5 ms·

Ask HN: How much coffee do you drink?

14 points by corporalagumbo 14y ago

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?

cydonian_monk 14y ago
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.
dllthomas 14y ago
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.
wslh 14y ago
3 cups a day. I enjoy coffee. It is not essential.
dkd 14y ago
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.
flexxaeon 14y ago
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 14y ago
  C'mon, we're all friends here. :)
  - flexxaeon 14y ago
    1.5 - 3 pots a day :(
Derbasti 14y ago
I don't drink any coffee. That said, two pots of tea are not unheard of.
liamcampbell 14y ago
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.
hasenj 14y ago
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 http://www.jambajuice.com/jamba-at-home/energy-drinks [1]: http://www.beaverbuzz.com/ http://www.beaverbuzz.com/
michaelpinto 14y ago
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.
languagehacker 14y ago
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.
scheff 14y ago
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.
Pre8y 14y ago
2 or 3 cups a day... It is not essential but yes, it definitely help me to regain the track of my work.
eckyptang 14y ago
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 14y ago
  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 14y ago
    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.
- rkwz 14y ago
  I stopped drinking two months ago because of acid reflux. Before that, I used to drink around 3-4 small cups a day.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
davidandgoliath 14y ago
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 14y ago
  Percocets are amphetamines?
  - davidandgoliath 14y ago
    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 14y ago
      Maybe it was Adderall, Ritalin or something like that?
BrentRitterbeck 14y ago
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.
DanteVertigo 14y ago
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
alvesjnr 14y ago
4 to five mugs. But not coffee as americano, but coffee as strong as espresso
moonsoonmenu 14y ago
I try to drink as little alcohol or coffee as possible, mostly water.
beagle3 14y ago
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/ 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)
aleprok 14y ago
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.
tbirdz 14y ago
None. I never drink coffee, not any kind. Never have, never will.
dholowiski 14y ago
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.
helen842000 14y ago
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.
DrWhax 14y ago
2 cups of espresso's.

cydonian_monk 14y ago

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.

dllthomas 14y ago

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.

wslh 14y ago

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

dkd 14y ago

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.

flexxaeon 14y ago

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 14y ago
C'mon, we're all friends here. :)
- flexxaeon 14y ago
  1.5 - 3 pots a day :(

Derbasti 14y ago

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

liamcampbell 14y ago

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.

hasenj 14y ago

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 http://www.jambajuice.com/jamba-at-home/energy-drinks [1]: http://www.beaverbuzz.com/ http://www.beaverbuzz.com/

michaelpinto 14y ago

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.

languagehacker 14y ago

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.

scheff 14y ago

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.

Pre8y 14y ago

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

eckyptang 14y ago

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 14y ago
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 14y ago
  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.
rkwz 14y ago
I stopped drinking two months ago because of acid reflux. Before that, I used to drink around 3-4 small cups a day.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

davidandgoliath 14y ago

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 14y ago
Percocets are amphetamines?
- davidandgoliath 14y ago
  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 14y ago
    Maybe it was Adderall, Ritalin or something like that?

BrentRitterbeck 14y ago

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.

DanteVertigo 14y ago

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

alvesjnr 14y ago

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

moonsoonmenu 14y ago

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

beagle3 14y ago

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/ 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)

aleprok 14y ago

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.

tbirdz 14y ago

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

dholowiski 14y ago

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.

helen842000 14y ago

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.

DrWhax 14y ago

2 cups of espresso's.