Coffee dilemma: I'm on the fence help please

[deano]

When my wife got pregnant, we switched to half-caf and decaf. It's been a great way to go. Can drink as much as you want without getting so zapped. I honestly feel more like the chill bro I am reputed to at times be. With coffee intake of any kind though I try to chase with lots of water and keep the output nice and clear.

Edit: I forgot to mention, kind of coffee matters a lot too. Those that stick to espresso above are onto something, the darker and espresso roasts often have less caffeine, so are better if you're trying to limit. Very delicate & subtle light and medium roasts were extremely en vogue at the hip coffee shops back in Durham (missing that place), and they have a good deal more caffeine. With going half- and de-caf, I found myself a lot more sensitive and just a cup or two of light roast later and I felt absolutely electrified. Luckily I prefer thick, black cowboy tar coffee mixed with tobacco juice ... that and espresso. Espresso is good too.

[dashDustin]

It’s all about moderation. Enjoy the brew, enjoy the process. Don’t drink coffee because you “need it” and limit yourself so that you don’t reach the point where you “need it”.

[ericpmoss]

As I age (well... shit!), I've had to limit it to one strong cup with breakfast, and so I make darn sure it's a *good* cup. If I *need* coffee, it's a sign that what I need isn't actually coffee, but a walk or an orange or a new job.

[Octave]

I'll echo what pretty much everyone here has said, with a personal anecdote.

My wife had a pretty severe bout of breathing issues about six months ago which we eventually linked to gastric-acid induced asthma - basically her dietary timing and composition had created such an acidic environment that it had caused enough inflammation to impact her respiratory function. We addressed this with a pretty big dietary change (more-or-less GERD with an emphasis on meal-timing) that meant giving up tomatoes, onions, alcohol and (for her) coffee. She was my coffee-buddy in the morning, meaning I would make a large Chemex before getting on my bike to head to work. On days I wasn't at work it'd be another 2-3 of those, adding up to about 6 cups a day. And yes, good coffee. I gave up everything with her, save for the coffee but the lack of a shared ritual has reduced my consumption considerably to about 2 cups per day (one aeropress in the morning and one small french-press at work after lunch).

I've felt a lot of things since reducing my intake, though I'm not sure how many I can attribute solely to the reduction of coffee. Taking out inflammatory foods and alcohol was probably the biggest thing (it's been about six months now) for how I feel on the bike, recovery and all - but one thing I can attribute to the reduction in coffee is the consistency of my energy level. I used to exist on a quasi sine-wave of energy throughout the day, peaks and valleys and all that. Now I drink coffee because I enjoy it, not because I need it to get me out of the valley.

So yeah, that's a long way of saying: reduce it. If you like coffee, barring any health complications there is really no reason to give it up entirely. There are a lot of data on it's health benefits in moderation, and if it brings you pleasure than keep it in your life. Focus on good coffee at the right time.

Side-note, another good means of forcibly reducing your impact a touch is to be very strict about avoiding shit coffee. Here in Marseille probably >90% of the restaurants and at least 60-70% of the cafés use pods, with another percentage using preground. I also took a pledge to avoid single-use plastics about two years ago which means no automated machines in the cafeteria or cheap espressos in the city centre. Just avoiding crap coffee and plastic meant I had already cut my coffee consumption way down before this further reduction in the last six months.

[MarkC]

Piling on... I've cut back. No more coffee after lunch time. As a substitute have gone to hot water. Either straight up or with a bit of lemon.

No issues with the caffeine, was just consuming too much coffee so made an adjustment. Have tried to get into Tea several times and it's not for me.

[holliscx]

The times I quit I was completely despondent lying on the floor unable to engage with my kids. I told my wife that it would only last the first day; begged for her patience. I'm convinced the physical feeling is similar to heroin addiction or other drugs. All I wanted to do was sleep to make the day go away: I knew if I could just get to tomorrow that everything would be alright and it was ... but the second I woke up I knew it was a coffee fog that I didn't want any part of.

I'm surprised no one has suggested drip coffee. Every office I worked in in New York drank shitty drip and there's no way the caffeine content is anywhere near that of so-called good coffee. I may try to go back to French press for it always felt weaker than my Bialetti, but I'd even consider a POS drip machine if it would keep a hot beverage in hand and allow me to hang on to that ritual, for if I didn't like coffee I wouldn't have posted this.

I'm the same way with beer I'd rather enjoy one flawless IPA than drink a 6-pack of Miller Lite but a lot of bros are in the latter camp.

Thanks for your replies. I'll try a little bit of everyone's advice.