There are a lot of myths about caffeine, and when you surf the Internet, the amount of information can make your head spin. Is it healthy to drink coffee? Is it better to choose tea instead of coffee? Which coffee is the strongest? I hope this article lifts the veil of mystery and demystifies coffee and caffeine once and for all.
1. What is caffeine?
Pure caffeine is a white, odorless powder that can be obtained from various plants or synthetically. Caffeine is found in more than 60 plant species, including the coffee plant, tea plant, mate tree, and kola nut. Caffeine is mostly stored in plant sprouts. The coffee plant produces caffeine, which is famous for its bitter taste, as a defense against insects. Interestingly, Arabica coffee has lower caffeine content than Robusta, which is thought to be because Arabica beans tend to grow at higher altitudes, where there are fewer pests.
2. How much caffeine is in a cup of coffee?
30-65 mg of caffeine can be released into a 30-40 g espresso drink, which can be made from 10 to almost 30 g of ground coffee. One portion of filtered coffee uses 15 g of ground coffee and produces about 250 ml of drink. Such a drink will contain 100-200 mg of caffeine, that is, 3-4 times more than a cup of espresso made from approximately the same amount of ground coffee.
The main difference between these two drinks is the speed of coffee production. Caffeine is soluble in water, so the longer the coffee grounds react with water, the more caffeine will be found in the drink, regardless of the "strength" of the coffee drink itself. Espresso takes up to half a minute to make, while in the filter coffee grounds are in contact with water for up to 5 minutes.
3. Which products contain caffeine?
The caffeine concentration in caffeinated foods and beverages is approximately as follows:
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Filtered coffee (250 ml) – 100-200 mg
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A cup of espresso (30-40 ml) – 30-65 mg
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A cup of tea (220 ml) – 50-70 mg
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A standard can of energy drink (250 ml) – 80 mg
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A standard can of cola (355 ml) – 40 mg
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Dark chocolate, cocoa (50 g) - 40 mg
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Milk chocolate (50 g) - 10 mg
4. How does caffeine affect our body?
Caffeine acts as a central nervous system stimulant: it increases alertness and concentration, reduces fatigue and even improves brain absorption. It is a powerful natural chemical that works quickly and effectively. For these reasons, this substance is a common ingredient in medications to treat or manage drowsiness, headaches, and migraines. Headaches or migraines are accompanied by dilated blood vessels, while caffeine has the opposite effect of reducing inflammation and constricting blood vessels.
According to various studies, caffeine has a positive effect on endurance and muscle strength during sports. For some time it was even included in the list of substances prohibited for athletes by the World Anti-Doping Agency, but in 2004 removed from it because monitoring the amount of caffeine in the body is extremely difficult. It usually enters our bodies with food and drink as part of our normal diet and not directly to improve performance. In addition, caffeine is metabolized at different rates in different organisms, so it is difficult to determine how long ago and in what quantities it was consumed.
Studies have also shown that people who regularly drink caffeinated coffee (up to 5 cups a day) have a lower risk of developing dementia, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. According to experts, the antioxidants in coffee can prevent some damage to brain cells and enhance the effects of neurotransmitters involved in cognitive function. Moderate long-term coffee consumption is also associated with a significantly reduced risk of various diseases (type 2 diabetes, stroke, liver disease) and even suicide.
Excessive caffeine can cause increased nervousness or anxiety, reflux, headache, flickering eyes, increased heart rate, insomnia, etc. In the long run, an overdose promotes bone loss, and women may have difficulty conceiving. The usual rule of thumb for caffeine is that too much is unhealthy. According to the European Food Safety Authority, the safe amount of caffeine for humans is 200 mg of caffeine at one time and 400 mg per day. However, it is important to note that every body reacts differently to caffeine and caffeine-containing products should be consumed in such a way that unwanted symptoms are not felt.
5. Can coffee make you feel tired?
For many people, a cup of coffee in the morning is a common ritual and a kind of magical drink that helps to start the day alert and focused. However, sometimes it seems that a cup of coffee, on the contrary, has a relaxing and soothing effect, so that you want to curl up under the cobblestone again and fall asleep sweetly. This can be for several reasons:
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Not getting enough sleep. The caffeine in coffee gives the desired effect only when you have had enough sleep. Unfortunately, even the best and strongest coffee won't help if we don't allow our body enough rest and relaxation at night.
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Coffee is drunk at the wrong time of day. The stress hormone cortisol plays an important role here - it prevents caffeine from being absorbed into the body. The concentration of this hormone is higher in the morning, as soon as you wake up, and decreases during the day. Hence, drinking a cup of coffee as soon as you wake up will not have the desired effect, because the high amount of cortisol in the body will block the action of caffeine. Cortisol levels in the body drop significantly about two hours after waking up. This would be the best time to have your morning cup of coffee. In addition, it is better not to drink coffee at least three hours before going to bed, so that problems related to insomnia do not appear.
6. Do we lose fluids when we drink coffee?
Caffeine is known as a diuretic, that is, it stimulates the release of urine. The more caffeinated drinks we drink in a short period of time, the more water we can lose. However, it is important to remember that most of the coffee drink consists of water, so when you drink coffee, you do not lose more fluid than you drink. Generally speaking, despite the diuretic effect of coffee, it does not contribute to dehydration of the body.
7. Does coffee help you lose weight?
Caffeine is often included in weight loss supplements because it stimulates fat burning (lipolysis). Lipolysis ensures that food and body fat are broken down into their individual components and used to provide energy to the body. Regardless, there is no scientific evidence that caffeine causes significant weight loss, and the extra calories from cream, milk, or sweetener added to a caffeinated beverage will easily negate any caffeine-induced calorie "savings."
8. Is decaffeinated coffee healthy?
Decaffeinated coffee can be chosen for many different reasons: caffeine intolerance, high blood pressure, pregnancy, etc. Unfortunately, decaffeinated coffee is still surrounded by countless myths - it is notorious for being tasteless and not the healthiest alternative to regular coffee. This is because the first methods of decaffeinating coffee beans were based on the use of chemicals, and along with the caffeine, a significant amount of the flavoring substances were removed from the coffee.
Fortunately, these days there are processes like liquid CO2 caffeine extraction that ensure that even after the caffeine has been removed (in a health-safe way), the coffee retains its original aroma and taste.
If you want to know more about decaffeinated coffee and the different decaffeination processes, don't miss our article about it.
9. Is caffeine in coffee different from caffeine in tea?
If you drink both tea and coffee, you've probably noticed that the effects of the two beverages are different. Although the caffeine found in coffee and tea is technically identical, their effects on our body are different. L-theanine, found in tea, is an amino acid that has a relaxing effect and does not give a feeling of nervousness. In addition, caffeine in tea is absorbed more slowly and evenly into the bloodstream than caffeine in coffee, so the invigorating effect lasts longer.
Although dry tea contains more caffeine than coffee by weight, a cup of tea contains less caffeine than a cup of coffee. We use significantly fewer tea leaves for a cup of tea than coffee beans for a cup of coffee. In addition, we often add cooler water to the tea, which also slows down the release of caffeine.
10. Is it safe to drink coffee with alcohol?
Alcohol and coffee affect our body in opposite directions: coffee makes us more alert, while alcohol reduces alertness. Because of its effect, coffee when taken with alcohol has a deceptive effect - it makes us think that we are not intoxicated and can handle more alcohol, when this is completely untrue. So, mixing coffee with alcohol will not really improve our health.
I hope you found the answers you were looking for in this article about caffeine and coffee consumption, and from now on you can pamper your taste buds with delicious coffee!