffeine in it than espresso roasted coffee. However, we are all missing something very important here. This is BEFORE the coffee is brewed!
When brewing an 8oz cup of coffee, you use about 1oz
Arabica vs. Robusta, Dark vs. Light (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Arabica vs. Robusta, Dark vs. Light (Score:2)
Well, that'll teach me to post before reading the article completely (Hahahahah! As if!)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Arabica vs. Robusta, Dark vs. Light (Score:2)
And despite this head start, somehow the cheap brands still manage to lose the caffeine race to gourmet varieties.
Re:Arabica vs. Robusta, Dark vs. Light (Score:2)
Starbucks and other gourmet houses use arabica beans. They are also dark roasted. So by your statement they should have less caffeine. The report states the exact opposite of your hypothesis.
A can of Maxwell House, by contrast, is floor sweepings of robusta and the standard roast is very light. So again, by your argument, Maxwell House should be a caffeine bomb; but that is not what the report found.
Re:Arabica vs. Robusta, Dark vs. Light (Score:2)
Re:Arabica vs. Robusta, Dark vs. Light (Score:5, Funny)
I find that it doesn't matter what type of beans you use, as long as you make it with Water Joe [waterjoe.com] and grind up a hand full of NoDoze with the beans.
Thats the sort of thing that gets me going... And probably leads to situations like my signature.
-JungleBoy
Re:Arabica vs. Robusta, Dark vs. Light (Score:4, Interesting)
my sister and i decided to get what we thought might be a 'high' one night in december and nearly died. i decided to take 16 caffeine pills with a 200 mg amount of caffeine in each pill (equivalent to 2 cups of coffee) and drink a diet coke. my sister liked the idea because she thought it might be like speed. it was like hell. i shit three times i peed like a race horse about three times. i also thought maybe consuming some good h2o and some nourishing food might help but everything that went into my body came back up. i had an intense headache and body temperature that seemed to range from boiling to arctic freezing. i reached a point where i could not stop tremoring or shaking and my heart was pounding out of my chest. i really thought i was going to die. my sister had taken half the amount that i did and saw what i was going through. i had called an ambulance and was carried out in a stretcher and just about bounced out out of it from being unable to keep still. on the way to the hospital i blacked in and out and the blackouts got longer and longer. i was given numerous amounts of shots and hooked up to hooplas of equipment and was told to drink charcoal or i would die. my sister, i later found out went through the same thing just when i was hooked up to all of the monitors and what not. we were both told that we could have died from the amount of caffeine that we had taken.
my reason for telling this to whomever is reading it would be, be aware of what how much something can do to you. i just thought i would be very awake. it turns out i was almost asleep permanently.
Link to back things up (Score:2)
Maybe the gourmet coffee shops are actually mixing Arabica (the good beans) with lots of Robusta (the icky tasting beans.)
Re:Arabica vs. Robusta, Dark vs. Light (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Arabica vs. Robusta, Dark vs. Light (Score:2)
What you say seems to be true [2basnob.com], but it certainly doesn't seem related to the article summary, which claims that more expensive coffees contain more caffeine, despite the lesser caffeine quantity in arabica beans.
The Real Story (Score:3, Interesting)
Gourmet coffee shops use about two tablespoons of grounds for every six ounces of coffee made -- about double the amount used at a donut shop or in a home machine.
And I thought they were genetically engineering new beans- no, it's just how a true esspresso machine works....I can believe this- I've got a friend with one of the original Italian machines, and an 8-oz cup of his coffee gives me the shakes (this from a guy who used to get through programming assignments at OIT by dropping a vivarin into a 2 liter bottle of Mountain Dew).
Is this actually a good thing? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Is this actually a good thing? (Score:2)
Re:Is this actually a good thing? (Score:3, Interesting)
Personally, I think that caffeine is a bad thing. It's been linked to a few long term problems, such as heart problems. And it makes sense that peop
Not too plausible (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Not too plausible (Score:2, Interesting)
Or a better suggestion: (Score:5, Informative)
Grammer and caffeine don't mix! (Score:3, Interesting)
Yet, scientists are far from unanimous on the health impacts of coffee, and caffeine in particular.
Research has shown that caffeine -- a bitter white substance found in many plants -- can cause spikes in blood pressure, and contribute to osteoporosis by depleting the bones of calcium.
But there is also evidence that coffee drinkers are less likely to develop serious health conditions, including diabetes and Parkinson's disease.
Re:Grammer and caffeine don't mix! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Grammer and caffeine don't mix! (Score:2, Funny)
More caffeine just because they use more coffee? (Score:5, Insightful)
I thought perhaps there was some conspiracy where they were doping coffee with extra caffeine or something.
I like coffee (Score:5, Funny)
Gimme a quad... (Score:2)
Ah...
Tim
Heh (Score:3, Interesting)
Gourmet? (Score:4, Insightful)
What is wrong with you?
(and are you really surprised that a business that aims to have a store on every street corner in the world (according to the CEO) and doesn't mind achieving that by forcing existing stores out of business would learn something from the tobacco industry?)
Re:Gourmet? (Score:2)
Now watch the mods who love Starbucks come out . . .
Did someone page? (Score:5, Funny)
arabica vs robusta or light roast vs burnt? (Score:2, Informative)
However, with all the varieties of arabica coffee available and the various extents to which they are roasted, caffeine content can vary a fair amount from coffee to coffee.
...but why Starbucks? (Score:5, Insightful)
Why then, do so many die-hard penguins and independant bookstore shoppers insist on supporting Starbucks? If coffee has an archetypical "The Man" figure, who has way too much money, produces shoddy goods, and destroys good quality companies with its monopoly-like tendancies, it is Starbucks. They put great coffee houses out of business, the kind that you may have met some of your best friends at. They use inferior beans, cooked at too high of a temperature, for too short an amount of time, just to increase output. That's right, you're drinking a bean that was treated worse than those poor saps on WB's Superstars.
Why God? Why of all people, do you, "The Man"-hating intellectuals, actually give them your business?
Re:...but why Starbucks? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:...but why Starbucks? (Score:4, Interesting)
Starbucks hasn't really hurt the local coffee houses at all, from what I can see actually living in a town where Starbucks recently arrived. The coffee house I am always found in has one big advantage over Starbucks: free Wi-Fi. It's always full in here and sometimes hard to even find a seat. Maybe even more so since Starbucks opened.
From the Iowa City Press-Citizen [press-citizen.com]:
A new stand-alone Starbucks store is not the only change that downtown Iowa City patrons will notice on the coffee front later this month.
The downtown Java House, 211 1/2 E. Washington St., is in the process of a $250,000 renovation to improve customer service, reduce waiting times and add seating options.
"We are doing a remodel, but it has nothing to do with Starbucks coming and everything to do with us stepping up our service," said owner Tara Cronbaugh, adding that renovation plans for the 10-year-old coffeehouse have been in place for several years. "We are in our last phase of renovations. Our only goal is to improve the speed of service."
Work on an extended coffee bar, which includes two more slots for brewed coffee, an additional register, a second espresso machine and more seating, should be complete by the time University of Iowa students resume classes for the spring semester Jan. 20.
Developer Marc Moen said the new Starbucks store at 228 S. Clinton St., eastern Iowa's first stand-alone location, should open about the same time.
"They look like they are ready to roll," Moen said, adding that he heard drinks will start flowing Jan. 20.
Cronbaugh said she is not worried about Starbucks' expansion into Iowa City and thinks it will strengthen the specialized coffee scene.
"Long-term, I think it's a good thing for the industry," she said. "And I think downtown is loyal to its local businesses."
David Meyers, co-owner of Terrapin Coffee Brewery, 257 E. Iowa Ave., agreed.
"Starbucks will make the game fun," Meyers said. "It will be really interesting to see how they play."
Meyers opened the downtown Terrapin with his brother, Robert Meyers, on Oct. 21, 2002. He said they are not planning store renovations but will expand their menu this month.
"There will be additional hot teas, desserts and other complimentary items," he said. "The reasoning is that we have been here over a year and we are taking our natural form."
The first of the Java House renovations began in July 2002 with a new window bar in the front of the store and an expansion to the service area.
Cronbaugh said crews made the majority of the Java House's recent changes on Christmas and the day after. In addition to expanding the front portion of the coffee bar, Java House crews are removing the elevated platform across from the coffee service area and replacing it with alternate seating options.
Officials also will add tables in the back of the coffeehouse, and Cronbaugh said the store will be able to accommodate a total of 18 to 20 more patrons.
Although Cronbaugh said she has not planned any immediate changes to the other Java House locations at 713 Mormon Trek Blvd. on the west side of town, 1555 S. First Ave. on the east side, and 15 S. Dubuque St. above Prairie Lights, she is planning to implement a new pre-paid card system linking all the stores.
The pre-paid coffee cards will allow regulars to pay a lump sum and subtract each purchase from the card as they purchase beverages or food items.
"They can use it so they don't have to get out $3 all the time," Cronbaugh said.
To accommodate changes, the downtown staff will increase by 10 employees and the east- and west-side stores will each add two to three workers.
Cronbaugh said she doesn't anticipate any price increases and said the last time she made cost adjustments was in October based on economic changes.
"We increased espressos, teas, anything having to do with milk cocoa or tea," she said. "But our brewed coffee stayed the same, our bakery line stayed the same."
Re:...but why Starbucks? (Score:3, Interesting)
In addition, Starbucks doesn't act li
Re:...but why Starbucks? (Score:4, Insightful)
Branding and perceptions. Starbucks took a product that you used to pay under $1 for (coffee) and charged you upwards of $3 for it.
Why did people buy it? For the fringe benefit - You and your friends could go to a local Starbucks and hang out for several hours for that $3. There weren't a lot of other places where you could really do that... Bars are too noisy to have conversations, and restraunts want to flip your table and get the next person in.
Eventually, a perceptual association forms: Starbucks == good times with friends. And since you buy coffee anyways, you get in the habit of buying their coffee just for yourself.
You take the cup to work. Everyone sees it (free advertising.) The more people are seen toting Starbucks cups, the more other people want to figure out what the "buzz is."
Then, of course, they expanded like a watermellon dropped from a 747. Now, everywhere you go, you pass a Starbucks. It becomes just too convinient to drop in and pick one up. It becomes too convinient to call a friend and say "I'm at the Starbucks on 7th S.W. - come on over."
Now, people continue to patronize because they've become comfortable with the brand.
[1] I actually do have a hat that says "MBA" - I got it on the first day of my program. I guess they figured it softened the blow of the tuition bill... "Hey, you get a hat."
Coffee is a great business (Score:2, Funny)
Obligatory Plug (Score:5, Informative)
for Fair Trade Certified Coffee [globalexchange.org]
Consider choosing to pay a little extra for your coffee to encourage sustainable agriculture, preserve rainforests and help out the long term social fabric of coffee growers and their families.
Confused on daily limit (Score:5, Informative)
Ok so 300 is the upper limit. But...
Health Canada recommends that adults limit their consumption of caffeine to 400 mg daily -- the equivalent of about four small cups of coffee.
So Canadians think it's ok to drink 33% more than is healthy? And yet, they try not to call it caffine addiction. Interesting.
Re:Confused on daily limit (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Confused on daily limit (Score:5, Funny)
Contrary to popular belief, the effect of caffeine is not hindered by cold weather nor is the Canadian metabolism less efficient as their brethren below the border.
It has been surmised that the greater daily beer consumption by the average Canadian may also contribute to the higher maximal dose of caffeine.
This is a recently established medicated fact.
Right! (Score:2)
No thanks, I'll prefer to drink my coffee all at once. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I still want my dose of caffiene at one go.
Green Tea (Score:5, Informative)
It seriously can be rocket fuel and wears off smoother than coffee does.
The tea I use needs to be purchased specially at a Chinese tea store and is not prepackaged. It is White Dragon Pearls. Little rolled balls 1/4 of an inch in diameter with young tea leaves and flowers.
I'll put about 40 balls in a 20 Oz glass Campbells soup jar - or a mason jar and nuke for 3:30 to 4 mins. Then let it sit till it is golden - 10 - 15 mins. Filter the Tea into another 20 Oz glass and sip away. Save the leaves because you can generally brew another batch out it this. This tea does not get bitter and you can sip it all morning and into the afternoon.
The stuff is about 40 bucks a pound but that's about 1/2 to a whole year of tea. A bargain at any price.
And it makes me motivated AND feel good about the world. At least till it wears off. Then it's back to my unibomber style shack and dreams about getting rid of that principal Skinner.
But, but .... (Score:2, Funny)
Er... No. (Score:4, Funny)
No, for best effect, drink it all at once, and keep reordering through the day.
Oh no, we're not trying "hook" you... (Score:3, Funny)
Yeah, right. I seem to recall Phillip Morris making a similar argument.
timed release caffeine (Score:3, Interesting)
I saw this on a t-shirt (Score:4, Funny)
I see a lawsuit coming (Score:2, Interesting)
And something equivalent of the Tobacco industry lawsuits...
Caffeinism and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (Score:4, Interesting)
After a battery of tests, I was told that my intake of caffeine was causing excess adrenaline production, hence a constant state of anxiety.
Now I take three klonopin a day just to feel normal.
I still drink coffee though, the decaf variety, but every once in awhile the idiot at the coffee shop fucks it up and gives me a caffeinated beverage. Suffice to say, it can be a day wrecker. Dizziness, fainting sensations and general physical sensations of imbalance.
No fun.
Illegal coffees? (Score:5, Interesting)
Is there a legal limit for caffeine content?
The answer to that is it depends on the country. A few examples of laws related to caffeine content for food and drinks include the following:
In the United States there is a limit of 6mg of caffeine per liquid ounce in beverages. There is also a limit of 200mg in pills such as Vivrin.
From, article, a 20oz coffee has 400 mg of caffeine, or 20 mg/oz - so would it be illegal for Starbucks to sell that same coffee in the States?
Who knows, maybe the coffee FAQ is wrong...but it was on the internet so it must be true!
Re:Illegal coffees? (Score:3, Informative)
Caffeine and Medicine (Score:5, Informative)
...
"There are certain advantages to caffeine but, after 300 milligrams [daily intake], you start getting into health problems," Dr. Marcone said.
...
Problems arise, he said, when people cut back. "You develop headaches, you are irritable, you seek caffeine to relieve those adverse effects," Dr. El Sohemy said.
...
Health Canada recommends that adults limit their consumption of caffeine to 400 mg daily -- the equivalent of about four small cups of coffee. The health regulator says that because of its diuretic and stimulant properties coffee can cause insomnia, headaches, irritability and nervousness.
Okay, as a physician and a caffeine user I just have to comment. I have no idea where they came up with their 400 mg/day cutoff, but it wasn't from any published data I've seen. Public health nannies have been looking for something bad about caffeine for decades. From "It'll stunt your growth" to "it'll rot your bones" they keep looking for some reason why we shouldn't drink coffee.
The facts, unfortunately, are quite contrary. Caffeine is a drug, albeit a very benign one. Yes, you can overdose on coffee. A truly unpleasant experience, but one that is quite survivable (in large part because coffee doesn't carry very much caffeine compared to the dangerous dosing). You can overdose on No-Doz too, and that actually is more dangerous because you'll get more in before you start feeling it. Neither, however, is seen very often in actual emergency practice (other ingestants, like alcohol or Tylenol, are MUCH more dangerous in moderate overdose).
Caffeine increases alertness and learning. It's been reliably shown to improve test scores (especially for those of us who can't think without it). Interestingly, large public-health studies have correlated a high caffeine intake with decreased gallstones and with a markedly decreased incidence of type II diabetes, although I'm not fool enough to call it causality when I only have correlation.
And that's it. No increased cancer risk (they checked). No increased hypertension (they checked). No increased risk of coronary artery disease (they checked). No increased risk of psychiatric disease (well, okay, I didn't actually read that one, but most of us in THIS forum came by our psychopathology in other ways anyway).
Doctors are not the world's best source of public health information. They live lifestyles that make programmers look positively healthy (I know - I do both professionally). Still, doctors don't smoke any more (seriously - it's down to a few percent) and they don't drink to excess the way they used to. Drug use is relatively uncommon (although not unheard-of, unfortunately) and seriously frowned upon. But caffeine is ubiquitous in the hospitals and clinics, and there's a good reason. Compared to the stress of getting through the day without it, most of my colleagues share my basic view, which is that there are few Good Things in this world, but coffee is definitely one of them.
Re:Caffeine and Medicine (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm an insurance agent. If you skip your morning coffee before a paramedic exam (typically administered when buying large face amounts of life insurance), your BP reading will be 5-10 points lower than if you don't skip it.
I checked that one personally. I can believe that long-term usage doesn't necessarily increase hypertension, but the short-term effects certainly would make it appear to!
BTW, as I mentioned elsewhere, Science News [sciencenews.org] ran a recent article on co
Ever hear of Moderation? (Score:3, Interesting)
First, Biological Science twenty years ago warned of the dangers of Caffeine and now are discovering those findings were either falseified or flat out, due to their lack of "science", dead wrong.
Secondly, ever hear of Green Tea part of the day and Coffee another part of the day? I don't get headaches from coffee withdrawals.
Thirdly, how many of you drink over 1 US Gallon of water per day? I do. Believe me it sure dilutes the potency of the Caffeine. Here is a hint: If you suddenly feel warm and clammy, go pound 32 ounces of H2O.
Why Americans Like Gourmet (Score:5, Interesting)
This person has obviously never drank coffee in the United States. American coffee, when not served too weak, usually tastes like battery acid (or, in culinary terms, "robusta," apparently.)
I had to realize the article was from a Canadian paper before I could understand why they were making such a big deal over gas station and donut shop coffee being weaker. In America, that is not only the norm, it barely rates above "hot water that somebody has dipped a dirty rag in."
People, American coffee sucks. I never knew this until I lived in Germany, where the coffee you buy in your supermarket is incredibly superior for the same price as American store-bought coffee. I had to defend American coffee to my German friends because I had no idea what they meant by our coffee being weak.
Heck, here in Japan, they sell coffee in "regular" and "American" styles, where "American" is used synonomously with "weak." I've even had the waitress at a restaurant, unprompted, apologize to me that the only coffee they have to offer is American.
Re:FP! (Score:2)