
How coffee became a modern necessity - heshiebee
https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-coffee-became-a-modern-necessity-11585972861
======
outime
I came to the same conclusion after seeing all my family drinking at least 3
cups daily. Then all my friend, then me being 15 years old started.

About 13 years later I’ve quit cold turkey after having some anxiety problems
and headaches. I did some research and read a book which is from the nineties
and a bit outdated but holds up pretty good. It basically cured both problems
(but withdrawal symptoms the first days were tough, I admit).

For many people it’s ok to drink coffee I guess, but consider that it can
affect you and almost no doctor will look into coffee consumption when you pay
them a visit to see what could be the reason of some of those ailments. Also I
saved a good chunk of money.

So no, you don’t need coffee. You need to give your brain a break (sleep
properly) if it asks for it, and you don’t need to drug yourself with
substances to “focus” and go on with your life. If life isn’t exciting then
you may want to change it.

I recommend reading r/decaf for some interesting testimonies.

~~~
taneq
> So no, you don’t need coffee. You need to give your brain a break (sleep
> properly) if it asks for it, and you don’t need to drug yourself with
> substances to “focus” and go on with your life.

I'd suggest that the reason so many people drink so much coffee is that giving
their brain a break by getting plenty of sleep and R&R is just not feasible.

Take people with small children, for one. Unless you're very lucky, you won't
be getting regular quality sleep for 5+ years after having your first child.
If you have more than one, then extend this period as necessary.

People don't drink 3+ cups of coffee a day to be their best self living their
best life. They drink that much coffee to function at all when they have no
other option.

~~~
keiferski
I drink 3+ cups of coffee because I enjoy the taste and the centuries of
history behind the ritual.

This constant drive to be some sort of scientific Puritan, to the exclusion of
anything else, is really tiresome.

~~~
bluntfang
Why is it tiresome for people to experiment with substance abstinence? How is
that affecting you?

~~~
keiferski
Well, to be clear, I was reacting to the specific statement that people only
drink three coffees because they have some problem in their life. If you want
to cut down on your coffee use, have at it, but do so without casting
aspersion onto those who think otherwise.

Otherwise, to me it’s tiresome when any sort of substance is critiqued because
it doesn’t fit the standard sober societal narrative, especially because it’s
assumed that people are incapable of making decisions for themselves. It is a
sort of creeping, subtle Puritanism and is usually totally arbitrary; you’ll
see the same people gleefully talk about marijuana yet call tobacco users
dumb. These things have costs and benefits and a mature society should be able
to rationally discuss them, rather than act like a heavy-handed nanny. As an
American living in Europe, this seems to be less of a problem in somewhere
like France or Italy that has a tradition of wine cultivation. America seems
to always skew to the extremes of over-indulgence or prohibition.

I simply don’t agree with the idea that everything with a supposedly negative
health effect is necessarily a bad thing. Intoxication and substance use has
played an important role in art and culture for thousands of years. To
casually dismiss it just seems really short-sighted.

I could write more about this but these are my summarized thoughts.

~~~
bluntfang
>America seems to always skew to the extremes of over-indulgence or
prohibition.

I completely disagree. You must live in a different bubble than I do and most
of HN. Most of the people here support the idea of experimentation with LSD or
other psychedelics.

>I simply don’t agree with the idea that everything with a supposedly negative
health effect is necessarily a bad thing. Intoxication and substance use has
played an important role in art and culture for thousands of years. To
casually dismiss it just seems really short-sighted.

To casually support the idea that substance abuse hasn't harmed society seems
pretty short sighted as well. Alcohol being a big one, it has such a negative
societal impact, yet we are scared to broach the idea in a public forum.

~~~
keiferski
Well I meant more America in general, not so much HN. I doubt the average
person, even in somewhere like Northern California, is really encouraging of
psychedelics.

And sure of course alcohol and other substance abuse has harmed society and
continues to. I’m merely suggesting that moderation is a better solution than
prohibition.

~~~
sofal
I would go further and even say that on HN you see these extremes. People that
previously consumed massive, unhealthy amounts of coffee now authoring
testimonials and blog posts about how life is better without coffee. People
that previously could not go 5 minutes without checking news headlines and
Twitter hot takes now authoring testimonials and blog posts about how life is
so much better when lived in total ignorance of current events. Lukewarm takes
about moderation aren't inspiring and dynamic enough to generate views,
upvotes, and discussion. We're always looking for that neat life hack, and
"don't do quite as much of X and maybe do a little more of Y" is not very
neat.

~~~
keiferski
I can't disagree with that. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

------
keiferski
I hope that someday cafe culture makes a comeback. As much as I love sitting
in a cafe working on my laptop, the current iteration of cafes is but a pale
imitation of what they were in the past.

Revolutions were plotted, art movements invented, and history made in places
like Cafe Central in Vienna. I recommend reading literature from the
1880s-1930s to get a sense of how important they were for the time period. _A
Moveable Feast_ by Hemingway is a good start.

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_culture](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_culture)

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffeehouse](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffeehouse)

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Café_Central](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Café_Central)

~~~
che_shirecat
What would it take to get this social aspect of cafes back? Exclusivity? No-
smartphone rule? Dedicated discussion times? How do you envision us bringing
this back while adapting to modern social norms?

~~~
keiferski
Before COVID happened, I was actually in the process of starting a new sort of
meet-up site, aimed at solving this problem. My initial thought was to have an
online discussion board but have mandatory monthly meet-ups in cities around
the world. For example, in order to be a member of the site, you have to
physically come to a meet-up once every six months. Often enough to become a
part of the community, but not too much to feel like a burden.

The core idea is to take the best of the Internet discussion format and
combine it with the strengths of an in-person community.

I’m certainly open to any suggestions or thoughts on the idea.

~~~
tomlagier
There's a lovely thing that used to happen on Thursdays on r/sanfrancisco[1] -
a fellow by the name u/jimmyjah would set up a spot at a bar and post on
Reddit offering to buy any newcomers their first drink. It lead to a really
lovely little community of stranger-Redditors hanging out weekly.

I think with openness, consistency, and just a tiny little push (a free
drink), you can build a marvelous community.

1\.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/search/?q=It%27s%20thu...](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/search/?q=It%27s%20thursday&restrict_sr=1)

~~~
keiferski
Interesting, thanks for the link. Any idea why it ended?

~~~
ValentineC
> _Any idea why it ended?_

Looks like it's on hold because of COVID-19:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/fj4u35/look_w...](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/fj4u35/look_who_came_into_my_bar_last_night/fklrmke/)

------
Arjuna
Coffee, and its associated caffeine effects, has an interesting history in the
battle theater. These comments regarding coffee are from the American Civil
War:

 _" Perhaps the North's access to caffeine gave its soldiers a strategic
advantage. At least that's what one Union officer, Gen. Benjamin Butler,
thought. He ordered his men to carry coffee in their canteens and planned
attacks based on when his men would be most wired. His advice to other
generals was: 'If your men get their coffee early in the morning, you can
hold.'"_ [1]

 _" In 1859 Sharps Rifle Co. began to manufacture a carbine with a hand-
cranked grinder built into the butt stock — or handle — of the rifle. Union
soldiers would fill the stock with beans, grind them up, dump them out and use
the grounds to cook the coffee. As the morning began, one Civil War diarist
described a scene of 'little campfires rapidly increasing to hundreds in
numbers that would shoot up along the hills and plains.' The encampment would
buzz with the sound of thousands of grinders simultaneously crushing beans.
Soon, tens of thousands of muckets (coffee pots) gurgled with fresh brew."_
[2]

[1][2]
[https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/07/25/485227943/if...](https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/07/25/485227943/if-
war-is-hell-then-coffee-has-offered-u-s-soldiers-some-salvation)

~~~
sandworm101
Same is true of amphetamines. US Fighter pilots were taking them as recently
as 2002. I heard an interesting story about Elvis on NPR. He took two things
from his time in the military: Karate, which colored his dance moves, and
drugs. He got fat after coming back from the military, after he stopped the
amphetamines.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_and_culture_of_substit...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_and_culture_of_substituted_amphetamines#Military_use)

~~~
Scipio_Afri
First time amphetamines were used was by Nazi troops in WWII. The show I was
watching that mentioned it was invented in Germany and used for the push into
France by the Nazis also mentioned an interesting side effect of it also
reducing empathy.

~~~
CptFribble
Amphetamine was discovered in Germany in the late 19th century, but no one
knew it was a stimulant until the 1930s. And both Allies and Axis used it in
WWII as a combat stim.

------
thirteenfingers
Very disappointed that the article doesn't mention that about 1734 Johann
Sebastian Bach actually wrote a secular cantata (often called the "Coffee
Cantata") telling the story of a father trying to get his daughter to stop
drinking coffee.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schweigt_stille,_plaudert_nich...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schweigt_stille,_plaudert_nicht,_BWV_211)

[https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-211/](https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-211/)

~~~
mcswell
I came here to post about that, and you beat me to it. I was provoked by the
article's title, "coffee...a _modern_ necessity." Unless of course you
consider Bach modern!

~~~
inawarminister
Well, historians broadly agree th 1700s were firmly in the Early Modern
period.

------
headcanon
Coffee has a good number of health benefits - plenty of antioxidants and its
good for your liver. Naturally, overuse can be bad for you because of its
dehydrating effects. I've had conversations with some people who mention
they're on their 4th or 5th cup a day, and I've said that I found that 1 or 2
cups a day coupled with plenty of water are much more effective.

Just like anything, a little bit can be good for you, but don't take too much
- and stay hydrated! Preferably with plenty of sleep but I understand thats
not always realistic for some.

~~~
lhuser123
Maybe is the placebo effect, I don’t know, but coffee helps me keep my asthma
under control.

~~~
tedmiston
It looks like there may be something to this.

> About a hundred sixty years after Dr. Salter’s book was published, a review
> of studies was performed to see if coffee had any true impact on lung
> function and asthma. The authors wrote:

> “Caffeine is found in coffee, tea, cola drinks and cocoa. Caffeine is a drug
> that is very similar to theophylline. Theophylline is a bronchodilator drug
> that is taken to open up the airways in the lungs and therefore relieve the
> symptoms of asthma, such as wheezing, coughing and breathlessness.
> Scientists are interested in finding out whether caffeine has the same
> effect on the lungs as theophylline.”2

> And they concluded:

> “This review found that even small amounts of caffeine can improve lung
> function for up to four hours.”2

> Caffeine is a methylxanthine. It falls into the same family of medicine as
> theophylline, a strong bronchodilator that was a top-line asthma remedy
> during the 1970’s through the 1990’s. I was chronically dependent on
> theophylline from the mid 1970’s until 2007.

[https://asthma.net/living/the-effects-of-coffee-on-
asthma/](https://asthma.net/living/the-effects-of-coffee-on-asthma/)

~~~
wallacoloo
Some people claim to use coffee to reduce seasonal allergy symptoms (i.e
congestion) for similar reasons.

------
irrational
I am so glad I never got on the coffee bandwagon. I once surreptitiously added
up how much my coworkers spent on coffee during a typical work week (not even
including what they might have spent at home). Crazy (to me) amounts of money.

~~~
keiferski
Buying a grinder, French press and bags of beans is not very expensive. Maybe
$0.25 a cup depending on the quality of beans you get, plus an initial
investment of ~$50 for equipment.

Spending $5 on a blended pseudo coffee drink at Starbucks is not the only
option.

~~~
floren
> Spending $5 on a blended pseudo coffee drink at Starbucks is not the only
> option.

The price per ounce of _coffee_ on those drinks has got to be astronomical!

I didn't drink coffee when I first moved to New Mexico, but after trying to
local piñon coffee I'm a convert--luckily, I can get a 5 lb bag of the beans
at Costco for about $30!

~~~
keiferski
Having worked at a few cafes in my day, you’d be amazed at the profit margins
on coffee. It costs pennies for the typical cafe to sell a cup of black coffee
at ~$2.50.

~~~
Tagbert
The cost in a coffee shop is the labor, not the coffee. It takes a long time
to make an espresso-based drink.

~~~
keiferski
Rent too. Especially in dense urban areas.

------
rv-de
Attempted to quit twice - failed twice.

For me the quitting symptoms come in four phases:

1) very slight uncomfortableness (nothing severe) [~3 days]

2) more vivdness, alertness, euphoria, calmness [1 to 2 weeks]

3) weird chest / heart issues (nothing too severe but very unpleasant and
first time was quite worrying) [2 to 3 weeks]

4) I'm feeling down, unmotivated, dull [starting at about week 4 or 5]

\---

stage 4 is what I never survived so far. it's just taking too much of a toll.
then again it's an up and down so I once managed to stop for 4 months. but it
brings me to a pre-depressive state where I just don't see much point in
working. otoh I very much enjoy just relaxing, chilling - if I can do that I'm
happy. if not it's a chore - no productiveness at all. very slow mental
processing.

\---

I started drinking coffee during puberty. So, I guess my brain is not just
chemically hooked on it but actually neurologically developed around it.

\---

then the first cup - what a bliss.

~~~
elliekelly
I often wonder whether quitting caffeine is just as difficult as quitting
tobacco but a much more socially acceptable vice. Oddly enough I’ve yet to
meet someone who has been hooked and then managed to quit both who can compare
the experiences.

~~~
pwdisswordfish2
Hi there, I've been hooked on both and quit both.

Through all my years of university I drank at least one cup of coffee every
single day until the last year. And that last year I picked up vaping, ramping
up to 50mg nicotine cartridges vaping in the morning and evening every day.

To summarize, I've quit coffee since August 2019 (not a single cup) and vaping
since two months ago.

Surprisingly, both were not a huge issue to quit physiologically. Lack of
caffeine resulted in a hazy brain feeling for the first week or so. No
perceived physiological effects from nicotine withdrawal.

The real challenge is habits you form from these addictions. I still drink
some kind of hot liquid in the mornings. For vaping, I first threw out all my
high nicotine liquids and continued to vape with something like a 5mg until it
ran out. Due to the COVID lock-down, going out to purchase juice luckily takes
effort. It's still an on-going mental battle of recognizing when I'm feeling a
nicotine craving and dealing with that feeling (ex. re-affirming why I quit,
not getting angry with myself for craving but just moving on).

For anyone reading this: I definitely recommend quitting anything you are
doing that you feel you are addicted to (that you can live without, or is
harming you). For me personally, the entire experience was kind of like
starting a homework assignment/project. Just starting it feels dreadful but
somehow when you finally take the plunge it's not too bad. Not the case for
everyone, but it might motivate you to go for it!

Cheers

PS. AMA

------
neonate
[https://archive.md/1mPIc](https://archive.md/1mPIc)

------
bryanrasmussen
"On the contrary" I stated. "People who drink coffee are insane. Insane and
possessed and, what is worse, willing to be possessed. Most people in asylums
drink coffee. If you let them stop drinking it, they would regain enough
equanimity to leave. But, no, they don't stop. In fact, they drink more and
more, and they get crazier and crazier. They're dehumanized with every single
goddamned drop, and although they sense it, they're like lemmings, or buffalo
who jump off cliffs. People drink coffee and it makes them insane.

"Must you drink coffee? Why not cocoa, tea, cola tea, mate, yoco infusion, or
guarana? Why caffeine? Why not theobromine or theophylline? I have had an
occasional square of chocolate. It is the cause of uncontrolled ecstasy, but,
afterward, you sink into Promethean despair.

"Note," I demanded, "that caffeine was introduced to Europe in the seventeenth
century, post-Renaissance. Why is it, do you think, that the art of the
Renaissance and the classical period has never been surpassed? The great
heights were reached on angels' wings, not via a filthy corruption brewed from
a bean that poisons its own tree."

From Memoir From Antproof Case
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memoir_From_Antproof_Case](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memoir_From_Antproof_Case)

as for serving coffee to children, my son can have some when he is able to go
a minute without excitedly trying to kill himself in a new and innovative way
- so about when he is 30.

on edit: added a closing quotation mark I forgot before, haven't had my
morning cup yet.

~~~
hoseja
Dude, chill, it's a mild stimulant.

~~~
bryanrasmussen
the quotation was from a work of fiction, which I provided a link to, and not
meant to represent my own view of reality.

on edit: my son, however, is a menace, and giving him a mild stimulant would
make him a nuclear level threat to the surrounding environment.

------
pdog
Since when is caffeine routinely served to children? I didn't have my first
cup of coffee until I was an adult.

~~~
thevenkataswamy
Coke?

~~~
jolmg
Do people serve coke to children? My generation wasn't allowed to drink soda
until we were teenagers.

~~~
asdff
My dad grew up in the 60s and went from the milk bottle to the coke bottle. My
parents were more strict with me on soda, but most of my friends had free
reign on the beverage and were not drinking water at all. We all turned out
fine, minus a few teeth.

~~~
lotsofpulp
I would think growing up drinking a bottle of sugar water and the habits it
causes would have something to do with the overweight, obesity, diabetes, and
hypertension statistics all over the world.

------
nsilvestri
I don't drink coffee for caffeine. I like the flavor, and enjoy the process
behind brewing and experimenting with different parameters to make a cup that
tastes better or worse or simply different. I like going to coffeeshops just
because. It's a hobby for me. And although I drink two cups of coffee almost
every day, I don't feel any kind of withdrawal when I stop drinking it. The
caffeine just happens to be a nice benefit.

~~~
franze
You could pretty much replace the word coffee/caffeine with similar words for
beer, alcohol, crack, heroin, ....

Addiction does not feel like an addiction. That's the problem with addiction.

Said that, some addiction is be life-enriching, from the impact on mind, body
and social. (I love my coffee, I am so addicted to it that I stop drinking it
for 2 months a year.)

------
fxtentacle
I feel like the article didn't really answer that question. Also, given that
some of the most successful people I know don't drink coffeine at all, I
wonder if the assumption is even correct.

------
partyboat1586
Good read. Kellogg and Post might have been right about coffee causing
'enervation'. Afternoon coffee breaks can lower sleep quality in some people
which leads to long term reduction in energy due to low grade sleep
deprivation.

~~~
emsign
Yeah, people go into withdrawal during the night which leads to bad quality
sleep which leads to the desire to drink coffee earlier in the day, since you
feel very unwell after you wake up. A downward spiral.

------
meerita
I just drink coffee at the morning and probably, after a nap. I never drink
more than 2 cups a day. How are you habits?

~~~
tempestn
I never developed a taste for coffee, and decided early on that there was no
reason to try to do so. (I'm in my late 30s now.) I do have the occasional
coke, which I'd never noticed any effect from until the past few years. A
single can of coke later than early afternoon now will have a noticeable
impact on my sleep that night—get sleepy later, and end up sleeping around
0.5-1 hours less than I would otherwise. (With the expected resulting
tiredness the next day.) Of course I expect much of that is due to lack of
tolerance since I so rarely have caffeine.

~~~
asdff
Coffee has to be forced imo. No one likes coffee from the getgo, and if they
tell you they do they really just like sugar and warm milk. It takes a while
to overcome the bitterness and notice the taste, kinda like hard liquor. The
whole reason why I forced myself to start drinking it was to not fall asleep
driving to high school. I worked closing shift so sleep was sparse.

------
ip26
Setting aside the workplace- where I drink coffee for enjoyment and could
function without it- I have discovered that a dose of caffeine makes a
tremendous difference when I go running at 6AM. (Roll out of bed at 5:50) I go
from feeling like I can't make it a half mile, to feeling like the world is
happy & beautiful, as the caffeine kicks in. It's been quite stark once I
realized what was going on.

~~~
asdff
Do what pilots do. Wake up at 5:20, take a caffeine pill, go back to sleep,
wake up at 5:50 fully caffeinated and feeling like a living god.

------
emsign
Ah, just today I had a caffeine withdrawal induced headache, because I had
been drinking tea the last three days. It was so bad I had to pop a Thomapyrin
tablet with a Coke. For all non-Germans: it's a fixed combination drug that
includes Aspirin (250mg), Paracetamol (200mg) and Caffeine (50mg).

~~~
mturmon
This cocktail is called Excedrin in the US
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspirin/paracetamol/caffeine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspirin/paracetamol/caffeine)).

------
didibus
I love coffee, brings me joy every morning. Feel it's worth it for me.

That said, I drink specialty coffee only, have my own espresso machine, use
only high quality freshly roasted beans, etc.

I also don't drink more than 2 cups a day, and rarely drink coffee after noon.
Sometimes I do a 3rd one later in the day, but will often go decaf for it.

With the principal cost of the espresso machine and equipment, the
maintainance cost, the price of grass fed whole milk and top quality beans, it
comes to about 1$ per cup for me. Since I have 1 to 2 cups a day, that
averages around 600$ a year I spend on coffee. Which for the pleasure I get
from it is well well worth the price in my opinion.

~~~
ohnope
Which espresso machine and grinder do you use?

~~~
didibus
Profitec Pro 500 espresso machine.

Eureka Mignon Specialita grinder.

I'd highly recommend both, they each exceeded my expectations.

~~~
ohnope
Thanks for the recs!

------
jzer0cool
Referencing from this article here: [https://www.ncausa.org/About-
Coffee/History-of-Coffee](https://www.ncausa.org/About-Coffee/History-of-
Coffee)

> "No one knows exactly how or when coffee was discovered, though there are
> many legends about its origin"

And interestingly: > "After crude oil, coffee is the most sought commodity in
the world"

~~~
benibela
Since the oil price went negative, coffee must be the most sought commodity
now

~~~
ThisIsTheWay
Prices for a specific group of oil purchase contracts went negative, but that
is quite a bit different than saying "the oil price is negative."

------
mirimir
Also see _Forces of Habit_ by David E. Courtwright for discussion about why
coffee has been so commercially successful.[0]

[https://libgen.is/search.php?req=Forces+of+Habit+Courtwright...](https://libgen.is/search.php?req=Forces+of+Habit+Courtwright&open=0&res=25&view=simple&phrase=1&column=def)

------
asdff
I was forced to start drinking coffee. I had to drive myself to high school at
7am, didn't get much sleep with extracurriculars and homework and work.
Eventually it got too dangerous to drive in the morning being that drowsy so I
had to start consuming massive amounts of caffeine. The withdraw symptoms were
in some ways worse than nicotine imo.

------
dzonga
for those that have an issue consuming coffee e.g headaches, stomach issues.
my non-medical advice based on personal experiences is: try lighter to medium
roasts. course grounds - french press | traditional brews. 100% arabica beans.
flush with water i.e after a cup of coffee drink two - 4 cups of water. also
mixing decaf n caffeinated coffee

~~~
pivo
My understanding is that lighter roasts can actually have more caffeine than
dark roasts because the roasting process gradually removes caffeine from the
beans. That’s from George Howell who is kind of a coffee legend here in the US
north east. Haven’t tested this myself.

~~~
standardUser
The way in which the beans are ground and the coffee brewed has a vastly
larger impact on how caffeinated the drink will be.

------
JoeAltmaier
No advice about using/stopping using coffee. Just this:

Don't say "I'm giving up caffeine!" Because, you know you will start again and
folks will all crow "I thought you gave that up!?!"

Instead say "I'm taking a break from caffeine." Both true and defensible when
you start again.

Thanks to my buddy Tom for this advice.

------
blackrock
Does anyone get intense withdrawal symptoms from coffee?

I ran out of coffee, and two days later, I had the most intensive headache.

I couldn’t seem to pinpoint what could’ve given me such a bad headache, except
that I stopped drinking coffee.

I suspect a lot of people are going to have it bad, when the supply chains
starts to melt down.

~~~
ohnope
This is very common (but not everyone experiences it when coming off). It’s
called caffeine withdrawal.

~~~
snazz
Yes. It is a very neurologically addictive drug. It's possible for the
withdrawal symptoms to last for months in some people.

~~~
blackrock
I’ve heard of caffeine withdrawal. I didn’t think it was real. Or I thought I
could handle it.

But if caffeine withdrawal, was what I got, then it is very real.

After I ran out of coffee, on day 1, I had a slight headache. On day 2, I had
a very intensive headache, as if my brain was jello. I took some Tylenol for
it, and it felt better, for a while. On day 3, I still felt uneasy, my brain
still felt like it was swimming in jello. Not a good feeling.

I gave up.

On day 4, I made my coffee again, and consumed it. I was back to normal again.

It seemed as if coffee is some type of anti-inflammatory, that helps to keep
your brain cells nice and tightly bound together.

If social order breaks down, then coffee is going to be short supply. People
are going to have some bad days ahead.

Hopefully, Trump can order that coffee farms stay open, and Starbucks can
remain open as an essential business.

------
adamgluck
I quit coffee almost a year ago and can never see myself going back. I
basically have noticed improvements on all the dimensions that people
typically drink coffee to "solve."

Some of the effects I have noticed:

    
    
      - Less anxiety throughout the day.
      - Fewer "highs" and "lows" throughout the day. My energy level is pretty constant.
      - Easier to wake up. I rarely snooze my alarm more than once.
      - Easier to focus. My level of focus (over time) is more consistent.
      - Better hydration. This means less headaches, etc.
      - More energy. I generally have the energy I need to do what I want basically up until I go to sleep.
      - I can burn sleep. It's very easy for me now to go 2-3 days with very limited sleep, and then sleep 12 hours to recover.
      - Coffee "works." The one or two times I needed coffee, it actually worked to keep me awake and energized.
    

The reason for this is pretty obvious. Coffee stresses your adrenals and sends
your body an "awake" signal. Caffeine's half life is 6 hours, which means even
if you have it "before noon" you'll still have a substantial amount in your
system while you sleep. This impacts sleep quality, which means you are
accumulating micro amounts of sleep debt every night which you never pay off.
Eventually, you struggle to get up in the mornings until you have had some
coffee in your system. The "I can't function without coffee" effect. This is a
pretty much ubiquitous 21st century experience, as far as I can tell.

Furthermore, coffee impacts your body's natural processes that it uses to wake
up. Your body produces cortisol in order to wake up in the morning, which is a
"stress" hormone, which is also induced by drinking coffee (which overall
impacts the endocrine system). Hacking this system to overproduce hormones
everyday isn't great for when your body actually needs this system to wake you
up.

For people considering quitting coffee I have the following advice:

    
    
      - You will get a headache 24-36 hours after you quit. Take ibuprofen. (By the way, this should give you a hint to how long coffee actually meaningfully stays in your system.)
      - You will feel weird for probably 2 weeks.
      - You will have coffee cravings. (I found these hit when I was tired. I felt like I needed to drink coffee to fix my tiredness. I tried to replace this impulse with drinking water or herbal tea a lot of tiredness is caused by dehydration.)
      - You will be tired sometimes. You'll just have to deal with that, but it's really not that bad of a sensation, and the solution: sleep :)
    

People often think cutting coffee out is "impossible" but many people also
haven't gone a day or two without drinking coffee since they were 18, so, I
would say it's worth a try at least.

~~~
ycombinete
I quit recently, and had all of the withdrawal, and positive experiences that
you mention.

I got the 24 hour headache and it was horrific. But more importantly I have
been getting a headache, once a week at least, for years. I haven’t had _a
single headache_ in the two months since I quit coffee. This is remarkable!

The craziest part is waking up and going to sleep are like switches now.
On:off. So crisp.

One thing I had to relearn was how to drink enough water to stay hydrated. As
I was drinking a lot of my daily water in my tea and coffee cups.

------
tsujp
Is there a mirror I don't have to subscribe or sign in to read?

------
devin
Coffee makes me sick. I would never tell anyone they shouldn't drink it, but I
think it's kind of a gross habit. Let the downvotes begin!

------
scoot_718
You might as well just link to the archive.is or outline.com version of this
story and save us all the hassle.

------
sunsetSamurai
Most people don't like coffee, they like caffeine, it's an addiction. To me,
coffee smells bad, tastes ok, and leaves my mouth feeling dirty after drinking
it. I just don't see the point in coffee, especially with all the disposable
containers from Starbucks and the like that go straight to the trash every
day.

~~~
chousuke
I'll concede it's likely that most people drink coffee for the caffeine, but I
would venture a guess that most people don't drink very good or well-brewed
coffee. It doesn't really make sense to say that "coffee" in general smells or
tastes bad because the range is enormous; it's similar to lumping all citrus
fruits together.

I've had a hard time lately restricting my coffee intake to reasonable levels
because I've had a lot of time to practice coffee brewing and some of the
batches I've managed to brew have felt like drinking liquid chocolate. Even
the same coffee beans will taste completely different depending on how you
brew it.

I don't regret it at all though. Coffee is a luxury where a small investment
goes a long way.

------
dzonga
also one surprising thing was the shortage of coffee during this pandemic

------
tyre
Excellent piece by Adam Gopnik a few years ago about why coffee and cafés
specifically we such a drastic social change:

[https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/12/24/what-cafes-
did...](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/12/24/what-cafes-did-for-
liberalism)

------
enitihas
Are there any studies on the impact and benefits of tea vs coffee?

------
DrScump
"(Coffeehouses are) nurseries of sedition and rebellion." \-- Charles II

------
adultSwim
Colonialism?

------
flatTheCurve
One day coffee/caffeine (and alcohol) culture will be heavier scrutinized.
Similar to nicotine.

My caffeine addiction has caused gastrointestinal problems and I can't stay
off the drug. (This is already acknowledged scientifically)

But as long as authority figures consume caffeine, they will justify it.

~~~
colechristensen
You need somebody to ban it to make your own choices?

~~~
Ididntdothis
I can’t see anything about a ban.

~~~
colechristensen
Plenty of people choose not to consume caffeine, they just don't make an issue
of it, which is as it should be. Your personal choices don't have to be a
cause.

~~~
Ididntdothis
To me the post sounded like there should be scrutiny of caffeine consumption
as there was scrutiny of alcohol and nicotine. And I tend to agree with that.
It’s a psychoactive substance that causes physical addiction so people should
know the facts.

~~~
colechristensen
There aren't interest groups buying ad time for scaremongering or people
beating the drum for moral superiority about the evils of caffeine... no. But
energy drinks have gotten a bit of a bad wrap, and four loko with the caffeine
and alcohol got banned... and if you have a heart condition or anxiety your
doctor is going to advise you to lay off the coffee. Isn't that enough?

Or does it have to become a social evil for it to count?

------
troughway
Calling coffee a mind-altering substance is pretty rich. I've heard this
sentiment before and it's so flippant in it's lack of perspective
(intentionally so) that its not worth discussing further.

This is as far as I got because of the paywall anyway. I really wish HN would
just outright reject submissions from domains known to have paywalls. Forget
trying to fish it from Google or some archive/cache.

~~~
badfrog
> Calling coffee a mind-altering substance is pretty rich.

What? Why? It literally is one.

From wikipedia:

> Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine
> class.[10] It is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive drug.

~~~
piyh
> everything is a drug except my drugs

