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Posted By: PDM Coffee - 12/05/09 12:05 AM
I had forgotten how much coffee used to affect me, stress-wise.

I like a nice cup of coffee and I remember asking my Mum to get some for me, when I was only about 7 or 8.
She used to make it very weak, milky & frothy for me.

When I started at senior school, I used to have a stronger cup of coffee, every morning, with breakfast.
I had to set off at 7am and returned by about 5.30. After that I would have a couple of hours of homework, so I think I needed that morning cup of coffee.

At work, of course, it was coffee in the morning, at lunch, and sometimes in the afternoon ~ and one before I left home in the morning.

When I left work, and went to university, I discovered the hot chocolate machine and I stopped drinking so much coffee.
I also stopped feeling so stressed.

Except when visiting people.
Then, I would drink their coffee and return home with an anxiety attack.

When I suddenly realised what was happening, I read up on coffee, and discovered that there were two types: Arabica & Robusta.

I find, now, that one cup of Arabica is ok. I drink it if I have to drive, perhaps, and don't want to get drowsy.
It can prevent me sleeping, though, so I have it quite weak, or half & half with decaff.

I do think that, if you suffer with stress or panic attacks, then it would be worth looking at your coffee intake.
Changing to Arabica, reducing the amount & replacing with decaff can help, I think.

I'm drinking some decaffeinated Arabica at the moment.


Some info:

Coffee From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee

Arabica and Robusta Coffee Plant
http://www.coffeeresearch.org/agriculture/coffeeplant.htm

Robusta vs. Arabica
http://kaffee.netfirms.com/Coffee/robustavsarabica.html

Arabica vs Robusta: No Contest
http://www.ineedcoffee.com/02/arabica/
Posted By: Lisa Shea Re: Coffee - 12/05/09 12:12 AM
I agree completely, I know many people who cut out coffee from their life and suddenly their stress reduced greatly. I am sure different people have different sensitivities to it.

I used to drink a lot of coffee when I worked at high stress programming jobs where we were coding furiously all day and night. It really burnt me out. When I quit and started working from home I also cut out the coffee. Suddenly like was just SO much more serene.

If I have coffee when I'm out somewhere, giving in to peer pressure in essence, I can really feel my heart start to "trip" and not in a good way. So I really try to stay away from it now.
Posted By: Niki Re: Coffee - 12/05/09 12:17 AM
I never really looked into the differences in coffee types, that is interesting. I do remember watching a good Good Eats episode once though (I think it was good eats..) where they went in to how a really good decaf coffee actually takes more work than a regular coffee, and is thus pretty expensive.

Good info though.

I had switched from coffee to drinking Earl Grey tea. It has a small amount of caffiene, but a whole lot more nutrients. When I went to that, I felt so much better in so many ways, even physically.

I messed up my tea strainer though, and went back to coffee. I drink 3+ cups a day now, and really need to stop! But can't. The withdrawal symptoms aren't fun at all.
Posted By: jilly Re: Coffee - 12/06/09 02:39 AM
I changed over to decaf a few years back to lower my stress levels. Like, Lisa, when i rarely have a cup of coffee with full car, I can feel my heart racing. I can feel myself getting agitated. It's not what I want for my life.

I like flavored decafs like Hazelnut and vanilla. YUM!

I never wondered if I was drinking aribica beans, though. I assume they are. I don't want to drink robusta unless I don't have a choice. I will have to pay more attention when I am buying my coffees from the grocery.
Posted By: jilly Re: Coffee - 12/06/09 02:40 AM
Niki, I also like Earl Grey. It reminds me of one of my favorite TV characters, Jean Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise.

"Earl Grey, hot"

smile smile
Posted By: BLR Re: Coffee - 12/06/09 02:48 AM
I love KUSMI Tea. All their flavors are wonderful. Earl Grey is one of my morning favorites. Although I really like my French Vanilla in my Tassimo one cup maker. Yeah really addicted, but enjoy the fixes.
Posted By: skipperdog Re: Coffee - 12/06/09 03:18 AM
I love coffee. Decaf, regular, any kind. I make it syrupy strong, and just don't feel the same without a cup or two in the morning. My family jokes about my strong coffee and I have to remember that a lot of people don't like coffee as strong as I do. But I tend to be a laid back, phlegmatic sort of person and coffee doesn't seem to affect me much. It doesn't seem to matter to me anxiety-wise whether I choose decaf or regular.

I went to South America for work and loved the habit of enjoying demitasse sized cups of coffee in the afternoon.

I love tea, too, but that is more an afternoon drink for me. My new favorite flavor is Lady Gray.
Posted By: BLR Re: Coffee - 12/06/09 03:28 AM
uuh if you worked in South America there are other "teas" that are wonderful.
Posted By: tweetymom Re: Coffee - 12/06/09 09:11 AM
I really love coffee. But in the last 15 years of my life, I have stomach issues off and on, so I can't always drink it. I do drink tea in the morning, though. I need some kind of kick then. Lately I've begun to keep Kenya and Sumatra coffees but, like I said, I can't drink them very often. I miss it. When I have to stop altogether for a while, the caffeine withdrawels are NOT fun!

I do love tea, though. At night when the weather is cold, I love Peppermint tea. So comforting and delicious.
Posted By: jilly Re: Coffee - 12/06/09 05:26 PM
Tweetymom, have you tried some of the better decaf coffees? They taste the same. Can you drink those?
Posted By: Niki Re: Coffee - 12/06/09 05:31 PM
I've been bad lately and been putting Bailey's in my coffee. My family ripped on me pretty hard at Thanksgiving for that. =P It's my guilty pleasure I guess.

If you drink tea though, I think it's a must to get loose tea leaves. They make such a difference! I got this Earl Grey mixture that has small vanilla chips in it, it smells marvelous and tastes great.
Posted By: BLR Re: Coffee - 12/06/09 06:12 PM
I love amaretto, franchesco, or godivia in my coffee. Or any combination there of.
Posted By: skipperdog Re: Coffee - 12/06/09 07:34 PM
Yes! Argentina's yerba mate is delicious, and the custom of sharing it with friends and relaxing was great. I met so many nice people there.

You know what was funny, though? I like apple cinnamon tea, and they thought that was really yucky. The people I got to know associated cinnamon with a trip to the dentist, not with drinks or dessert.
Posted By: tweetymom Re: Coffee - 12/13/09 12:14 PM
Hi Jilly. Better late reply than never?!

I can and have had decaf coffee. But none of the ones I really like to drink. I know that there ARE decaf in the kenya and Sumatra, I just don/w want to spend the money when I think of it, and other times I forget about it! Blame ot on my age LOL

I used to mix the Half Caff with regular and that helped somewhat.

But thanks for reminding me that decaf exists!
Posted By: BLR Re: Coffee - 12/13/09 04:11 PM
Dinah - the decafs are so much better now that they were in the past. Also they are not completely decafinated.

As far as needing a kick in the morning, I have one word for you, Mountian Dew.
Posted By: Lisa Shea Re: Coffee - 12/13/09 08:42 PM
I adore Bailey's in general. When I drank coffee I would enjoy that as an after dinner drink.

Niki - why was your family so upset about your enjoying Bailey's? Or were you drinking 3 cups every morning so you were drinking Bailey's all morning long?
Posted By: cyberbud Re: Coffee - 12/13/09 08:53 PM
Baily's on ice.........yum I'll have to try a shot in coffee
Posted By: jilly Re: Coffee - 12/14/09 12:24 AM
Jeez, BLR, do you drink Mountain Dew in the morning? That's a wake up call! wink
Posted By: jilly Re: Coffee - 12/14/09 12:34 AM
Tweetymom, I do get that about not wanting to spend more. Mine all cost the same whether I buy them caf or decaf: it's the stuff I grind at the supermarkets.

I don't like regular unflavored coffee, as I drink it black and don't want to add sugar flavors. In some areas it's tough for me to find my special decafs with a flavor like hazelnut or vanilla. There are so many full caf coffees with neat, seasonal flavors, and I often feel like the leftover stepchild. wink

In my new town here at Camp Verde the Bashas does not have any flavored decafs. Last time i went shopping there I came really close to buying a full caf Christmas Spice flavored coffee...but reminded myself that caffeine is bad for my depression/anxiety, and thus won't help me reach my goals. So I had to buy an unflavored decaf to keep around the house for emergencies.

When I go to the bigger town of Cottonwood then I remind myself to get my beloved flavored decafs.

Mixing half caf and full caf sounds like a good idea for people trying to cut back!

Posted By: jilly Re: Coffee - 12/14/09 12:36 AM
Skipperdog, how does cinnamon remind anyone of the dentist? What do dentists do that involves cinnamon?
Posted By: BLR Re: Coffee - 12/14/09 12:36 AM
I do not drink Mountain Dew in the morning. Although I have been known to have Dr Pepper in the AM. Pepsi works also. When I did my stint as a Mormon I gave up all the caffiene... got over that. smile

Got over being Mormon, not over caffiene. Love my coffee in the AM. Went back to smoking, but I did quite that again, and again, and again.
Posted By: jilly Re: Coffee - 12/14/09 12:42 AM
LOL, BLR!

I used to love Mountain Dew. That stuff is supercharged.

I used to have a ritual with some friends that after a long hard backpack trip (usually in the grand canyon) we'd get back to the cars, drive right to the nearest gas station, and grab ourselves a Mountain Dew to revive. smile
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