To caffeinate or not to caffeinate?

Exploring our relationship with plants
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This morning I published a new article on the sofi.health blog, on how caffeine affects our sleep and wellbeing.

I was really fascinated to learn that caffeine actually first evolved in plants for 2 completely opposite reasons:

  1. In high quantities, the caffeine found in some plants (like fresh tea leaves and certain species of the tobacco plant) can be highly lethal to insects and pathogenic disease. In other words, the caffeine serves as part of the defence mechanism of the plant!

  2. However, in lower quantities (that we find in the nectar of some flowers, and the Citrus and Coffea species of plant), caffeine can actually help attract the bugs. When helpful insects like bees and butterflies get a caffeine buzz - so to speak - from the plants they choose to pollinate, it acts as a subtle chemical signal making them more likely to return again.

I thought this was super cool! Like a quick-stop coffee shop for insects! :blush: :coffee:

Anyway, it got me thinking, I don’t think we’re ever touched upon coffee in the treehouse much. I’m curious if there’s anyone who loves it, hates it, or finds that it just doesn’t work.

Are you a coffee drinker?

  • Yes, give me all the caffeine!
  • Yes, but I watch/limit my intake
  • No, coffee and I do not get along

0 voters

Funnily, my dad was always an extreme coffee drinker, having up to 8 or 9 cups per day :exploding_head: and into the early hours of the night. Meanwhile, I must have inherited my mum’s sensitivity to the stuff, as I find it makes me a little too anxious to drink. Even one cup 6-8 hours before bed, would often still leave me too caffeinated to fall asleep.

It’s sad because there are very few things I love more than a good cup of coffee in the morning!

What seems to be the sweet spot for you?

  • 0-1 cup(s) per day
  • 2-3 cups per day
  • 4-5 cups per day
  • 6+ cups!

0 voters

Happy Wednesday! Hope everyone is having a great week xx

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I can’t stand the taste :face_vomiting: or smell :skunk: of anything coffee flavored.

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I love the taste of coffee but it’s very rare I have one, I usually get my caffeine from a can of coke during break :joy::joy:

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I was just like u … the smell and taste of coffee would knock me sick… up until a year ago cuz i wanted to loose weight and nothing would work on me (up to 2hrs at the gym and swimming i was gaining weight instead of loosing it) i tried coffee to give me a boost started off holding my nose and drinking it then just thought of it as medicine… now im drinking up to 4/5 cups a day !:sob:

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@Aaron That sounds like a really bad choice… You don’t just get caffeine from that can of coke…

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Obviously but sometimes its all about what’s easy to grab when you work rotating shifts

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It’s a strong cultural influence for me and probably for most South Americans. I was initiated in coffee drinking at a very young age. We were given a little bit in the morning just to ‘darken’ the milk before school. I can’t even remember the age but I’d have a few drops in my milk as a kid. A bit like the slow introduction of French kids to wine. I still love coffee but only 2 cups a day.

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