The Caffeine Count In Your Morning Fix [Tobacco lawyers-listen up]

Wall St Journal ^ | 4-13-04 | Michael McCarthy

[SJackson]

Jolt From Gourmet Brews Is 56% Greater Than 7-Eleven's; Waking Up in 'Withdrawal'

It isn't just the long lines and high prices that are outsized at Starbucks and other specialty coffeehouses. There's also the issue of caffeine.

In pursuit of a bolder taste, coffeehouses typically brew their blends much stronger than a trusty old cup of Folgers. But a powerful side effect is unusually high levels of caffeine, according to a national test of ready-made coffee run by a laboratory for The Wall Street Journal. House blends at Starbucks Corp., Gloria Jean's and other gourmet coffee chains have an average 56% more caffeine than samples tested at 7-Eleven Inc. stores and 29% more than those at Dunkin' Donuts nationwide.

[cmsgop]

Just for the record that is drip coffee.

[Dog Gone]

I drink coffee for the caffeine. The stronger the better. I don't know why anyone would drink it for any other reason. Coffee smells better than it tastes.

[Ditter]

Yes Michael, we KNOW about the caffine. Thats why we drink it!

[RosieCotton]

Coffee has caffeine? And the stronger it is the more it has? I'm shocked, I tell you - SHOCKED!!

When did Bush know and why weren't we informed?

[Skooz]

I've been hooked on coffee since I was a teenager. Where's my check?

[blackdog]

Espresso has very little caffeine. Grounds must be exposed to hot water or steam for more than 90 seconds in order to break loose the caffeine, releasing it into solution.

IOW, if you want less caffeine, order a double shot of espresso, top off the cup with hot water, and you've got all the fine taste of espresso in a twelve ounce cup of coffee. I've stopped drinking drip java years ago.

[Skooz]

My espresso is so full of caffeine I can't drink it past 7:00 pm or I'll be up all night. It is much higher in caffeine than my drip coffee.

[Oorang]

Every time I have to go to the doctor I tell him "you can suggest I quit this, that or the other, but, DON'T TOUCH MY COFFEE"!

[judgeandjury]

Nevertheless, some coffeehouse regulars have found it hard to quit. Six days a week, Randy Sheehan starts his morning with a 20-ounce cup of Starbucks coffee. Some afternoons, he has a second cup. On weekends, he'll stop by a Starbucks kiosk when he's shopping at the mall. He's in a Starbucks, he says, eight to 10 times a week.

At $4-$5 per cup of Starbucks' coffee, this means that Randy spends upwards of $50 per week, or $200+ per month, on Starbucks' coffee. That's quite a pricey habit he has.

[Mr. K]

Just FYI- I got EXTREMELY addicted to caffeine when I worked a night shift full time job AND went to school full time- I slept less than 2 hours per day and constantly had a cup of coffee in my hand.

I would sleep 36 hours on saturday to catch up- and after a while I started waking up with searing migraine headaches and violent upchucking that would last for days.

Withdrawals are not fun

[Skooz]

He should just buy one of these:

[boris]

I had a discussion with a feller on the net who said that 'someday we will be able to resurrect the dead.'

"Whatddya mean? We already have caffeine..." was my response.

Breakfast of Champions.

--Boris

[Oorang]

Side note for folks that frequent Starbucks and are also interesting in preserving the second amendment.

A couple of years ago NRA published a list of companies that supported (financially) ANTI- 2nd amendment organizations. Starbucks was on the list. I don't remember the exact dollar amount for that year but do remember it was way up there.

Bottom line(IMO): if you value your 2nd amendment right, don't give Starbucks your $$.

[boris]

[Alberta's Child]

I would sleep 36 hours on saturday to catch up . . .

What did you study in school -- magic? LOL.

I know the feeling -- during my last semester in engineering school I used to be up all night at least once a week. To stay alert on minimal sleep, I would suggest drinking strong cups of coffee with tea bags dipped in them.

[thoughtomator]

Time to start busting down some doors of those dirty caffeine addicts, and damn the Fifth Amendment! Let's hear it for the War on Drugs... those filthy caffeine addicts deserve to rot in prison!

[Mr. K]

No I studied Physics- we learned how to breaks some laws in order to get 36 hours on saturdays - it just wasn't worth it for any other day

[blackdog]

Nope........Espresso has much less than drip coffee. Unless you are using some cheapo electric maker. The espresso shot must be finished in as short a time as possible. My stovetop unit does six shots in about thirty seconds.

Those drip makers that take ten minutes to drip a pot are deadly and taste awful. For mass quantity drip, we bought a commercial Bunn unit from Sam's club. The whole pot is done in 60 seconds.

[RC30]

At $4-$5 per cup of Starbucks' coffee, this means that Randy spends upwards of $50 per week, or $200+ per month, on Starbucks' coffee. That's quite a pricey habit he has.

$4-5 is the cost of a prepared for you Barista drink, like a Caramel Macchiato (sp?) or a Cappacino... A large plain 'ol coffee is not too much more expensive then Dunkin Donuts at around $2.00