Survey: How many cups of coffee a day?

[kima]

I really enjoy a good cup of coffee and drink 2-3 a day. On average one of those would be bought at a cafe and the other two made at home. How about the rest of you? Yes I love tea too!!

[Cathy]

2 to 2-1/2 cups of Peets freshly ground coffee every morning in a French Press done at home. Ahhhhhhh, the smell & I savor every sip. Have also been trying to get in at least 1 cup of green tea everyday for the antioxidants.

[Jodi]

TOO MANY!! I drink 2 in the morning (usually), and I've started a bad habit of having a cup or two in the evening. I'm a writer and have been under some heavier-than-usual deadlines. I make a habit of drinking extra water, too -- for some reason that rationalizes things in my head. (Of course, this way, I spend as much time writing as I do running to the bathroom!)

[kwormann]

DH wont allow me to have coffee in the morning (I a MAJOR AM person anyway), but in the winter (not very long time here in Houston), I crave the taste of decaf (good decaf). I guess it breaks down to 10-12 cups a year.....

[alice*]

I am way worse. I drink diet coke nonstop. I know it is bad for you but I love it and I am addicted, I admit, anyone else have an evil addiction? I wish I could like tea, I really do, but even though I love the idea, I can never seem to get through a whole cup. I like coffee in the evening
(caffine doesn't seem to affect me) with desserts or in the morning with something sweet. I don't drink very much, though, I could live without it (UNlike the diet coke)

[donleyk]

I drink 2 caf getting ready/driving into work then 2 more decaf at work. We got addicted to Kona coffee. The caffine is so mellow compared to the national brands.... (and the taste!) the decaf we usually get at a local roaster.

My boss has the diet coke addiction. She drinks probably 6 a day. I can't THINK about drinking something that sweet before 11am. I guess it is what you get used to!

[SusieO]

My caffeine is limited to one cup of tea or one diet Coke per day. But I love the taste of coffee, and can (and often do) drink a pot of decaf by myself.

[Vanessa]

I have one cup of espresso with milk (cafe con leche) Oh it is so good! I have been drinking diet coke no caffeine and its pretty good.

[laurenc]

I adore coffee - flavors caf and decaf. I have been drinking way more this winter then usual. In order to not feel so guilty about it I have been making a conscious effort to try and balance it out by increasing my water intake as well.
Definitly making sure that I am getting my 8 glasses a day - sometimes more. Needless tp say I have worn the rug thin between by desk and the ladies room at work!!!

[BeckyM]

Zero for me! I'm one of those strange people who has never liked the taste of coffee. To me it just tastes like dirt. I don't even really like mocha flavored things, because those taste to me like someone has added dirt to chocolate. I love the SMELL of coffee, so every once in a while I'll try some to see if my taste buds have changed, but so far they haven't (I'm 31). So when I want something warm to drink, I'll go for herbal tea, or when I really want to treat myself I'll have hot chocolate.

In college I developed the diet Coke habit to get caffeine too, and then I switched to diet Mountain Dew. I would drink either one of those first thing in the morning (and all day long) pretty much all the time. After I graduated, I decided I was tired of being reliant on caffeine, so I pretty much gave it up. I still have it occasionally, but for the most part, I try to drink decaffeinated diet pop (which isn't very easy to find at times), herbal tea, or WATER! Now if I only could be as successful at giving up sweets as I have been at giving up caffeine! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/rolleyes.gif

[Wendy w]

During the week, I have a large mug of VERY strong home ground coffee. On occasion, I need another cup when I get to work. I have cut down from 4 over the last 3 years as I get too hyper. On the weekend, I have about 2 small mugs.

[Luiza]

None. I'm really sensitive to caffeine, so I have to take care not to have any caffeinated drinks (no coke, tea, coffee liqueur etc.), at any time in the day, because they make me really agitated and give me the attention span of a gnat. And that's too bad, because I love the taste of coffee! Fortunately, I discovered I'm quite fond of chicory. I have it in the morning with milk, and it's a great wake-up drink. It doesn't really taste like coffee, but I think it's great in itself.

Luiza

[Leanne]

Originally posted by BeckyM:
Zero for me! I'm one of those strange people who has never liked the taste of coffee. To me it just tastes like dirt. I don't even really like mocha flavored things, because those taste to me like someone has added dirt to chocolate. I love the SMELL of coffee, so every once in a while I'll try some to see if my taste buds have changed, but so far they haven't (I'm 31).





BeckyM - We're exactly the same as far as coffee goes & I'm 31 too. I can't stand it or coffe flavored things.
I actually don't drink caffeine at all (except an occasinal hot chocolate, which I can't imagine has that much) - it upsets my stomach.

[Gina O]

BeckyM and Leanne- I am right there with you! I do not ever drink regular coffee. In moments of pure desperation to stay warm at meetings (why are meeting rooms always so cold????) I will have decaf with cream and sugar (so it doesn't taste like coffee) if there is no hot tea around.

I used to drink tea or diet coke every day at lunch, and would get headaches every afternoon. I stopped drinking the caffeine and the headaches went away.

Now I drink herbal tea pretty often and hot chocolate (the Hershey's decaf stuff) as a major treat. Gina

[AndreaU]

BeckyM, Leanne & GinaO-- add one more to the non-coffee crowd! I'm glad there are some of us out there. (I too am 31... hmmm) I tried the stuff once in college, gagged, and never touched it since. I don't even like coffee flavored ice cream, candy, etc. I do drink green and herbal teas, but not habitually- just when I feel like it. Non-coffee drinkers of the world unite!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[luv2cook]

1 cup in the morning and maybe one when I get to work. I gave up Diet Coke so that's all my caffeine AND I drink a gal. of water a day...

[LGBurns]

My husband and I each have one cup in the morning that's 1/4 caffeinated and 3/4 decaf. Then the rest of the day, if I want some, I drink decaf. I was finding that when I drank a full cup of caffeinated in the morning I was really jumpy and clutzy and generally felt "ungrounded." The mix is just enough to wake me up without that jumpy feeling. But I love the taste of good coffee, so I tend to have decaf in the evening and on the weekends. My husband often will have green tea in the evening or at work, but I just don't like it. Unlike the rest of you, I have not been very good about keeping my water intake high. It's hard for me because I'm on campus--the water in the drinking fountains tastes disgusting and bottled water is $1 a pop, which can add up if you're trying to get lots of water in during the day. I have to figure out a better system because I know the reason I get sleepy in the afternoon is because of dehydration. Sorry to go OT a little, but that's my long-winded answer.

[JHolcomb]

I like it but never drink it. An espresso or a good cup every now and again. Caffeine makes me insane. DH makes up for it, though, by measuring the amt. he drinks in pots. Yes, POTS of coffee, 2-3 a day. At least one is decaf, thank goodness. Sometimes I think his blood has been replaced by the stuff.

[This message has been edited by JHolcomb (edited 02-07-2001).]

[emilycat]

Another tea drinker here! I actually do like coffee in the form of a latte, very occasionally for dessert. But plain, by itself...blech!

LGBurns...have you ever considered filling a Nalgene bottle with water from home (if you have a Brita filter or one of those huge replaceable bottles with a cooler)? I do that all the time, and it really helps me keep my water intake up.

[LGBurns]

Emily, what's a Nalgene bottle? I do refill an old Aquafina water bottle with filtered water from home, but that's only 20 oz and I'm out of the house from about 10am-10pm four days a week. I do drink water at work, but it has the same nasty taste the school water has (even tho it's filtered -- can't quite figure that out). Anyway, I saw one of those Brita travel bottles with the built in filter and was thinking I might try one of them. Anyone have any experience with that?

Also, on the coffee subject: I understand from my sister that espresso only has 70mg of caffeine whereas a cup of Starbucks regular coffee has 300mg! She said it's because the longer you roast the beans the more caffeine is taken out of it and because espresso is served in such small amounts. She has replaced her cup of coffee in the morning with one skim milk latte for this reason. Thought that was interesting.

[emilycat]

LGBurns,

Nalgene is just the brand, but they're just these great bottles that often backpackers and hikers use, because they're made of really durable plastic and come in quite a variety of sizes. They're generally screw-top, although I haven't been out shopping for the latest models, and the ones I have are 32 and 48 oz. I love 'em. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif
If you have an REI around or any other specialty outdoors store, those would probably be your best bets for finding one.

Emily

[Grace]

Actually, LG, the caffeine levels in coffee is more a function of how it's brewed, as opposed to how long it's roasted. Since caffeine is water soluable (hence the Swiss Water Method of decaffeination), how long the beans come in contact with the water equates to how much caffeine is extracted from the beans. An espresso shot is brewed by forcing steam/hot water through very finely ground beans for between 18 and 22 seconds. A pot of drip brewed coffee brews for anywhere from 3 minutes (in a commercial brewer) to 10 or more minutes (in a home brewer). Also, the amount of beans/grounds used makes a difference. Starbucks uses 3-1/2 ounces of ground coffee to make a 64 oz pot of drip brewed coffee. I work for Seattle's Best Coffee, and we use only 2 ounces of ground coffee to make the same 64 oz. pot of drip brewed coffee. So that's why Starbucks in particular is so high (in addition to the fact that they roast their beans so darkly!). Just another tidbit of rather useless information! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[sherri]

I am a fickle coffee drinker, I love it sometimes and other times I hate it. Lately I have loved it and drink 1-2 cups three or four times a week. Mainly because of my heavier workload.
Being that I am a dietitian, I can't resist writing this. Caffeine has been show to increase the calcium you excrete in your urine, which is bad for us coffee and soda drinkers. However, there is something in caffeinated coffee that has been linked with decreased incident of breast cancer, of course these are not written in stone, I just thought it was interesting research!

[eloise forever]

Add me to the list of non-coffee drinkers! I had not opened this thread because I hate coffee. I am glad to see that I am not alone. I don't like coffee or coffee flavored stuff, like ice cream. If I want a hot drink, I will make some hot cocoa.

I get my precious caffeine from Dr. Pepper and Pepsi and now, more often than not, Diet Pepsi.

[karenv]

I love coffee. I drink 2-3 cups a day. I have to have one in the morning before I meet my students. It is a travel mug, so that is about 2 cups. I got into the habit if drinking water for the rest of the day. When I get home or sometimes after dinner I drink another cup. Before bed, I drink herbal tea.

I also love tea and many different varieties of it. So I do switch off occasionally.

KarenV