Freedomain Radio

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2010/03/08/smallb1.html?b=1268024400^2977961&page=1

We usually don’t think much about that cup of Joe — other than whether to opt for skim milk or cream; sugar or Equal. But workplace experts say that depending on how it is handled, coffee can either be a perk that fuels employee morale or an annoyance that steams up workers to the point where they feel alienated and disgruntled.

I thought this was a cool article. I'm known to many in the office as 'the coffee guy'. Hmm, maybe I should work on that...

I've just started to enjoy coffee in the last year, but I don't drink it daily.  It's definitely better being at a school with a coffee machine though... it's just so much easier!

And what's with decaf?  Why would you drink that bitter sludge if not for the caffeine rush?

I've switched entirely to green tea, which was very easy to do. 5 cups of green tea a day is supposed to be a great longevity booster, according to long term studies...

I don't drink coffee myself, but it's interesting for me why people drink it. Is it the taste or the energy boost, or both? Do you feel addicted? So far I have a belief that it's not healthy and addictive: it contains coffeine, "drains" water from the body, disbalaces the system, creates acid etc., but I don't drink it, so I didn't put a lot of thought in this. What are your experiences?

Mozz:

I've switched entirely to green tea, which was very easy to do. 5 cups of green tea a day is supposed to be a great longevity booster, according to long term studies...

Yeah I've heard that too but I haven't read any studies or anything. I'm really getting into jasmine tea recently, which usually contains a green tea (or oolong) base. It's very tasty, quite subtle and very soothing and has the (supposed) heath benefits of green tea as well.

OutSider:

I don't drink coffee myself, but it's interesting for me why people drink it. Is it the taste or the energy boost, or both? Do you feel addicted? So far I have a belief that it's not healthy and addictive: it contains coffeine, "drains" water from the body, disbalaces the system, creates acid etc., but I don't drink it, so I didn't put a lot of thought in this. What are your experiences?

I adore the taste of coffee. Although I do wonder whether it's due to an olfactory or gustatory association developed through the long-term habitual build-up of mild caffeine addiction. Even so, it tastes goooood! I am particular about my coffee. I despise espresso and frozen/instant coffee, and drink only specific types of fresh/filter/cafetiére – that's my coffee of choice. I love a good Costa Rican tarrazu or aromatic medium roast. The smell of coffee in the morning is heavenly to me. The only other thing which compares is the evening waft of garlic simmering in olive oil!

For what it's worth, I've been reading Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy (the Harvard Medical School guide to nutrition), and it talks about coffee in a section.

It says that, while some studies in the 40s found bad health effects correlated to coffee drinking, it did not account for the fact that smoking and coffee were often coupled.  In future studies which account for this significant fact, the same health effects are not measured, and in fact they find some benefits to moderate coffee drinking.

I've never really liked coffee. In fact, I think the taste is pretty foul. When I do drink coffee, it's with sweets - things that need sour/bitter coffee to cut through their richness. I've mostly seen coffee used as a cream and sugar delivery vehicle, not on its own merits.

I vastly prefer tea - and anyone who's been to my place has seen my vast stock of different teas. Drinking 6 cups a day is not uncommon. Because I like the taste on its own, I don't put anything else in it, so I consider it rather healthier than coffee - not in and of itself, but because tea doesn't lend itself to the addition of cream and sugar.

OutSider:

I don't drink coffee myself, but it's interesting for me why people drink it. Is it the taste or the energy boost, or both? Do you feel addicted? So far I have a belief that it's not healthy and addictive: it contains coffeine, "drains" water from the body, disbalaces the system, creates acid etc., but I don't drink it, so I didn't put a lot of thought in this. What are your experiences?

Ah! To properly answer your question (!!!), yes I have found that excess coffee consumption afterwards leaves me feeling dehydrated, restless and irritable, even affecting my sleeping pattern sometimes. The most significant issue for me though if I overuse is gastrointestinal disturbance. Sorry, had to be bluntly honest there!

However, if I keep my coffee intake at reasonable levels, the positive effects far outweigh the negative, as far as I can tell. I find drinking it useful for aiding mental concentration & creativity, boosting energy levels & productivity at work, and as a 'social lubricant', or just for the sheer culinary pleasure of it!

Charlotte:

I've never really liked coffee. In fact, I think the taste is pretty foul. When I do drink coffee, it's with sweets - things that need sour/bitter coffee to cut through their richness. I've mostly seen coffee used as a cream and sugar delivery vehicle, not on its own merits.

I vastly prefer tea - and anyone who's been to my place has seen my vast stock of different teas. Drinking 6 cups a day is not uncommon. Because I like the taste on its own, I don't put anything else in it, so I consider it rather healthier than coffee - not in and of itself, but because tea doesn't lend itself to the addition of cream and sugar.

I'm an avid tea consumer too! It's often coffee during the day and tea in the evenings, else I'll have either a tea or coffee day! Funny though, I never put anything in my coffee – no cream, milk or sugar – that's completely blasphemy as far as I'm concerned!

Greg:

For what it's worth, I've been reading Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy (the Harvard Medical School guide to nutrition), and it talks about coffee in a section.

Thanks, I'll do a Google search for that.

It's definitely a taste thing for me; I never drank coffee until about my mid-20s.  Now, it's a pretty standard thing for me to have one a day.  I put cream and stevia in mine, and I'll usually have one sbux-venti-equivalent over the course of a normal day.

There's actually a great deal of pleasure at the first couple of sips of a new cup of coffee, and the rest is just tasty to me.  I suspect I would have headaches for a day or two if I stopped drinking coffee, but I don't really see any problems with it.

As far as the office goes, I don't drink the coffee here--I brew my own at home.

Also, I find it's a bit of a social thing--I can ask somebody to "coffee"

James, that reminds me...the other day, Phil mentioned a funny line from Good Will Hunting:

Good Will Hunting:

Skylar: Maybe we could go out for coffee sometime?
Will: Great, or maybe we could go somewhere and just eat a bunch of caramels.
Skylar: What?
Will: When you think about it, it's just as arbitrary as drinking coffee.
Skylar: [laughs] Okay, sounds good.

OutSider:

I don't drink coffee myself, but it's interesting for me why people drink it. Is it the taste or the energy boost, or both? Do you feel addicted? So far I have a belief that it's not healthy and addictive: it contains coffeine, "drains" water from the body, disbalaces the system, creates acid etc., but I don't drink it, so I didn't put a lot of thought in this. What are your experiences?

Originally, I didn't like the taste of coffee. I took a trip to Portugal and tried the coffee there (it's free in the hotel) and loved it. Then I came back to the Americas and couldn't find coffee as good, so I stopped searching. Eventually, I found myself getting tired and even falling asleep at work, so I decided to try the free stuff they have in the breakroom.

So, I drink coffee for the energy boost. I only drink it on work days, and it helps me stay focused throughout the day. If I drink it too late in the day, it can mess up my sleep schedule, so I limit myself to drinking before noon. Now that stuff is tolerable, and I have found some "good" coffees.

It's generally not true that coffee has a net negative water impact on you body: the dehydrating myth is now consider to be an old-wives tale : http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN0166

I can't really speak to your other points. I can agree that is disbalances your system (how else would it keep you awake), and maybe it does create acid (I don't know), but what exactly is the harm in that? It's not enough to defer to scary terms like "acid." Humans are acidic: we are made from amino acids. I haven't come across anything that empirically shows harm in moderate coffee use.

My bosses have made it a pro to always get the good drinks, especially coffee. It keeps us worker bees happy and our customers gladly come over for a cup of freshly ground coffee. We even spent some time finding the right blend, but now we are totally in business!

Our coffee is definately not just a mere milk and sugar transport. It has a great smell and, in my opinion, a great taste as well. It can make a lot of people happy to get a good cup, because there are so many places where you get sludgy goo that we really stand out and our coffee is actually something they remember us by.

I drink about 4 to 6 (small) cups of coffee a day. One every hour before lunch, one right after lunch and then on to tea. After dinner I drink another couple of coffee and then on to tea as well. Before I go to bed I drink a beer or a glass of whine or, sometimes, a glass of whiskey. I try to stay off the soda, but will drink a glass of fruit juice after I work out. Also, during meals I drink a lot of milk.

What I drink does not seem to affect me all that much. I've had a lot of sleep problems, which I tried to solve by staying off the coffee, but that didn't work. Now that I have started sorting out my life I sleep near perfectly and enjoy my coffee loads

Think of the person who consistently gets stuck having to brew a fresh pot because a sneaky co-worker always makes off with the last cupful. Or the decaf drinker who feels left out in an office that offers only regular coffee.

This is a phenomenon where I work, as well. 

I've found myself making coffee frequently. So, for a while I stopped, just to see what would happen. There were two others that would take the time to make it. Once everyone smells it, though, it's gone in a hurry. When that happens, sometimes the kitchen will go for days without any coffee in the pot, because people switch to the single-serving hot chocolate packets and the hot water, out of convenience.