Coffee: Good or Evil?

[jaguar]

I used to drink far too much, now I mostly drink tea instead (Twinings Earl Grey addict, how british of me) but when it gets late and I want to keep going the mugs of straight black sugerless stuff come out. Ave 1-2 a day + 3-4 mugs of tea. Occasional binges during all night work sessions can result in 6-10 mugs over 24h, usually combined with a few panadol to keep headaches at bay, a heavy vitimin supplement and the occasional perscription muscle relaxant to stop my neck killing me. So much for body temple

[xoxoxoBruce]

Don’t drink coffee, ever.
I hate the politics of coffee at work. Who left the empty pot on the hot burner to crack. Who stirred their coffee and put the wet spoon back in the sugar or dry non-dairy creamer. Who slopped coffee on the floor and walked away. Who left coffee rings on EVERYTHING. Who left the Styrofoam cup with 4 tablespoons in it, on the very edge of the shelf. Who didn’t pay. Who put in a dollar and took 6 quarters change. I hate coffee,....no,.....I hate people.

[jaguar]

You realize there are ethopian farmers trapped in a cycle of poverty due to decreasing coffee demand in the first world bruce? You are part of the problem, you personally are causing poor ethopian farmers to be unable to send their kids to school, what do you have to say for yourself????

[xoxoxoBruce]

Let 'em drink Coke.

[Carbonated_Brains]

It's a sad state of affairs, that most people don't know how to make a truly excellent cup of coffee at home.

Not only am I an addict, I'm a pretentious coffee elitist.

(and starbucks tastes like ass)

[wolf]

Over Roasted Dry Ass.

Filtered water ... and grind my own beans. I have not reached the stage of elitism where I roast my own, but don't think I haven't considered it.

I do need a burr type grinder, though.

[Cyber Wolf]

100% coffee free. *flex*

[Catwoman]

Originally Posted by jaguar

I used to drink far too much, now I mostly drink tea instead (Twinings Earl Grey addict, how british of me) but when it gets late and I want to keep going the mugs of straight black sugerless stuff come out. Ave 1-2 a day + 3-4 mugs of tea. Occasional binges during all night work sessions can result in 6-10 mugs over 24h, usually combined with a few panadol to keep headaches at bay, a heavy vitimin supplement and the occasional perscription muscle relaxant to stop my neck killing me. So much for body temple

I Love Earl Grey. The best tea in the world. Good choice.

If you want to keep going I recommend Viagra....

... not so good as a muscle relaxant tho.

And you must stop with the pills-to-combat-the-effects-of-the-pills thing. Try a good diet and lots of exercise instead, that'll keep you headache-free more efficiently than any drug. Treat your body like the temple it is.

[Kitsune]

Starting drinking coffee around age 12 and I've dropped it a couple of times in my life.

But what good is that?

If you find you are getting addicted to coffee, dont worry. Any caffeine containing drink will sort out those witthdrawal symptoms

Ah, this is the fun part -- addiction doesn't quite work that way. People who get their kicks from coffee will continue to get it from coffee. Drinking anything else doesn't feed the addiction properly, as even just the smell of coffee is what usually gets their "B process" going.

I'm actually bad enough with coffee that I only drink it five days a week. The weekends are off-limits because my brain is so used to having it at the office and nowhere else. I walk into the office, my B-process starts, and I have to have that cup of coffee to counteract the sleepy, headachey feeling that I get. Drinking coffee at home or anyplace other than the office or car results in me getting overhyped and jittery.

Ah, sweet, sweet addiction!

I like my sugar with coffee and cream.

But its too sweet to be sour and too nice to be mean!

[Kitsune]

And now, the very political side of coffee: where do you get your coffee? Do you brew your own? Grind your own or from a can? What brand? Do your drink the shunned liquid from Starbucks? (I like their espresso drinks -- strong!)

[Undertoad]

Peets.com, Costa Rican, whole bean via the website.

As a treat to myself I have bought this item:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...56701?v=glance

It was on special so it even cost less than that. You put in the whole beans, it grinds them and brews them through its built-in mesh filter. It brews right into the thermos-esque carafe so coffee stays hot for hours. Then it turns itself off, no warming burner involved. And it has a timer so you can set it at night to brew in the morning, so you have a hot thermal carafe of freshly ground and brewed coffee made 10 minutes before you wake up.

[wolf]

I know you prefer not to go out ... but Genuardi's is carrying the Peet's brand now. That is some damn good coffee. And I'm down to my last bag, so I have to get more.

[jaguar]

I only grab fair trade ones these days. Got my eye on one of those Krups machines when I finish moving. The Nero's chain in London is damn good, here it's mostly little cafes, some very good ones with Italian guys who view it as an art.

[Kitsune]

I think I'm going to have to place an order on that site, UT -- I've always wanted to get some nice beans. But now I have to dig out the old grinder, again, and I fear it probably doesn't work. Messy as all hell, too. Ugh.

My favorite method of brewing coffee: Vacuum Brewers

Its supposed to taste better, but I think just watching this thing bubble away is cool. I call it "the coffee bong".

[Troubleshooter]

I'm only a coffee elitist in that I drink coffe flavored coffee, none of this mocha java latte frappe granita crap.

Here in Louisiana coffee actually goes in the baby's bottle in some areas. I started before kindergarten and Little Sidhe (2 1/2 years old) actually has her own coffee cup.

I prefer a medium roast, it seems to have a better flavor and from what I've heard (I haven't looked it up yet) the longer the roasting period the less caffeine in the coffee.

As far as coffee and headaches goes, caffeine expands blood vessels, reducing the pressure that generally causes a headache, and also caffeine is synergistic with aspirin. If you look at Excedrine Migraine and its clones, you'll see acetominophen, aspirin, and caffeine.