
Ask HN: What do you drink? - breck
I find I code better with a drink nearby. I can't have snacks or food near me but having a soda or something is great.<p>Right now I drink 2-4 coke zeros per day, which is better than my former habit of a couple cokes a day, which was better than the even earlier habit of a couple of Rockstars per day.<p>What do you drink?<p>Just looking for some (hopefully healthier) ideas.
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Zak
It depends on what sort of coding I'm doing. It's usually water or herbal tea.
If I need extra energy, black tea, but I try not to do that more than a couple
times a week since I broke my addiction to caffeine.

When I have to deal with new and interesting bugs that only occur with
Internet Explorer, I drink whiskey.

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thunk
Lots of tea (camellia sinensis: green, Earl Grey, Oolong, Lipton, whatever).
Water. No soda.

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3dFlatLander
I used to drink a few sodas a day, and I switched to tea about five years ago.
I lost some weight during the first year, but I've found I have more energy
with tea and no crash. I get most of my tea from Adagio (I'm not affiliated).

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omarchowdhury
Water.

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effektz
mixed with a little bit of 100% fruit juice

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skoob
But, then it's no longer 100% fruit juice!

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J_McQuade
Buying a tea infuser is one of the best things I've ever done - real leaf tea
by the cup! Moroccan mint is my favourite at the moment, but I like to
experiment, and can't help but think that in tea I've just found one more
thing to be geeky about.

I also find that the regular ritual of making tea helps to stop my thought
processes from falling down rabbit holes, so to speak. It's sometimes good to
step back and wait for kettles to boil and leaves to steep.

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HalcyonMuse
I have discovered the same thing - giving my brain time in modes other than
problem-solving, like wait-for-kettle mode, seems to augment my problem-
solving mode endurance.

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nanexcool
I drink mate 2 or 3 times a day.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mate_(beverage)>

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clemesha
Monsters, mountain dew, iced coffee. Anything with caffeine when hacking. Not
a healthful response, but an honest one.

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mrduncan
My usual daily routine consists the following: 1-2 cups of coffee in the
morning and lots of water and orange juice the rest of the day. I quit
drinking soda years ago for the most part (still drink it occasionally but
rarely) in college when it was just a lot cheaper to drink water instead and
have never really had the urge to pick it up again.

If you're looking to kick the soda, I'd suggest switching over to something
else other only water initially since I can almost guarantee you'll get sick
of it having no flavor (maybe orange juice, apple juice, or tea).

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aristoxenus
Easy on those juices -- that much simple sugar can lead to a
metabolic/alertness roller coaster, if not weight problems.

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mrduncan
Probably good advice, I'm not a doctor nor do I play one on the internet. For
myself though, I stick mainly to water throughout the day.

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Devils-Avacado
Coffee from 9AM to 6PM.

Beer from 6PM until 2AM.

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MikeMacMan
That's what I'm talking about!

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rms
I'll agree with the consensus: water is the best, but if you want caffeine,
freshly brewed tea is by far the healthiest source of caffeine. The theanine
is also a nice bonus.

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CyberFonic
Instant coffee causes greater dehydration due to the chemicals used in the
manufacturing processes. So you should be drinking extra water to make up for
its diuretic effects. So if it's coffee it has to be freshly brewed - the
aroma is a bonus treat.

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dtf
I've got quite into Rooibos tea over the last few months. Very drinkable with
a pleasant aroma and no caffeine. I still love coffee, but save it for the
weekends.

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zzzmarcus
I recently found Viso Vigor which is pretty good for a quick, intense (300mg)
dose of caffeine. It also has tons of vitamin B (6, 12 etc.), and feels less
to me like drinking death than Red Bull and the other canned energy drinks do.
I don't drink it often, but if I need a boost that tastes good and isn't soda
it works.

I also enjoy yerba mate. It's very popular in Uruguay where I started drinking
it. Especially so among students as an (ostensibly) healthy herbal tea with a
good dose of caffeine to keep them awake for studying. My favorite part is the
slow, calming ritual around drinking it in the traditional way.

Those two exceptions aside, generally I prefer water.

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splat
Just water throughout the day. I'll have a beer or a cocktail in the evening.
On rare occasions, if I'm feeling particularly tired and need to be alert I'll
have a soda or coffee.

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Leon
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot

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lallysingh
Always double-fist with ice water. Most of the time we're drinking b/c we want
water. Expect to pee a lot.

On most days, regular coffee is fine. Stage 2 is a tall americano (you know
from where). Stage 3 is a chai with two shots of espresso. Stage 4 need not be
named, but it gives me wings. I usually save those for mondays or all-
nighters.

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abyssknight
See, funny thing about that, I hate drinking water because it makes me have to
leave my desk a lot. I still do it because I know I need the water intake.
Usually my day is 50/50 between Coke Zero (or Mountain Dew on a bad day) and
Water. Sometimes it slides to 30/70, but I do my best.

Edit: And by 50/50 I meant one or two cups of water and one can of soda (or on
bad days, a 20oz).

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herval
Water or green tea!

Beware the Coke Zero, its sweeteners are quite harmful, according to some
physicists I consulted (and to what happened to myself: got very strong
stomach pain for months, and the reason was that I got a reaction to Coke
Zero! Switched to Coke Light and it's all gone...)

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ams6110
Did you mean physicians? If not, I would not put much more stock in a
physicist's opinion about sweeteners than any other random person's.

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herval
yes, I meant doctor, medic... guess it was kinda obvious, no?

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jsz0
When I was in Europe a few years ago I picked up a seltzer habit. Nothing is
as refreshing as an ice cold seltzer. To me it rivals the effects of a coffee
in the morning. It's a good alternative if you like fizzy drinks. You can mix
some fruit juice in if you want something sweeter. Besides that I drink lots
of ice black coffee in the summer -- homemade though because coffee shops use
disgusting stale/burnt coffee for iced and it tastes really bad black. If you
get some good beans, grind them yourself, and get the coffee off the burner
quickly after brewing you'll get an ice coffee that isn't too bitter.

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jlees
Water usually, occasionally with Berocca tablets (not sure I've noticed any
energy benefits, but they taste nice).

A nice hot cup of tea with milk and sweetener at around 3 or 4pm every day -
and no caffeine any later.

Diet Coke or Dr Pepper zero when I need to get some serious work done.

Starbucks skinny caramel macchiato when I want a treat, or their latte to wake
up first thing. Occasionally Innocent smoothies as well, or homemade blends.

I only drink alcohol if it's free. This rule has kept me sober for months, but
lets me get away with a glass or two when it's a networking event or dinner ;)

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CaptainMorgan
Upon waking up I have 1-2 cups of coffee, minus the sugar.

Throughout the day I have close to a gallon of water. Also, I drink Weight
Watchers soda: contains no sodium, no sugar, no calories, etc... Coke zeros
contain sodium, no? If a drink contains sodium I always thought it defeated
the purpose of drinking it - which in my case has always been to quench
thirst... sodium acts as an agent to make you drink more never actually
quenching my thirst - in my experience.

As far as alcoholic beverages, my handle speaks for itself. :)

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HalcyonMuse
I was under the vague impression that a little bit of sodium was necessary for
keeping the proper h2o equilibrium in the bloodstream.

I don't go out of my way to ingest sodium (I probably get plenty in my diet)
and I don't know whether sodium helps or hinders hydration.

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ashleyw
On the average day:

• 2x extra strong coffees with sugar (still dislike it really, too sour, but
it wakes me up.)

• ~1-2 litres of Coke and/or other fizzy drinks (my addiction)

• 1-2 Hot chocolate (at night)

• ~4x litres of water, sometimes with flavouring

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smokinn
No offense intended but are you overweight? If not, how do you keep the weight
off with that much consumption? Daily gym?

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jlees
My 'no offence intended' reply would be - does the poster have any trouble
sleeping?

I used to drink a ton of fizzy drinks - all diet, but I noticed a significant
correlation between insomnia and pop. Drank nothing but water (literally) for
6 months and suddenly could fall asleep before midnight...

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ashleyw
My drinking habits sure do tell a lot about me, huh?

I kind of have trouble with my sleep. I sleep wonderfully (8-17 hours; yes,
17, not very often though, on average 11), but I think (or thought?) I have
mild free-running sleep disorder, where I go to bed later and later each day
(if I didn't manually control it, I'd have a full 24 hour cycle over the
course of a few weeks). But I've never thought about pop being the cause. I'll
try and ditch it, see if it makes a difference!

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DanielBMarkham
I mostly go with water throughout the day.

With meals I usually have a Isopure zero carb drink, which tastes great and
lets me load up on protein without all the fat or carbs.

I had stopped caffeine completely, but now that I'm off the caffeine wagon
again, once a week (usually Friday) I'll load up on 2 or 3 cups of strong tea
-- either Earl Grey or Chai, with cream and Splenda.

And then Friday evening it's usually a couple glasses of wine with supper as
an extra treat.

Then back to water again. Repeat and rinse.

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anulman
I used to rarely drink soda (only when I went out), but now that they give it
to me at the office, it's a bit tougher to avoid.

What I've found helps me avoid the temptation is _really_ good green tea -- I
keep a tin of it on my desk at all times. It's ultra-natural, both in how it
feels/tastes and in reality; it's got a bit of caffeine, but nothing that'll
end in a crash; and it tastes good whether it's hot or cold!

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philwelch
Mostly water, though a fruit smoothie in the morning makes breakfast
compatible with working, and a 7UP every so often adds some of the soda flavor
without being too sickeningly sweet (like Sprite), caffeinated (Coke), or
having a heavy, sticky aftertaste (Coke again). Mix in some orange juice to
perk you up and you're golden. Alcohol is strictly reserved for off-duty
hours.

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michaelfairley
V8 Fusion. Absolutely delicious, and (according to the marketing on the label)
contains a full serving of fruit and vegetables in every 8oz.

That, and water.

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sgoraya
Ten Ren Green Tea Powder.

Its good, healthy and easy. A small spoon of it in my water bottle, a good
shake and its done. Its good hot too.

As an aside, my wife noticed how my fingernails started growing faster after
my green tea habit - really! ;) It prompted a google search several months
back and indeed, it does help with nail growth among its many other healthy
benefits.

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brooksbp
3-4 cups green tea a day (good to mix creatine with). You're drinking water
and sometimes good anti-oxidants (great for cleansing your body after
exercising, or during hangovers).

I try to stay away from coffee; it doesn't take me long to acquire a tolerance
for caffeine. I just don't see the benefits of coffee.

I'm a huge fan of grapefruit juice and V8 too.

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swolchok
I usually had success with an "addiction reset" by going cold turkey after
every semester as an undergrad. As a grad student, I've found that even though
I drink 3 cups of green or white tea per day, which is supposed to have
relatively minimal caffeine, I get headaches on the weekends when I don't have
tea. Do you notice withdrawal headaches with that level of consumption?

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lyime
Ice Tea (16 - 32oz daily) and water

I find that ice tea keeps my hydrated and keeps me focused. It's perfect for
coding and it's also healthy.

My recipe

\- Leaf Tea (not the boxed kind) usually fruity ones. (peach and cinnamon
rooibos is my favorite)

\- Boil 2-3 cups of water

\- 2 spoons of tea in a container and pour water. (sit for 2 mins)

\- Take a jar and fill it with ice, strain the tea over ice.

Bonus \+ Lemon \+ Fruits

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sutro
Bum wines. Usually Cisco RED. <http://www.bumwine.com/>

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SwellJoe
3-4 cups of Yamamoto jasmine green tea during the early part of the day
(waking until 6 or so hours before sleeping).

Water the rest of the time.

I occasionally drink orange juice, when eating chocolate or when having a hot
breakfast like grits and eggs.

About once every two or three weeks, I'll have a Pepsi when eating pizza.

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chaosprophet
I always have a bottle of Minute Maid Pulpy Orange near my computer. And I
also drink about 5 cups of authentic Madras Filter Coffee
[<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_filter_coffee>] a day.

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agotterer
I drink 90% water. At work I get up at least once every hour to refill the
glass. Gives me a reason to take a break and stretch my legs. I will
occasionally have a soda with lunch. I have never had a cup of coffee before
and I stopped drinking energy drinks.

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jamesbritt
Water, mostly.

Black coffer (French pressed for creamy goodness) in the morning, and
sometimes late afternoon.

Iced tea with lunch, unless I'm eating raw veggies, then only water seems to
taste good.

Black tea with fruit, or muffins if we've made some, in the afternoon.

Some caffeine-free diet Pepsi with dinner.

But mostly water, all day long.

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Femur
My daily fluid intake:

1-2 cups of coffee in the morning.

2-3 cups of Lipton green tea throughout the day.

1 litre of bottled carbonated mineral water at home in the evening.

1 glass of red wine with supper.

I also drink the odd cup/glass of tap water here and there.

Edit: I also never drink soda.

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EvanK
Orange juice with breakfast. Water, all day long. Usually a soda with lunch or
dinner. I used to drink sodas all day, but I'm getting a bit more health
conscious (only a bit though).

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lucumo
When I'm at home (where I work most of the time) I drink water, sometimes
mixed with (orange) cordial. I found a light version of it, making me feel
less guilty about drinking it. :-)

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mmphosis
One cup of espresso in the morning.

Freshly ground, tamped, and run through a home espresso machine. Add a bit of
cream. The beans are: Café Awasa direct fair trade organic Ethiopian

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mannicken
Coffee (French pressed, buy pre-grinded) with splenda.

Tea (black mostly like Red Rose, Earl Grey, English Breakfast with
honey/sugar).

Water (after a run and before).

Perrier bubbly water.

Buttermilk.

Milk.

Diet coke, sprite zero, and other junk less often.

Sugarfree red bull.

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JeremyChase
I have a small bottle that I refill several times a day with water. If I am
drinking soda I prefer Pepsi Max (similar to Coke Zero)

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neuromanta
I drink water, cuz it's healthy (everyona should drink 1,5-2l water a day),
and black tea, to help me focus.

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brandon272
Coffee and water. I generally try not to have more than 2 cups of coffee a day
if possible.

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pmichaud
No soda! Yuck!

I drink water mostly, but I also drink some Twinnings Breakfast tea in the
afternoon usually.

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chaosmachine
Mill Street Coffee Porter after dinner, and Rockstar™ for late night coding.

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sherl0ck
2 big glass of iced coffee, and the rest is water.

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anibal
Here in Uruguay many of us drink "MATE" mate++ :)

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d_c
water, green darjeeling, coffee, black tea (in order of approaching deadlines
;) )

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teeja
Black tea, in mass quantities.

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safetytrick
Zip Fizz and Mountain Dew

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iterationx
try iced coffee, also called coldpress in some places

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vaksel
water or orange juice

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zackola
water. iced coffee

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sound2man
Iced peppermint Tea. The most refreshing drink in the galaxy. Much easier on
the head than the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster too.

