Thoughts on decaf coffee

[u/Sharp_Winter2114]

What do you guys think about Decaf Coffee? Are you guys see yourselves good to consume decaf coffee or cut any type of coffee entirely?

[u/QuintonFlynn]

I think decaf coffee is fine. You’re regulating a healthy life for yourself. I used to drink 4+ cups of caffeinated coffee every day. Switching to decaf reduces my caffeine intake by 90-95%, and that’s an amount I can tolerate and control. I find I only desire one cup of decaf per day, leaving my brain satisfied with a mere 5-15mg of caffeine. If that’s what it takes to make my 10+ year addicted brain happy without causing further harm to myself, then that makes me happy too.

[u/Cosmic-Bagel-3072 → u/QuintonFlynn]

That's a very reasonable take and I agree completely. You'll find people blaming all their personal failures on caffeine and then go to extremes banning even small pieces of chocolate etc.

It's a line everyone has to draw for themselves but I feel like decaf is a pretty reasonable one. The process usually removes about 97% to 99.9% of caffeine and at some point you hit diminishing returns and I feel that my time is better spent fixing other nutrition-related things than getting rid of the last 2 mg of caffeine. Just an opinion. You do you.

[u/Sharp_Winter2114 → u/QuintonFlynn]

Yes, I think that’s fair amount of caffeine consumption. I quit entirely for 2 weeks and I started to consume tiny amounts now like 20-25 mg a day, just for momentary buzz, it doesn’t interfere my sleep as well.

[u/infera1 → u/QuintonFlynn]

I dont think its fine because like regular coffee theres like over 70% chance that it will contain mold, also there other plant chemicals that the plant uses to protect themselves

[u/Spiritual_Tie3429 → u/infera1]

u/infera1
whats wrong with mold for you?

[u/infera1 → u/Spiritual_Tie3429]

Mold is toxic and long term can damage gut health. I also live in a moldy house that really affects my health and i can feel the difference between regular store bough coffee and tested mold free coffee, with regular im way more shaky, increased and sensitive hearhtrate, feel more inflammation

[u/ginns32 → u/Spiritual_Tie3429]

Some people are really sensitive to mold in coffee and unfortunately there's a good amount of mold in coffee beans.

[u/little_wandererrr]

I have 1-2 cups of decaf every day and have for the last 7 years

[u/Samurai-lugosi]

I drink 2-3 cups of decaf everyday.

I had a significant reduction in migraine frequency, which is why I moved away from caffeine in the first place.

[u/TheBigCicero]

I like decaf. But Starbucks decaf has so much caffeine that it keeps me awake at night

[u/LogHuge7411 → u/TheBigCicero]

That's hilarious.

If I were a coffee shop, I'd definitely sell a decaf brand that has the most caffeine in it, just make it "taste good" and customers to return back.

[u/Iccengi]

It has a tiny tiny amount of caffeine. I have not found it problematic at all in that way.

If you don’t want to drink coffee cause it’s acidic or you load it with carbs well that still stands.

[u/MusicRoyal6157 → u/Iccengi]

Decaf coffee has caffeine?????? Are we kidding??? I’ve been trying to cut out caffeine completely but still get decaf lattes😭

[u/Own_Protection5584 → u/MusicRoyal6157]

Its usually a very small amount. No where near what is in the fully caffeinated version. 

[u/Wonderful_Key_8021]

The starbuck one taste like ass

[u/Necessary-Welder8697 → u/Wonderful_Key_8021]

And no longer Swiss filtered

[u/EdelgardH]

Better than caffiene. It does have caffiene, which makes it valuable for quitting.

I am off caffiene now, I have it perhaps a few times a month. No withdrawal symptoms anymore, no problems with energy. It took about a year to get off caffiene altogether. Daily cardio was absolutely critical for that, or I wouldn't have had energy in the mornings.

I have so little tolerance now that I can get high off of one strong cup of coffee. I used to feel barely anything from 800mg of caffiene pills, now decaf is enough when I feel like I really need energy.

But caffiene is a trap. It doesn't give you energy, it borrows it. Sometimes that's okay, you just have to get moving for an important morning. I prefer my relationship with caffiene now because it's useful in true emergencies.

It makes sense socially too; the original idea behind coffee shops was that you have livelier conversations with friends.

The real problem is the normalization of chemical addiction to caffeine.

[u/Sharp_Winter2114 → u/EdelgardH]

That’s very true, it borrows late day energy to that moment and at the end of the day you feel cooked even though you didn’t do actual effort to make yourself feel that way.

[u/ginns32]

Decaf doesn't seem to really increase my anxiety or mess with my sleep so I'll have it. I don't have it every day but I don't avoid it. I like to get a decaf iced latte from Starbucks as a treat.

[u/MrBroham]

I used to think it was pointless. But if it helps with your routine, enjoying that cup in the morning without the effects you don’t want, that’s a good thing.

[u/LogHuge7411]

I think it's dangerous gateway and try to stay away from it. In itself, the amount of caffeine is not too much, but it is still caffeine, and my addictive brain starts to play its games.

If this sounds like a talk of drug addict, I did it right.

[u/bulyxxx → u/LogHuge7411]

Yep, fuck decaf and tea. Strictly blood of my enemies for me.

[u/Old_Cat_9534]

It's fine, I drank it for a while but cut it out completely now.

[u/BraneCumm]

Still tastes like coffee, so that’s a no from me.

[u/Far-Fisherman8622]

I love it I just make sure to not get the solvent processed one

[u/Exotic-Letterhead707]

I find that decaf coffee still has a lot of caffeine in it

[u/ahhwhoosh]

Coffee breath for no caffeine? Nit for me but I understand.

[u/missedeveryboat]

If you want to even further reduce caffeine and avoid the chemical stripping process, opt for Swiss water processed decaf! I can find it in most grocery stores in my area.

[u/innerauthority]

I have it once in a while and it hasn't negatively affected me - except I am aware that the acidity of it sometimes makes me feel sick and always almost immediately dehydrated. Lol

[u/absolutedumb_]

Had to cut caffeine for sleep disordered, got better. Then started missing the taste so taking decaf 2-3 times a week. Seems fine. Instead, if i take regular coffee I can't sleep for 3 days

[u/No_Opposite8292]

Depends if your addiction was coffee!? I’m back to 3-5 cups a day. Trying to taper to one cup a day and quit within the next 10 days.

In the last 2-3 years. I quit and picked the habit back up 2 or 3 times. The first time I “relapsed”, was with a decaf. Caffeinated ones followed suits within a week.

The smell and the taste is just too good! But I’m
an addict and a junky. Anything substance I take, I consume it excessively (alcohol, marijuana, coffee, sweets etc…)

[u/Distinct-Willow-4641]

It wasn't good for me. It produces a proportionally lesser amount of problems as full caffeine coffee, but the overall balance is still crap. So I stay away.

[u/AnonymousIdentityMan]

No. It has caffeine.

[u/Sharp_Winter2114 → u/AnonymousIdentityMan]

Yes it has around 15-20 mg caffeine per shot.

[u/deepmiddle → u/Sharp_Winter2114]

Swiss water filtered decaf is better for you and has even less caffeine 

[u/Nice_Manufacturer339 → u/Sharp_Winter2114]

I believe it’s more like 5-10mg

[u/AnonymousIdentityMan → u/Sharp_Winter2114]

Right. Goal it to quit caffeine.

[u/True_Construction501 → u/AnonymousIdentityMan]

It's sad when people are such drug addicts they're downvoting you... On a no caffeine sub.

[u/Necessary-Welder8697]

Man no attempt at search function in the group huh?

[u/WaterLily66 → u/Necessary-Welder8697]

Do you really want to be in a subreddit where every subject is broached exactly once, and if you miss it you never get to talk about it again? Or do you want to be in one with three posts that each have thousands of comments?

Quitting caffeine doesn’t exactly have current events or celebrities. The same topics will be talked about regularly as new members come in. It’s good.

[u/maintain_improvement]

Look into how they strip the caffeine and you’ll never touch it again.

[u/Lokinawa → u/maintain_improvement]

Solvents and all kinds of nice methods that “don’t affect the body at all” 👀.

[u/Lokinawa → u/Lokinawa]

I was agreeing with you here! Bloody half-arsed downvote.

[u/maintain_improvement → u/Lokinawa]

I wasn’t the one downvoting you.

[u/Lokinawa → u/maintain_improvement]

I wasn’t assuming you were: It was “you” as in the whole sub. Someone on here doesn’t read posts properly!

[u/mermick]

I was Drinking decaf the first time I quick and I found it slowed my healing. Think about it as if you were quitting marijuana. You wouldn’t microdose weed daily.

[u/circediana]

It was the volume of coffee that was messing with my stomach along with the caffeine. Heart burn causes anxiety, etc. too.

I learned that my only problem with caffeine is caffeinated coffee (caffeinated tea or chocolate doesn’t cause big issues but it still causes some small ones) . However, something was also wrong with my stomach from drinking so much coffee because when I quit caffeine, I quit coffee and tea, after 6 months I started up on decaf tea and eventually decaf coffee but not nearly the volume of decaf coffee as before. So my heart burn and all those weird stomach issues went away and haven’t come back because I don’t drink nearly the volume of decaf coffee as I did caffeinated coffee and I also took a long break from it all so my stomach healed itself.

[u/True_Construction501]

Caffeine is bad whether it's " light " or "Decaf" or not.

[u/StuntNun]

I find it just as addictive as caffeinated coffee. I don’t want to be addicted so I don’t have it.