

Ask HN: How much coffee do you drink? - corporalagumbo

Do you drink it explicitly to help you work harder? Is it an essential part of your life and work? Do you ever wish you drank less? And do you or would you consider using any other stimulants to boost your productivity?
======
eckyptang
Absolutely none at all.

I drink water, from a tap only, and nothing else at all.

I got rid of coffee and tea from my diet about 4 years ago. It was one of the
best health improvements I have ever made. Instantly solved weight gain,
insomnia, irritability, migranes, sickness, concentration problems and bowel
problems. Felt like utter crap for about 2 months but it wore off eventually.

I could draw a direct comparison to when I broke my leg and was on large
quantities of opiates. The withdrawal from this was horrible. The same with
caffeine.

It's not good for you if it does this.

Now trying to get rid of sugar, which is MUCH harder.

~~~
pestaa
How much coffee did you drink 4 years ago to have all that problems?
Especially migranes make me suspicious you're oversensitive to caffeine.

~~~
eckyptang
About 6-8 cups a day. 2 of which were Starbucks medium americano and the rest
were french pressed from various brands. Pretty strong stuff as well.

I'd agree about the caffeine sensitivity - I don't think it agrees with me at
all.

------
davidandgoliath
1 cup a day though a second cup sometimes makes an appearance.

I rid of my coffee maker and replaced it with a simple chemex pourover --
resulting in stronger & better coffee. It's tedious and has essentially forced
me to go from drinking 12 cups a day to 1.

I enjoy coffee, though.. I should schedule my drinks better -- I either have
it early in the morning or late at night.

It's 1am and I'm drinking today's cup. That tends to result in an awful lot of
reddit or hours & hours of CSS & A/B adjusting/testing.

As for your questions: I don't believe it helps me 'work harder', it's merely
something I enjoy. It doesn't help me wake up (though it does seem to help
with some [somewhat] ADHD-like issues that I have): I merely enjoy it. It's
unessential. As for other stimulants -- at one point I had a calcium deposit
in my shoulder a year ago & was on percocets as a result -- during the few
days I was on that (Yay, amphetamines!) I completed more work than I had in an
entire year prior.

Now that, if legal, I'd take in a heartbeat. I was able to suddenly
concentrate again and think fluidly: I wrote endlessly for days and felt as
though I was completely myself again (minus some grogginess from the meds).
Alas, perhaps I should get checked for adult ADHD.

In the meantime back to meandering around the web..

~~~
jazzymorning
Percocets are amphetamines?

~~~
davidandgoliath
Hm. /me googles a bit. Not quite sure to be honest - I can't find any evidence
of it: maybe I've got the terminology wrong or I was on another pill
altogether. Will check my prescription :)

~~~
yareally
Maybe it was Adderall, Ritalin or something like that?

------
hasenj
I don't like coffee (I like the smell though).

If I need caffeine I take an energy drink. Not all energy drinks are good
though, most of them give me a headache after a couple hours.

5-hour energy is ok (doesn't give you a headache), but the taste is bad.

When I was in the Bay Area, I found Jamba[0] to be a good one: tastes good,
and doesn't have the bad headaches.

In Calgary, Canada I couldn't find Jamba anywhere (yet), but BeaverBuzz[1]
seems ok, though it doesn't really taste that good.

[0]: <http://www.jambajuice.com/jamba-at-home/energy-drinks>

[1]: <http://www.beaverbuzz.com/>

------
beagle3
Many people here complain about the bad coffee symptoms. I'm sure some people
are just plain incompatible with caffeine, but it is likely that most of this
incompatibility is with the artifacts of low quality coffee.

<http://www.bulletproofexec.com/coffee/> sells good quality coffee
(supposedly, I've never tried but have heard it praised by people I trust).
The site has a lot of info about how to tell good coffee from bad.

(And .. do try the butter coffee. It's a great upgrade on any coffee)

------
cydonian_monk
I once drank three cups a day, if not five or six. Always very thick, almost
enough to strip the paint off of a battleship, occasionally with cream but
usually black. That started sometime in college - first or second year. Didn't
have much exposure to caffeine before that so the addiction was quick.

Fast forward a decade, and the anxiety from the caffeine was getting really
bad, I couldn't sleep, and the coffee (among other things) was eating into my
stomach. So I quit caffeine entirely. The headaches. The "not right" tingling.
The other withdrawal symptoms usually associatted with hard drugs. I was
convinced I was going crazy for a spell. But in time that all went away.

Now I drink zero cups a day and sometimes feel like a zombie. Unfortunately
even a small trace of caffeine (like in rich chocolate or an occasional small
cup of something caffeinated) triggers a relapse. I do occasionally fall face-
first off of the wagon. But the withdrawal symptoms are nowhere near as bad as
they were the first time.

When I'm "on" caffeine, I feel like I'm sharper. Mental tasks seem to be
easier, and maybe they are. But the overall feeling from being (mostly) off
the stuff is better. I can sleep again. I don't get the shakes as I'm coming
down from the "high." But somedays... I just feel like I'm not here. Like I
still need that hit.

------
scheff
2 cups per day. I find it sharpens my attention and problem solving, both in
traffic (on a motorbike) and when programming. The longer I can spend away
from it, the more effective it is when I take it up again.

Not essential part of work life.

Don't wish I drank it less.

Might consider alternatives, but I would need to be convinced that other
stimulants would be sufficiently advantageous vs deleterious.

------
aleprok
I do drink coffee, but not as stimulant to boost my productivity. The only
time I drink coffee regularly is when I wake up. Otherwise I drink coffee only
when I feel like wanting cup of it. Though usually its about 3 cups a day. I
do drink also water from tap only and yellow tea.

I do not believe anything boosts your productivity, better than you yourself
deciding to be more productive.

------
flexxaeon
I'm too embarrassed to say the amount...it's measured in pots.

I know I need to cut down but whenever I do the withdrawal effects (physical
and habitual) distract me from working.

~~~
sjm
C'mon, we're all friends here. :)

~~~
flexxaeon
1.5 - 3 pots a day :(

------
BrentRitterbeck
I'm consistently somewhere between one and two Starbucks ventis per day;
however, when I was in grad school (one-year lock-step masters program), my
coffee consumption was significantly higher. You could find me with coffee
about 90% of my waking hours. I consumed it until I was so tired it simply no
longer had its stimulating effect on me...crash...start the cycle over again.
I do not miss grad school.

------
dholowiski
About 2L (8 cups) of coffee, sometimes with an additional Venti brewed coffee
from Starbucks.

At that volume, yes it's an essential part of my life as I'm physically
dependent on it (if I skip a day I get headaches & nausea).

Do I wish I drank less? I've quit several times in the past. My life was no
better. I really do feel like it boosts my productivity.

------
michaelpinto
Stimulants might not "boost your productivity" — if you're slightly tired
they'll make you irritable, if you are having problems sitting still they may
make things worse — so while you may get a rush of energy that doesn't always
result in productivity.

------
helen842000
I love the smell of coffee but have never got into drinking it. I drink tea
occasionally. I usually have 8 cups of water each day & maybe a soda.

I do feel a buzz from drinking soda and can imagine I'd get the same from
coffee.

------
dllthomas
2 to 5 cups a day, I'd say. I drink it because I like it, more than to help me
focus - the addiction and tolerance more or less balance out explicit benefits
I think. I'd like to cut it down just a little, I think.

------
DanteVertigo
I don't drink coffee at all. I think it has the placebo effect and we actually
don't work harder. In my case, when I drink coffee, I get nervous and can't
think straight anymore because of the energy rush

------
liamcampbell
I don't drink coffee, and I don't have any other habitual sources of caffeine.
However, I'm 22, and my morning de-blearifying process may not yet need to be
as heavy-duty as that of an older person.

------
languagehacker
Right now, around 32oz a day.

When I worked from home, I would drink an entire pot of French press over the
course of a day.

------
dkd
3 cups a day before. Not really using to boost but i just like coffee. Now i
am more on green/chinese tea than coffee.

------
Pre8y
2 or 3 cups a day... It is not essential but yes, it definitely help me to
regain the track of my work.

------
alvesjnr
4 to five mugs. But not coffee as americano, but coffee as strong as espresso

------
Derbasti
I don't drink any coffee. That said, two pots of tea are not unheard of.

------
moonsoonmenu
I try to drink as little alcohol or coffee as possible, mostly water.

------
tbirdz
None. I never drink coffee, not any kind. Never have, never will.

------
wslh
3 cups a day. I enjoy coffee. It is not essential.

------
DrWhax
2 cups of espresso's.

