Ask HN: How much coffee do you drink?

2 to 5 cups a day, I'd say. I drink it because I like it, more than to help me focus - the addiction and tolerance more or less balance out explicit benefits I think. I'd like to cut it down just a little, I think.

3 cups a day. I enjoy coffee. It is not essential.

3 cups a day before. Not really using to boost but i just like coffee. Now i am more on green/chinese tea than coffee.

I'm too embarrassed to say the amount...it's measured in pots.

I know I need to cut down but whenever I do the withdrawal effects (physical and habitual) distract me from working.

I don't drink any coffee. That said, two pots of tea are not unheard of.

I don't drink coffee, and I don't have any other habitual sources of caffeine. However, I'm 22, and my morning de-blearifying process may not yet need to be as heavy-duty as that of an older person.

I once drank three cups a day, if not five or six. Always very thick, almost enough to strip the paint off of a battleship, occasionally with cream but usually black. That started sometime in college - first or second year. Didn't have much exposure to caffeine before that so the addiction was quick.

Fast forward a decade, and the anxiety from the caffeine was getting really bad, I couldn't sleep, and the coffee (among other things) was eating into my stomach. So I quit caffeine entirely. The headaches. The "not right" tingling. The other withdrawal symptoms usually associatted with hard drugs. I was convinced I was going crazy for a spell. But in time that all went away.

Now I drink zero cups a day and sometimes feel like a zombie. Unfortunately even a small trace of caffeine (like in rich chocolate or an occasional small cup of something caffeinated) triggers a relapse. I do occasionally fall face-first off of the wagon. But the withdrawal symptoms are nowhere near as bad as they were the first time.

When I'm "on" caffeine, I feel like I'm sharper. Mental tasks seem to be easier, and maybe they are. But the overall feeling from being (mostly) off the stuff is better. I can sleep again. I don't get the shakes as I'm coming down from the "high." But somedays... I just feel like I'm not here. Like I still need that hit.

I don't like coffee (I like the smell though).

If I need caffeine I take an energy drink. Not all energy drinks are good though, most of them give me a headache after a couple hours.

5-hour energy is ok (doesn't give you a headache), but the taste is bad.

When I was in the Bay Area, I found Jamba[0] to be a good one: tastes good, and doesn't have the bad headaches.

In Calgary, Canada I couldn't find Jamba anywhere (yet), but BeaverBuzz[1] seems ok, though it doesn't really taste that good.

[0]: http://www.jambajuice.com/jamba-at-home/energy-drinks

[1]: http://www.beaverbuzz.com/

Stimulants might not "boost your productivity" — if you're slightly tired they'll make you irritable, if you are having problems sitting still they may make things worse — so while you may get a rush of energy that doesn't always result in productivity.

Right now, around 32oz a day.

When I worked from home, I would drink an entire pot of French press over the course of a day.

2 cups per day. I find it sharpens my attention and problem solving, both in traffic (on a motorbike) and when programming. The longer I can spend away from it, the more effective it is when I take it up again.

Not essential part of work life.

Don't wish I drank it less.

Might consider alternatives, but I would need to be convinced that other stimulants would be sufficiently advantageous vs deleterious.

2 or 3 cups a day... It is not essential but yes, it definitely help me to regain the track of my work.

Absolutely none at all.

I drink water, from a tap only, and nothing else at all.

I got rid of coffee and tea from my diet about 4 years ago. It was one of the best health improvements I have ever made. Instantly solved weight gain, insomnia, irritability, migranes, sickness, concentration problems and bowel problems. Felt like utter crap for about 2 months but it wore off eventually.

I could draw a direct comparison to when I broke my leg and was on large quantities of opiates. The withdrawal from this was horrible. The same with caffeine.

It's not good for you if it does this.

Now trying to get rid of sugar, which is MUCH harder.

1 cup a day though a second cup sometimes makes an appearance.

I rid of my coffee maker and replaced it with a simple chemex pourover -- resulting in stronger & better coffee. It's tedious and has essentially forced me to go from drinking 12 cups a day to 1.

I enjoy coffee, though.. I should schedule my drinks better -- I either have it early in the morning or late at night.

It's 1am and I'm drinking today's cup. That tends to result in an awful lot of reddit or hours & hours of CSS & A/B adjusting/testing.

As for your questions: I don't believe it helps me 'work harder', it's merely something I enjoy. It doesn't help me wake up (though it does seem to help with some [somewhat] ADHD-like issues that I have): I merely enjoy it. It's unessential. As for other stimulants -- at one point I had a calcium deposit in my shoulder a year ago & was on percocets as a result -- during the few days I was on that (Yay, amphetamines!) I completed more work than I had in an entire year prior.

Now that, if legal, I'd take in a heartbeat. I was able to suddenly concentrate again and think fluidly: I wrote endlessly for days and felt as though I was completely myself again (minus some grogginess from the meds). Alas, perhaps I should get checked for adult ADHD.

In the meantime back to meandering around the web..

I'm consistently somewhere between one and two Starbucks ventis per day; however, when I was in grad school (one-year lock-step masters program), my coffee consumption was significantly higher. You could find me with coffee about 90% of my waking hours. I consumed it until I was so tired it simply no longer had its stimulating effect on me...crash...start the cycle over again. I do not miss grad school.

I don't drink coffee at all. I think it has the placebo effect and we actually don't work harder. In my case, when I drink coffee, I get nervous and can't think straight anymore because of the energy rush

4 to five mugs. But not coffee as americano, but coffee as strong as espresso

I try to drink as little alcohol or coffee as possible, mostly water.

Many people here complain about the bad coffee symptoms. I'm sure some people are just plain incompatible with caffeine, but it is likely that most of this incompatibility is with the artifacts of low quality coffee.

http://www.bulletproofexec.com/coffee/ sells good quality coffee (supposedly, I've never tried but have heard it praised by people I trust). The site has a lot of info about how to tell good coffee from bad.

(And .. do try the butter coffee. It's a great upgrade on any coffee)

I do drink coffee, but not as stimulant to boost my productivity. The only time I drink coffee regularly is when I wake up. Otherwise I drink coffee only when I feel like wanting cup of it. Though usually its about 3 cups a day. I do drink also water from tap only and yellow tea.

I do not believe anything boosts your productivity, better than you yourself deciding to be more productive.

None. I never drink coffee, not any kind. Never have, never will.

About 2L (8 cups) of coffee, sometimes with an additional Venti brewed coffee from Starbucks.

At that volume, yes it's an essential part of my life as I'm physically dependent on it (if I skip a day I get headaches & nausea).

Do I wish I drank less? I've quit several times in the past. My life was no better. I really do feel like it boosts my productivity.

I love the smell of coffee but have never got into drinking it. I drink tea occasionally. I usually have 8 cups of water each day & maybe a soda.

I do feel a buzz from drinking soda and can imagine I'd get the same from coffee.

2 cups of espresso's.