
No More Coffee - riverlong
https://jayriverlong.github.io/2020/06/30/coffee.html
======
LilBytes
For anyone that tries this, don't naively go cold turkey and expect just a
headache.

It generally takes 12 days before your body resets it's relevant receptors for
caffeine consumption. E.g if you drink three coffees a day and barely feel a
hit, you need to go cold turkey for 12 days. After that the impact of coffee
should be more significant. (1) (edit: sources state 2 weeks to 2 months in
fact!)

I decided to give it a go a few years ago and fuck me. The come down sucked.
The first few days were okish. Slight headache.

But from the 3rd day for about 4-5 days. I had a headache that'd compete with
my past migraines. I was nauseated and was throwing up several times a day.
These stopped at roughly day 8 or day 9.

I didn't consider myself a heavy coffee drinker either. Perhaps 2-3 coffees a
day, these were double shot espresso's.

My colleagues hilariously wrote a medical blog to document my descent into
madness. I'll try and dig it up.

(1) - [https://www.caffeineinformer.com/caffeine-
tolerance](https://www.caffeineinformer.com/caffeine-tolerance)

~~~
chrisjs96
I did it a couple months ago. I've been drinking 3 - 5 cups a day(sometimes
more) for years. I just slowly went from drinking it throughout the whole day
eliminating cups until I had 1 cup in the morning. This was over 2 weeks. Then
I slowly reduced that 1 cup until nothing. Then I switched to a single cup of
green tea in the morning just for the ritual.

The lack of caffeine hasn't really had any effect on my psoriasis or stress
levels, so maybe it was all for nothing.

~~~
thisisnico
1-2 cups of coffee are medically fine. It won't likely have much of a
significant effect on your health.

~~~
chrisjs96
I did it because when I was on an elimination diet, it was recommended to quit
caffeine too. Hasn't seemed to have much effect. I sleep the same, still grind
my teeth, still have psoriasis. I've cut everything from diet except salt,
vegetables, fruit and fish.

~~~
LilBytes
Caffeine is an excellent hunger surpressent too, I swear by it for losing
weight.

~~~
chrisjs96
I don't need to lose weight though. Diet more for just other health reasons.
5' 11" 165lb. I could probably lose a little belly fat, but nothing crazy
right now.

------
TheArcane
So the author was so opposed to preparing coffee at home (or anything in his
kitchen, like he admitted) that he managed to kick a lifelong addiction? This
compounded by his claimed of being an addict rather than an afficianado (so he
could prettiest much consume home made instant or drip coffee) makes me
question the severity of his claimed addiction.

To be clear, I congratulate the authors for kicking the addiction, but the
story seems a bit ludicrous.

~~~
qppo
Instant coffee isn't even _that bad_. And that Korean whipped coffee has been
making the social media rounds, it doesn't take much in resources or gadgets
to make.

I wonder if it's maybe a cultural thing. Where I grew up in the United States
it would be almost unheard of not to own a coffee pot. But I've also worked
with people (from parts of Asia, in particular) where they didn't know how to
operate a drip coffee maker and only kept instant around, despite how much
coffee they would drink every day.

~~~
SpicyLemonZest
It's definitely at least a contingent thing. I was completely fine with
instant coffee in college, nowadays I can't stand it. (Would I like it if it
weren't labeled - I dunno, I haven't done a blinded trial.)

~~~
qppo
The best instant coffee tastes like reheated coffee from the previous day, for
what it's worth

------
virtualwhys
Quit coffee 3 years ago, one of the best things I've ever done for myself.

Since coffee is pretty much universally accepted in the world (even more so
than alcohol), one can easily view a strong coffee habit as normal, or at
worst a benign vice. And it's fine as far as addictions go; you can ride the
caffeine wave to increased productivity, and when the effects wear off another
cup of liquid inspiration is there waiting. I did this for close to 15 years.

What bothered me was this feeling of being ruled by the habit. I simply had to
have my two jam packed triple espresso lattes (or equivalent when not at
home), one in the morning, and one in the afternoon; there was never serious
consideration given to the thought, "I know, let's not have coffee this
weekend", just a steamroller habit with me along for the ride.

Ironically what got me to quit coffee (and I had no intention of doing so) was
a "retreat" in Mexico where one of the requirements was following a strict
diet 2 days before and 4 days after the experience. One of the restrictions
was no coffee, which part of me was strongly resisting, to the point of
considering withdrawing (hah) from something I'd already spent several hundred
dollars for.

In the end I went ahead with it. On the 4th day after the retreat I was free,
and commenced preparing a strong pot of rocket fuel, but then something within
me realized, "wait, I don't need this anymore".

And I don't, at all. Coffee is the devil made liquid -- proceed with caution
:)

[0] i.e. even when sick, on off days from work, during vacation, etc.

~~~
pards
> What bothered me was this feeling of being ruled by the habit.

This. It only became apparent to me when I was out of my usual routine such as
while travelling abroad or attending a training seminar. I hated that
vacations were punctuated by the need to seek out a coffee shop in an
unfamiliar city when the time could have been better spent sightseeing.

------
inertiatic
The author makes caffeine sound like a super power. I wish I could experience
that even for a little bit.

I drink a lot of coffee (I think I average 4 or 5 quadruple espresso shots a
day right now) but it does nothing for me physiologically. I don't feel like
it wakes me up, it doesn't make me procrastinate less or focus more, it
doesn't keep me from sleeping (I'll regularly drink a quad shot after a full
day before going to bed).

~~~
datenhorst
> I wish I could experience that even for a little bit.

You can, you just have to reset your tolerance for it.

~~~
inertiatic
I've gone off coffee for months multiple times. I went through a tea phase a
year ago, there are summer months where I'll drink almost no coffee at all.

I didn't experience any withdrawal symptoms, ever.

And drinking coffee again after that still does nothing for me.

I even bought caffeine pills to see if I could actually get any of the
benefits if I stacked these with my high coffee consumption. I think I got up
to taking 5-6 200mg pills on top of drinking all the coffee I usually do,
didn't notice anything and chickened out of taking any more.

~~~
taeric
I'm with you. I like the taste of bitter coffee, so unlikely to stop anytime.
But I have never felt more energy from it. Drives me wife crazy, as I can have
a full cup before bed rather easily. Indeed, I almost feel like it helps me
get to sleep easier. (Which sabotages if I try and drink some to wake up and
focus, as it is way more likely to make me need a nap.)

------
brickZA
Everyone here is pathetic ;) Jokes aside, I'm surprised at how strongly people
respond to giving up a 2 cups a day "habit".

I drink 5+ cups a day and have gone "cold turkey" on several occasions, (e.g.
long road trips, flying, forgetting to go to the shop) with no ill effects
apart from being a bit tired. When I have a cold or flu I generally loose my
appetite for coffee too, so I usually go "cold turkey" for a week or so.

For me it generally takes about 2 weeks to get back to no-coffee baseline.

That said, coffee tastes great, has no real long term negative effects from
all I have read, and gives my day ritual and breaks similar to what smoking
can give, but without the lung cancer.

~~~
8fingerlouie
I honestly don't get what all the fuzz is about, but then again i'm one of the
people that gets absolutely no effect from caffeine.

I drink 5-10 cups of coffee per day, and have done so for the past 25 years.
Even energy drinks have no effects (beside bringing caffeine to stroke
levels), and drinking 2 cups of coffee right before bedtime only means i need
to get up to take a leak sometime during the night. It doesn't affect my sleep
at all.

Quitting is easy for me as i get absolutely no "symptoms". Some days i drink
maybe 2 cups instead of the usual 10+, and i don't notice at all.

As to why i drink coffee ? It tastes better than water, and i don't like tea.

------
ajkdhcb2
The author still seems highly focused on their social image. They say it
became a sort of personality signal that they were a big coffee drinker, now
are making a loud social signal about quitting.

Also impossible for me to imagine spending that much on coffee without ever
making it at home.

Very strange post in general

------
drewm1980
I also gave up my coffee routine because of COVID. When I got it I was worried
I'd end up on a ventilator having trouble breathing AND going through coffee
withdrawal. I managed to suffer my few days of withdrawal before I landed in
the hospital. In the end I was lucky and avoided both ventilation and bad
hospital coffee. The "near life" experience caused me to stop consuming other
things as well, mostly for ecological reasons.

------
proverbialbunny
I've been drinking decaf for years. It's hard to get a good tasting decaf
blend, but if you don't drink much caffeine decaf will wake you up, you can
drink more cups a day (if that's your thing) and it's healthier.

Frankly, I'm surprised decaf is not more popular. It is possible to make decaf
taste so good you'd never know it's decaf.

~~~
osdiab
My friends actually are making a startup, Cupper [1], for ordering high
quality decaf beans on the web, you should check it out :)

[1] [https://www.gocupper.com/](https://www.gocupper.com/)

~~~
meow81
My local roaster's decaf is seriously the best I've ever had, swiss water
method and really good beans. I do a half/half with their caffeinated blends
and I love it. In the afternoon, I'll do just the decaf and it's really smooth
and flavourful.

[https://www.onevillagecoffee.com/collections/coffee/products...](https://www.onevillagecoffee.com/collections/coffee/products/caramely-
with-mellow-citrus-and-dried-fruit-notes?variant=12511037489224)

------
fiblye
For a couple years, I had strange heart palpitations. It became increasingly
frequent and bad to the point that it'd feel like my heart stopped for 10
seconds, or it was trying to burst out of my chest for a minute, or the
arteries in my neck throbbed so hard it hurt.

I quit drinking coffee, and two weeks later, these issues stopped entirely. I
haven't felt them in about 3 years. I was usually only drinking two cups a day
(albeit very large and very strong cups), but it seems to have been enough to
really wear out my body.

On the other hand, since giving up coffee, I've basically lost my ability to
focus on difficult things. Coffee never really helped me stay awake, but damn
did it help me work. Sometimes I'll have a cup, but then I think that I kind
of feel something in my chest and decide to quit drinking for a few more
months.

~~~
YeGoblynQueenne
You should really go see a doctor. That sounds like you have at the very least
hypertension and maybe even something worse. Don't wait until it's too late to
find out.

~~~
fiblye
I went a few times and they couldn't find anything wrong. It likely just came
down to caffeine consumption. My blood pressure is a little on the low side of
normal, so hypertension thankfully isn't the problem.

~~~
YeGoblynQueenne
That's great :)

------
samsa
My COVID coffee experience was the opposite- I have been drinking half a pot
every morning since mid-March. Last night I had the thought that I should go
cold turkey, and this blog post might be the last little push I needed to do
it.

~~~
soylentcola
I try to keep it minimal--partly because I want to avoid heavy dependency and
partly just to be frugal. That said, I had stopped buying coffee from the
place next to work during the week and only made enough for two mugs (one for
me, one for SO) on weekends.

Now that I'm working from home and have the time in the morning, I make the
same two mugs' worth most days. I don't feel awful about it because one mug
(probably around a cup and a half worth) most days isn't a crazy amount.
Still, I buy decent beans ($10-15 for a one-pound bag) and go through it in a
couple of weeks. I consider it a minor vice and surely healthier than the
couple of beers I've been drinking most evenings.

------
raspasov
Wonder how much of the crash is from coffee vs the sugar (the post mentions
hazelnut lattes which should be called hazelnut-flavored coffee/sugar drinks).

~~~
proverbialbunny
A sugar crash happens two to 2.5 hours after the last sugar consumed.

So, it's not a sugar crash the author is talking about.

~~~
snoopen
Perhaps, but at 10 beverages a day caffeine is only part of the problem since
they were no longer drinking black coffee. Even plain cow's milk on its own
has some sugar.

------
jdoliner
I had a somewhat similar trajectory to the author with coffee. I started
drinking it in highschool and loved it. I didn't have quite as bad a sleep
schedule as him, but it was bad, and coffee was the band-aid. Then I got to
college and really went nuts. I used to just get coffee in the morning, then
it was before every class, then after class too, and in the evening when I was
doing homework. Every coffee shop had free refills, it was so cheap.
Eventually I got to the point where I was drinking 10-15 cups a day, and I was
starting to have a lot of trouble sleeping, presumably due to drinking it late
into the evening.

Then one day I just decided to stop, and it was shockingly easy. I didn't have
any withdrawal symptoms, not even a headache, I didn't feel particularly
tired. And I started sleeping better so I quickly felt less tired. I think my
dependence on coffee was entirely psychological, there wasn't really a
physical component to it.

I haven't really had coffee, or any caffeine since then. I went through a
period of drinking decaf, but found that even the little bit of caffeine in
that messed with my sleep. Or it was just a placebo affect that made me too
anxious to fall asleep, still not really sure which it was. The only thing I
really miss is the taste, every time I walk by a coffee shop and smell it I
get a wave of nostalgia. But oh well, I like sleep a lot better than coffee.

~~~
riverlong
This was my experience as well. I had little in the way of actual withdrawal
symptoms. My dependence was mostly psychological or cultural.

Anecdotally, I think it's really interesting that people have radically
different biological responses to caffeine. I have friends who drink much less
than I did, but are hardcore dependent. I know people who get real headaches
and jitters from tiny cups of coffee. I wonder if this heterogeneity is the
case for many stimulants, or if there's something special and unusual about
caffeine.

------
cqz
I used to experience late day crashes and headaches quite frequently, and also
chalked that up to excessive coffee intake. However, as someone who also spent
little time in the kitchen (thinking I didn't have time for it), it turned out
to be my haphazard style of intermittent fasting that was giving me the
headaches. Now I spend no more than an hour or so each night making food with
leftovers for lunch the following day, and my life has improved phenomenally.
YMMV but I still drink plenty of coffee.

------
pgt
For those worried about caffeine withdrawal, I find that going for a run
staves off the headache caused by adenosine rebound.

------
jefft255
All these years of caffeine addiction and no coffee machine at home.... sounds
insane to me. I drink a lot of coffee; typically 3 cups in the morning at home
(if I’m short on time I bring a thermos with me) then I buy maybe 1-2 cups at
work. I like to treat myself to a latte sometimes but they’re now at least
five bucks! I can’t imagine how expensive a 10 coffee a day habit must be when
you don’t make it at home.

------
Barrin92
I've always drunk a lot of caffeine and honestly people make it sounds like
they're doing heroin when they talk about quitting. Blogposts like this almost
always seem to be people into their 30s or 40s who want to make some fancy
livestyle change for its own sake.

If anything a nice cup of black tea or a good Irish coffee in the evening
calms me down and I sleep like a baby

~~~
ilaksh
People in their 30s or 40s like me don't make lifestyle changes "for its own
sake". We do it because we notice our slightly older bodies react
significantly differently to substances or generally are less healthy and less
tolerant of unideal lifestyles. This is due to hormone changes and basically
other types of aging.

Also, just because coffee makes _you_ feel calm, and you have no issues
sleeping afterward, does not mean that that is the normal reaction. For most
people, coffee is a stimulant, and will often delay sleep. But the effects
vary quite a bit with different people and different consumption levels.

------
rongenre
I went cold-turkey in February after 25 years of drinking really strong coffee
in well... hacker-heroic amounts.

Oddly, no headaches, and the quality of my middle-aged sleep has gone way up.
I do like the routine of drinking a hot beverage but I'm finding decaf chai to
be a decent replacement.

------
mlthoughts2018
I drink a lot of coffee (3-4 ~ 10oz cups per day). I periodically stopped
drinking any caffeine sources cold turkey for months (probably 6 or 7 times
over the past decade).

I’ve never experienced any form of side effect. No headaches, crashes,
cravings, nothing. Likewise, when I resume drinking coffee again later, it
takes the same 3-4 cups per day to feel any kind of impact.

Similarly I can drink coffee all day, and often really enjoy an espresso after
dinner instead of dessert, with zero impact on sleep.

I don’t know if I am just a weirdo who can metabolize caffeine differently or
what, but I’ve never had any kind of headache / jitters / withdrawal / strong
craving / whatever, neither from drinking a lot of coffee or a little or
switching between the two states over long or short periods of time.

------
nonsince
I self-medicated with caffeine for my ADD for years, not realising that my
(pretty serious) case of the condition was absolutely not normal, and
eventually realising that I needed a diagnosis at the age of 24. Even after
that, I still took months to kick the habit of starting to drink caffeine,
building up a tolerance, realising that it harms more than it helps overall
and kicking it, then having some downer moment (a cold, a workday after little
sleep) that made me crack and drink more, starting the cycle again. I’ve now
just about kicked the habit, but even though I’ve regularly experimented with
and always had access to plenty of harder stuff, caffeine is the only thing
I’ve ever been addicted to and likely always will be.

~~~
omnomnomtea
I'm in the same boat here, was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 28 and
realized pretty fast after that I had been self-medicating with massive
amounts of coffee. Was up to 8-10 shots espresso a day when I was diagnosed. I
was jittery and having problems sleeping, but could only focus as long as I
continually ramped up on the caffeine.

Adderall has made a big difference for me- I've gradually cut the caffeine to
a 2 tiny coffees a day and my focus is way better than when I was drinking
latte after latte. No issues with ramping up either, it's been a couple years
and I'm still on basically the same dosage of adderall.

------
_hardwaregeek
Key point here is that you probably fixed your sleep schedule sometime after
high school. Coffee dependency is a pretty common hotfix for a poor sleep
schedule. Once you take away the poor sleep schedule, coffee becomes less
necessary and more a nice to have.

It'd be interesting seeing the long term effects high school sleep schedules
have on people. I wouldn't be surprised if poor sleep patterns in adolescence
lead to insomnia and other issues later in life. I definitely felt like my
high school sleeping patterns were damaging to my mental and physical health.

------
chrisjs96
So you stopped drinking coffee because you didn't want to order a $25 coffee
maker off Amazon?

------
40four
I drink probably 3-5 cups a day consistently, either black or a small amount
of cream. I don’t know why, but I am not sensitive to caffeine at all. I don’t
get ‘wired’ or energized from it. Been that way my whole life, even as a kid
consuming tons of soda. I just never seemed to feel a noticeable effect.

I’m sure I’m not the only one, but the way I hear other people talk about
caffeine, it seems like we’re consuming totally different substances. Since I
don’t get a buzz, I don’t drink it for the energy. It’s just a pleasant,
delicious hot beverage. I also enjoy trying different bean varieties & new
roasting companies.

I’ve given it up for a while with seemingly no adverse effects. I can take it
or leave it, but I usually partake! Also, I like to think black coffee is
actually good for you. It’s not just caffeine, but contains many complex
compounds, anti-oxidants etc. The science is debatable, but if I believe it’s
good for me then it is right? :p

~~~
mft_
I was going to write something similar. I remember the first time I needed to
pull an all-nighter in university to finish a project, and picked myself up a
packet of the Proplus caffeine pills which were in vogue at the time. Took a
few during the night and didn’t notice a thing.

Fast forward a few years and a buddy and I bought our first espresso machines.
Experimenting making double espressos with different beans - after two or
three he was totally wired, feeling unwell, and unable to sleep; I could
pretty much sleep as normal.

Two physiological effects that are fairly clear however:

1) Moderate appetite suppression – useful if intermittent fasting and hungry
in the morning

2) _Something_ in coffee is a fairly powerful stimulant of colonic motility...

------
datenhorst
I always thought I was one of those people on whom caffeine had little to no
effect, since we I was drinking 5 cups a day on average and still felt tired
all the time.

During the lock-down I read somewhere that caffeine's half-life in your body
is 6 hours. I'd always needed an hour at least to fall asleep at night but I
never attributed it to caffeine. So I figured I'd quit coffee for a to see
what the effects were.

I can't even begin to tell how big of an effect quitting caffeine had: I
routinely fall asleep within 15 minutes of going to bed, I sleep better and
longer, I have more energy and one espresso after lunch is enough to stay
focused and alert until midnight.

~~~
octodog
My understanding (and personal experience) is that even for people who can
fall asleep quickly after drinking coffee late in the day, the quality of the
sleep is not as good, so you still feel tired the next day.

Of course, the solution to this? More coffee!!

------
senectus1
I've done the cold turkey coffee cut a few times. For me its no big deal. A
few days of headaches and grumpiness, and its done.

I may do it again soon though, it'll be interesting to see what a difference
my no sugar change will make to the experience.

------
numpad0
For anyone _going back to coffee anyway_ , the types of machines called
“Superautomatic” espresso machines from slightly over $500 universally takes
only water, some unground beans, and bits of electricity to generate espresso
of desired amount on press of a button.

Regular amount of beans are drawn, ground inside, tamped, brewed and ejected
in a form of miniature hockey pucks by series of motors and actuators. You
empty the spent bean box and refill the water tank, clean the high pressure
contraption block occasionally with mild cleaning agents, that’s it. No
filters no capsules just beans and tap water.

~~~
inertiatic
The magnifica line from Delonghi has a great reputation and costs almost half
that (250-350 euro). They make good tasting espresso. They are super
dependable, I own one and I've worked on 3 different offices that had them,
none of them ever had problems despite being used for something they weren't
intended for (making several hundreds of cups of coffee a day).

------
awillen
Good for you! Several years back my team at work used to joke about my
caffeine intake... it was just a compulsion that when my cup was empty I'd get
more coffee. I found that the beneficial effects plateaued around cup four
every day, and beyond that it was pure habit (I'd get the crashes later in the
day but more caffeine wouldn't help much).

I was down to about 2 cups a day at work, but now that I'm home all the time,
I'm back up to four. It's just... comforting to have in my hand.

------
krustyburger
>> For me, this triggered careful introspection about whether I really derived
pleasure from the things I claimed to like, or whether those claims were
really just signaling about the person I would like to be, rather than who I
actually am.

This resonates with me. But I think sometimes these aspirational affectations,
once identified, are better preserved. If there’s any chance that they may one
day ring true, they can serve as a worthwhile reminder of what one is striving
toward.

~~~
riverlong
Absolutely, I totally agree in general.

For coffee culture in particular it's strange, because what's the aspiration?
To drink lots of coffee? Great, but I struggle to find a higher purpose in
that.

In coffee culture, there's some common sense of belonging and easy
identification with others -- drinking lots of coffee is like being a fan of a
popular sports team. It makes for an easy catchphrase and set of jokes that
can go on T-Shirts or Tinder bios. It's an easy way to create a persona, and
stereotype yourself a little for others to feel like they get you more easily
-- "that's Jay, he's 6 feet tall, loves coffee and flying kites, rides a
motorcycle". But, at least to me, it felt like a bland or uninteresting thing
to advertise about myself.

~~~
Ghjklov
There's an image that comes along with coffee culture. I don't know if it was
intentionally done by Big Coffee (TM) but coffee for many people has become a
symbol of the working man. People want that "get a coffee and then head to the
office" kind of feel. It's also a symbol of inspiration/aspiration. Think of
starving artists caffeinating themselves while splashing paint at a canvas.

~~~
riverlong
Part of it might be that coffee is very aesthetically trendy. A cup looks
good, and lends itself well to photography. Lots of cafes are really
beautifully designed. It's a cool vibe, just by association.

------
codezero
I've generally quit caffeine a few times in my life, it was always the right
thing to do.

In my older age, I'm able to moderate a lot better, I really couldn't just
drink a single soda or green tea, but now I'm a lot more comfortable drinking
caffeine in the morning, then switching to something else the rest of the day.

When I first stopped, I had been also drinking sugary soda - so I switched to
diet soda as a crutch, it definitely helped me make the transition.

------
mobiledev2014
> Ultimately, as COVID wraps up and things go back to normal

As someone who was “more cautious than most” this is disheartening to read. I
know it isn’t the point of the post but this type of attitude is why we are in
for huge pain no matter how low spread rates are in your area at the moment.
Even if scientific consensus is wrong and things die down quickly nationwide
with no “2nd wave,” the economy is going to go to a scary place.

------
thorum
Lately I've been experimenting with regular caffeine resets to avoid
tolerance. I'm following a two weeks on / 1 week off schedule.

I also use caffeine tablets instead of coffee, and limit myself to 50-100mg,
usually taken in smaller doses throughout the day. Combined with the regular
reset weeks, this so far seems to be enough to boost my energy without giving
me jitters and other issues.

------
frequentnapper
I personally don't drink coffee to stay up. I find it has an adverse effect. I
drink it to start my day when I'm fresh or after a nap.

------
chillytoes
The best coffee substitute I've found is coffee-flavored Postum. It's the one
in the red jar. Available from their website or Wal-Mart. I also tried Cafix,
but prefer Postum.

------
FlyingBears
And here I am, trying everything from diet to exercise so that I can get back
on coffee asap.

------
YeGoblynQueenne
>> I realized that coffee was useful in technical, creative work not because
it increases wakefulness, but because it increases focus.

You know what else increases focus and also wakefulness, concentration,
creativity, productivity, etc, etc? A good night's sleep. Then you wake up
early in the morning with your mind razor sharp and you have a good five to
six hours of uninterrupted work at the top of your game. Then lunch, a little
15 minute nap and off you go, for another five or six hours. That's how you
get through 12-hour working days without dosing yourself with anything that
ultimately destroys your ability to think straight, even as it makes you think
you're awake (when you're actually half asleep).

~~~
moltar
Some people don’t have luxury of good sleep. Health issues, babies.

~~~
YeGoblynQueenne
Health issues will affect your ability to concentrate and focus anyway. Babies
grow up eventually. The trick is to not accept sleepingg for three or four
hours each night as normal.

------
winrid
Caffeine seems to only give me a hit for an hour or so and then I need a nap.
How does it affect you?

------
bigbassroller
I go for the pharmaceutical grade caffeine, Tazo Chai tea. Ingredients: “An
infusion (of water, black tea, black pepper, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon,
cloves, star anise, natural flavors), cane sugar, honey, ginger juice, natural
flavors, vanilla extract, citric acid”. Notice sugar low on the list, after
all the good stuff that gets you wired. Its all the buzz with less crash.

~~~
phonypc
Sugar appearing low on an informally written ingredient list like that doesn't
indicate relative quantity. Looking at the nutrition info, that stuff appears
to contain substantially more sugar by volume than pretty much any soft drink.

Edit: actually maybe that list is supposed to indicate relative quantity; they
just get around sugar being the second and third ingredients by lumping a
bunch of stuff in with water.

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bigbassroller
True, but all other brands have sugar as first ingredient and I can tell the
difference.

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kuroguro
> Caffeine Fiend

Phahaha, that's amazing. I'm stealing that.

