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Coffee and Digestion - The Complete Guide
Coffee is enjoyed the world over, and its destabilizing effects on digestion have been experienced by a majority of people who drink coffee. By effecting the autonomic nervous system coffee influences digestion, but if the right steps are taken, coffee can improve digestion and favorably alter the microbiome.
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated July 2022. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
Besides water, coffee is one of the most consumed beverages worldwide next to tea. As a bitter drink containing various phytonutrients, coffee has an effect on digestion that can be quite variable, and depending on the gut heath of an individual, quite noticeable. Coffee exerts antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects on the digestion system while also increasing gut motility and thinning gut mucosa.
Coffee is one of the most well-known foods to effect digestion, most commonly known to cause heartburn or to need to use the restroom soon after consumption in sensitive individuals. There are a few reasons why coffee has these heartburn and/or laxative effects, and in this article we’ll explain why this so frequently occurs for many people. This article will also discuss coffee’s overall effect on digestion and gut motility, the phytonutrients it contains, how coffee can change the microbiome for the better, coffee’s effect on the gut-brain axis, and specific ways to drink coffee so it improves gut health rather than make it worse.
Digestion and the Large Intestine (colon)
Roasted coffee contains thousands of bioactive compounds that together exert numerous biologic effects on the body. Coffee affects the nervous system, brain, cardiovascular system, and the digestive system. Before any discussion on the effects coffee has on digestion can be had, the basics of digestion must be understood.
A Simple Summary on Digestion
Digestion starts before anything is actually eaten, as before eating food just the sight, smell, or thought of it releases digestive enzymes in the mouth. These digestive enzymes assist with the breakdown of food that is chewed in the mouth, and they also prime the stomach to release more stomach acid. Chewing food physically breaks it down into smaller pieces, then it’s swallowed and moves down the esophagus before dropping into the stomach where strong acids break the food down even more at a chemical level. Once the stomach has done its job the slurry that the food has become moves into the small intestine, more digestive enzymes and bile are released, and muscular contractions further break down food into absorbable proteins, fats, and carbohydrates that pass through the lining of the gut and into the bloodstream.
If all is normal, what’s leftover after this are harder to break down food particles, namely soluble and insoluble fibers. It’s in the colon that the microbiome can then break down the final food remnants and produce beneficial compounds, such as short chain fatty acids from fiber. These fatty acids are absorbed by the colon and provide base-load energy to the body. The longer the microbiome of the large intestine has to work on the food there, the more beneficial nutrients can be metabolized by the microbiome to then be absorbed into the body, and this overall increases the stability of human metabolism.
It’s the introduction of new food/energy that stimulates the bowels to release the stool that it has been holding onto, as the body senses it needs to make room for a new influx of nutrients. It’s a balancing act between what new nutrients can be taken in (eating new food) and what nutrients can be synthesized and absorbed from the stool in the large intestine already mostly digested of its fats, carbohydrates, and proteins.
Gut Health Problems and Incomplete Digestion of Food
A lot of gut health problems stem from the incomplete digestion of food. Certain biologically valuable nutrients and chemicals are only produced by the microbiome in the colon, for example short chain fatty acids, metabolites of polyphenols, and neurotransmitters. If the microbiome consistently isn’t given enough time to breakdown the final remnants of food in the colon, then nutrient and neurotransmitter deficiencies can occur over time.
An easy way to directly experience the ability of the microbiome to very efficiently break down and upcycle food is to fast for 48 hours. If the final meal before a fast is of high-quality and consists of whole foods, like a grain bowl (rice, beans, vegetables, healthy fats like avocado), then once that final meal reaches the colon the microbiome will have plenty to begin breaking down as whole grains and vegetables contains an abundance of material not extractable by the small intestine. If the normal defecation stool volume from that meal is a “1” with a normal eating schedule, then during a 48 hour fast what’s likely to occur is that defecation isn’t induced for the entire two days until a refeed meal is eaten, and then when defecation of that pre-fast meal does occur, the final stool volume may only be 1/2 to 1/4 of normal, or even less.
When there is a physiological need to extract more nutrients from less input, and the microbiome is given time to do this, food is more efficiently absorbed than normal. I’ve personally experienced during many a 2 day fast that my pre-fast meal was nearly completely absorbed. In 2 days the microbiome was able to completely break down and upcycle what I ate before the start of the fast such that I simply absorbed nearly everything. It wasn’t until a normal eating schedule was resumed that “normal” bowel movements returned. What this indicates is that “normal” bowel movements are more wasteful bowel movement as compared to the maximum level of extraction possible under conditions of nutrient scarcity.
Most people haven’t experienced long periods of nutrient scarcity like during a 48+ hour fast so what I described may seem outlandish, but all that’s required to prove this effect and ability for yourself is to go on a 48-72 hour fast. The quality of the last meal is very important to observe this effect, eat only whole unprocessed foods for final pre-fast meal. As shown by this phenomenon, fasting is one of the best ways to improve the functioning of the gut and to come to a better understanding of how the digestive system truly works.
As coffee alters the rate of digestion among other effects, it was important to present the information above as context for coffee’s specific impacts on digestion, which we’ll now dive into.
Together the digestive system and microbiome are the foundation of health from which everything else is dependent on.
The Holistic Gut Health Guide contains all the information you need to identify and understand the gastrointestinal and microbiome problems you may have while also providing you the most effective natural methods you can use to heal your gut. No gut health problems are unsolvable, give yourself every possible advantage along your gut health journey by reading an implementing the advice shared in the Holistic Gut Health Guide.
Some of the information in the Holistic Gut Health Guide isn’t common knowledge but when implemented it is highly effective in healing the gut and shifting the microbiome towards symbiosis. Give yourself every possible advantage along your gut health journey by reading an implementing the advice shared in the Holistic Gut Health Guide.
Coffee and Gut Motility
One of the most obvious effects that coffee has on gut health for many people is how it speeds up gut motility. Gut motility is the speed of movement of food through the digestion system, and one of the hallmark signs of poor gut health is highly variable gut motility. If some meals sometimes takes days to transit through the digestive system leading to constipation, while other meals seem to transit through the entire gastrointestinal system in under a day or even just hours, and this variability in gut motility is common, then that’s a clear indication that the gut is not in a state of ideal health. This state of variable gut motility is often referred to as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
How does Coffee make you Poop so Fast?
Coffee exerts a diuretic effect on gut motility through its stimulation of the hormone gastrin. Gastrin stimulates the secretion of gastric acid (HCl) in the stomach, aiding the breakdown and digestion of food. For about 90 minutes after drinking coffee the stomach environment is made more acidic because greater amounts of gastric acid are released. The release of gastric acid signals to the body that more food is incoming and therefore an increase in gut motility is observed, specially in the large intestine (colon). Melanoidins found in roasted coffee also increase gut motility through direct activation of the smooth muscles of the digestive system.
Caffeinated and decaf coffee significantly increase motor activity of the colon, activating greater propagated and simultaneous contractions. Eating a meal causes an increase in colonic motor activity as well (gotta make room), and caffeinated coffee is comparable in effect to consuming a meal. Caffeinated coffee is about 25% stronger in this effect than decaf coffee.
At least one-third of the population is susceptible to being stimulated to defecate soon after drinking regular or decaf coffee, with the effect more frequently observed in women then men. Within five minutes of drinking coffee rectosigmoid colon activity increases significantly and lasts for 30 minutes of more. The rectum is the final section of the colon a few inches long that attaches to the anus, and the sigmoid colon is the 1.5 foot long (40 cm) section of the colon just before the rectum. Coffee stimulates muscular contractions in these sections of the colon in a large percentage of the population, and this can cause rapid defecation for sensitive people, especially those who have IBS.
The colon stimulating effect of coffee is generally beneficial for people who regularly experience constipation, whereas people who suffer from already rapid gut transit times should stay away from drinking coffee.
Coffee and Frequent Bowel Movements
If coffee is consumed multiple times per day, as is commonly done by a large percentage of the population, then it’s ability to trigger waves of increased colon motor activity can result in bowel movements becoming more frequent, even to the point where it is problematic.
This is significant for reasons made clear by the earlier section on digestion and also in the microbiome section below. If food that recently made it to the large intestine is being released preemptively, then the body is missing out on a lot of beneficial compounds and metabolites only the microbiome can produce. Without a consistent stream of short chain fatty acids from the colon, metabolism suffers and energy volatility is more likely to be experienced. One of the functions of the large intestine is also to draw water out of the remaining food/waste, and frequent bowel movements can make dehydration a very real problem, or at least make dehydration more likely to occur.
In 1992 it was published in the British Medical Journal that nearly one quarter of the general population has smooth muscle dysfunction and other symptoms consistent with irritable bowel syndrome. Considering that the majority of the world’s population on average has become less healthy in the 30 years since that study, it’s likely that IBS affects an even greater percentage of the population now than it did in 1992.
Coffee Digestive Issues
Before we get into all the ways coffee improves digestion let’s finish covering how coffee can cause digestive issues for people with sensitive gastrointestinal systems. How is it that coffee can cause digestion problems while also having the ability to improve gut health?
Certain herbs have a dual ability to improve a bodily system or to cause problems. A good example of an herb that does this is cannabis. Cannabis that contains an even ratio of cannabinoids like THC and CBD if used in moderate amounts occasionally is neuroprotective and stimulates neurogenesis, increasing connectivity within the brain while also boosting creativity overall. Cannabis that is too high in THC though, and if used in excessive amounts, can cause mental health problems like paranoia, insomnia, and anxiety, and long term use of cannabis in this way can shrink the gray matter of the brain and cause memory problems. The dose of certain herbs like cannabis or coffee is critical in how their consumption will affect the body, and what’s also important is the state that the body is in prior to use.
Coffee (and cannabis, among other herbs) has the characteristic of exacerbating certain health issues if a bodily system is already out of balance. Think of it as a wake up call, with coffee highlighting preexisting health issues by making their symptoms more obvious, and in this manner this effect is beneficial in diagnosing health problems. So if drinking coffee is causing digestive issues like heartburn, stomach pain, or diarrhea, then that’s a big sign that coffee consumption should be stopped until gut health is improved, because when the gut and microbiome are healthy, coffee has a net positive influence on the digestive system and gut microbiota as we’ll see later.
Coffee and Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common gastrointestinal disorder, with up to 30% of the population or more having regular symptoms consistent with IBS. Most people with gut health issues never seek the help of the medical system, and as a result the prevalence of gut health issues is thought to be much larger than what’s reported in the literature. Irritable bowel syndrome is most prevalent in people in the 20-40 and over 60 age groups, and women in their 30’s-40’s in particular seem to have higher rates of IBS
The main symptoms of IBS are abdominal pain which is relieved by defecation, abdominal distension, more frequent and looser bowel movements progressing up to diarrhea, general digestive pain, and heartburn. Less common symptoms of IBS that are still experienced at a higher rate than in the normal population include rectal bleeding and the passage of mucus. Underlying these symptoms of IBS are smooth muscle abnormalities.
What is Smooth Muscle?
Smooth muscle is a type of non-striated muscle that is activated by the autonomic nervous system to apply pressure to various organs by contracting. Smooth muscle is a critical component of the digestive system, as it’s waves of smooth muscle contractions that cause food to move through the gut. Smooth muscle contractions are stimulated by nerve impulses, certain hormones (like gastrin), and other chemicals released by various organs. Smooth muscle contractions are much slower but sustained longer than skeletal muscle contractions. The amount of intracellular free Ca2+ is a key regulator of smooth muscle tone and contractility.
Why does Coffee make my Stomach Hurt?
Coffee lowers lower esophageal sphincter pressure while simultaneously stimulating the production of gastric acid via gastrin. For sensitive individuals with thin stomach mucosa linings and/or preexisting stomach ulcers, increases in stomach acid can cause stomach pain, and with the sphincter valve separating the stomach from the esophagus becoming more relaxed, the chance of acid reflux also increases.
If drinking coffee is causing stomach pain then the consumption of coffee should be ceased and steps should be taken to heal the stomach back to normal function. Coffee has not been shown to modify gastric wall compliance, wall tension, or sensory function.
Why does Coffee give me Diarrhea?
Alongside its effects on the stomach, coffee also increases contractile pressures in the rectosigmoid area of the colon, which can cause an increased and sometimes very rapid need to defecate. Both the possible symptoms of heartburn and diarrhea from drinking coffee point to coffee’s ability to affect smooth muscle function, and both of these symptoms are also common to IBS irrespective of coffee consumption. Basically if smooth muscle function is dysfunctional overall, then the smooth muscle stimuli that coffee causes can be too powerful and further exacerbate symptoms of IBS.
Having covered how coffee can trigger the same pathways already imbalanced in those who have IBS, we’ll now discuss the phytonutrients coffee contains and how these nutrients can benefit gut health and the microbiome.
Coffee Phytonutrients
Roasted coffee contains thousands of biologically relevant compounds, and many of them have beneficial antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and metabolism boosting health effects. Together these chemicals influence the functions of the digestive system, cardiovascular system, nervous system, and the gut-brain axis.
Coffee and Caffeine
The most well-known chemical found in coffee is caffeine. Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant that is rapidly absorbed into the body by the stomach and small intestine. Caffeine increases fat oxidation, in general boosts metabolism, and has been shown to improve cognition, especially for the elderly. One cup of black coffee contains ~95 mg of caffeine, and the upper bound for caffeine that shows health benefits is ~300 mg per day. Consuming more than 300 mg of caffeine per day causes significant hormonal alterations and can cause health problems best avoided.
If you have a built-up caffeine tolerance that you want to reset, and/or also want guidance on how to best use and dose caffeine, then read our guide on the subject for more information.
Coffee Polyphenols
Coffee also contains abundant polyphenols, which possess strong antioxidant properties. The polyphenols in coffee are not greatly effected by the decaffeination process. Flavonoids, a subgroup of polyphenols that are abundant in coffee, significantly increase the expression of proteins at epithelial tight junctions, improving their strength and reducing intestinal permeability which is a good thing. Weak tight junctions are a key symptom of leaky gut, food intolerances, and food allergies.
The polyphenol chlorogenic acid (CGA) is a major component of coffee, and chlorogenic acids have a regulating effect on glucose and lipid metabolism, which is why they have anti-diabetic, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-obesity effects. One-third of free chlorogenic acids are absorbed in the small intestine and the rest of the polyphenols reach the colon where they are broken down into simpler molecules by the microbiome. Polyphenols influence the microbiome directly (more on that below) while also requiring microbial activity for their alteration into other compounds that have beneficial health effects when absorbed by the body.
Coffee Melanoidins and N-Methylpyridium
The chemical composition of green coffee beans is noticeably altered by the roasting process, and two of the notable chemicals produced from the heat-driven Maillard reactions that occur are melanoidins and N-Methylpyridium.
Melanoidins are brown pigment chemicals that are created when sugars and amino acids combine under high heat. Melanoidins have several health promoting properties such as being antimicrobial, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antitoxin, and antioxidant in nature. Melanoidins are mostly indigestible and therefore act as dietary fiber, being fermented in the gut by the microbiome. People who drink a lot of coffee along with eating other foods that have undergone Maillard reactions (like crusty bread) may receive up to 20% of their dietary fiber from melanoidins. Melanoidins have a pro-motility on the gut not only because of their fiber effect but also through direct activation of the smooth muscles of the digestive system. In addition to melanoidins, dietary fiber is present in coffee.
N-methylpyridium (NMP) is an interesting chemical found in coffee that exerts an opposite effect on the stomach than coffee in general, as it reduces gastric acid production by stomach cells. NMP is only generated by the roasting process, and as such darker-roasted coffee contains more NMP than lightly roasted coffees, up to twice as much. For people who want to enjoy coffee and its health benefits but want to reduce their chance of experiencing heartburn and increased gut motility, drinking a darker roasted coffee is recommended.
Coffee and Gut Microbiome
On average 75% of feces are water, with the remaining 25% being solid materials. Bacterial biomass make up 25-55% of the solids in feces (6-14% total). This bacterial biomass is composed of dead and also living bacteria, and therefore as you can see, every bowel movement changes the microbiome because it’s removing a portion of the total microorganism population out of the body.
Coffee through its ability to trigger increased smooth muscle activity for the colon can cause defecation, and through this mechanism coffee influences the development of the microbiome. Microorganisms divide and reproduce on very fast timespans on the timespan of 20 minutes to 24 hours, with bad pathogenic bacteria typically dividing faster than good symbiotic bacteria. The longer stool stays in the colon, the longer the microbiome has to divide and evolve, which changes the overall population characteristics and diversity of the microbiome. If a healthy meal is eaten rich in vegetables and fiber, then symbiotic microorganisms will increase in population numbers, whereas if a junk food meal is eaten containing lots of highly processed foods and chemicals, then pathogenic microorganisms will better be able to survive and expand in population.
Coffee’s ability to trigger defecation can then be considered good or bad for the microbiome depending on the context. If the content of the stool in the large intestine is of a poor quality, then triggering defecation is a good thing as it’ll reduce the growth of pathogenic bacteria and remove toxins from the body. If the stool is composed of what’s left of a healthy meal from whole unprocessed foods, then triggering defecation early won’t be advantageous as valuable nutrients will be lost and symbiotic microorganisms will have less time to diversify and expand their populations.
Here’s the thing though, in my personal experience it’s the current contents of the digestive system that determine coffee’s defecating activating effect. When I eat healthy meals full of whole unprocessed foods, such as a rice and bean bowl with vegetables and avocado on top, coffee doesn’t trigger any significant increase in motor activity in the colon. If I eat a lower quality meal though, then I can definitely feel that coffee creates a stronger urge to use the restroom. At the beginning of the article I discussed how coffee can improve gut health because it highlights existing gut health issues like IBS by making the symptoms worse, and diet quality is a factor as to why that is the way it is. If you’re struggling with eating a good diet, resetting your dietary beliefs is an important step towards eating healthier.
If low quality junk food is in the digestive track, then it behooves the body to push it out quickly and hope for a higher quality meal to follow. Of course if junk food continues to be eaten then nutrient deficiencies develop and other health issues can compound, but having a longer transit time for these foods wouldn’t necessarily be better than a short transit time due to the presence of toxins in the food.
“There’s no way to win by eating poor quality food”
The benefits of coffee on the microbiome are further amplified by the abundant polyphenols that coffee contains. Coffee decreases populations of pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Enterococcus spp., Clostridium spp., and Bacteroides spp., while increasing populations of beneficial microorganisms like Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacterium spp., and this is thought to be primarily an effect of polyphenols, as polyphenols from things like herbs have shown similar effects.
Polyphenols both influence microbiome populations, and are also metabolized into different beneficial chemicals by the microbiome. By containing abundant polyphenols, dietary fiber, and melanoidins coffee exerts a strong influence over the microbiome and shifts microbial populations towards greater symbiotic function and away from pathogenic overgrowth. Drinking herbal teas are another way to shift the microbiome towards greater symbiosis, as an herbal tea blend like a 1:1:1 chamomile, peppermint, and dandelion tea contains abundant flavonoids and each of those herbs is already well-known for improving gut health.
Coffee and the Gut-Brain Axis
Coffee as a natural source of many chemicals like caffeine and polyphenols exerts an influence on the gut-brain axis, from changing emotional status to altering neurogenesis and neurodegeneration. Caffeine is the main psychoactive compound found in coffee, easily crossing the blood-brain barrier and stimulating the sympathetic nervous system in addition to the overall central nervous system. Caffeine increases extracellular dopamine concentrations and causes a greater expression of dopaminergic receptors and transports, leading to an overall cognitive improvement, especially amongst the elderly.
Additionally caffeine reduces the activity of the Gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) system and modulates GABA receptors. GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that acts on the central nervous system, lessening the ability for nerve cells to create, transmit, and receive signals to other nerve cells. Through this inhibitory effect GABA can produce a sense of calm as it reduces the activity of the nervous system, but as with anything too much GABA isn’t beneficial. Chronic caffeine intake is related to a long-term reduction in GABA, and that is also not good, as GABA plays a role in controlling stress, anxiety, and feelings of fear.
The gut-brain axis is also heavily influenced by the microbiome because it’s the microbiome that produces a large portion of the neurotransmitters the body uses, directly producing dopamine, GABA, and norepinephrine, and indirectly influencing the bodies natural production of serotonin in epithelial enterochromaffin cells (intestinal epithelial cells that play a governing role in intestinal motility and secretion). The gut microbiome also regulates stress hormones produced by the HPA-axis and sends direct signals to the brain via the vagus nerve. Through these interactions with the brain the microbiome has a strong ability to influence human behavior.
A Better Coffee
After learning everything that has been outlined in this coffee and digestion guide, there are a few key takeaways to remember:
If currently experiencing gut health problems like IBS (either knowingly or unknowingly) coffee consumption has the possibility of increasing the negative symptoms being experienced as it’s a mechanism to bring consciousness to the problem and attempt to shift the microbiome to a more favorable symbiotic state.
If gut health is good then coffee consumption can further improve gut health by modulating the microbiome towards greater symbiotic integration with the host by increasing populations of beneficial microorganisms such as lactobacillus and bifidobacteria, while also providing the body a rich source of health boosting polyphenols, fiber, and other unique compounds.
Coffee consumption within reasonable parameters (<3 cups a day) improves brain health, especially for the elderly.
The darker the roast the less likely coffee is to trigger the excessive production of gastric acids thanks to greater concentrations of N-methylpyridium, and darker roasted coffees also contain more melanoidins which have beneficial effects on the colon.
With all this taken into consideration, when eating a healthy diet and with a healthy gut, drinking a dark roast black coffee has little chance of causing gut health disturbances and overall has gut health and metabolism boosting benefits. The cardiovascular and cognitive systems also benefit from reasonable coffee consumption.
Coffee can be made even better though!
When certain herbs are added to coffee, it improves the metabolic effects of coffee while smoothing out the increase in sympathetic nervous system activity that coffee causes, which can lead to energy volatility in some individuals. And if the autonomic nervous system is already unbalanced between sympathetic and parasympathetic states, with the sympathetic nervous system being too dominant, then drinking coffee can make that imbalance worse.
Adding cacao, ceylon cinammon, chaga mushroom, cistanche, and a small amount of honey to a black coffee creates what I call a dark mocha, and having enjoyed a bunch of dark mochas in my time it’s my experience that they have a much greater beneficial nootropic effect than regular black coffee while also improving energy metabolism noticeably. While a dark mocha still has a stimulant effect, it’s much more even keel and balanced than a regular cup of black coffee (or a cup of coffee with sugar), and the metabolism boosting effect seems to last all day rather than just for a couple hours.
I encourage you to learn more about why adding these ingredients to coffee makes it even better as it’s a good introduction to herbalism and it should significantly improve your day to day if you drink coffee often.
If you read all the way here then it’s clear to me that you’re ready to do what it takes to finally restore your digestive system and gut microbiome back to healthy and optimal function.
I wrote the Holistic Gut Health Guide to help you accomplish exactly this! It contains all the information that you need to understand the gastrointestinal system, gut-brain axis, and microbiome in-depth, and the Holistic Gut Health Guide also educates you on the natural methods you can holistically use together like fasting and herbalism to transform your health from the inside out.
I’m so excited to be able to help you along your gut health and overall wellness journey with the Holistic Gut Health Guide! Please contact me with any questions you have and wishing you the best.
References:
Iriondo-DeHond A, Uranga JA, del Castillo MD, Abalo R. Effects of coffee and its components on the gastrointestinal tract and the brain–gut axis. Nutrients. 2020;13(1):88.
Jones R, Lydeard S. Irritable bowel syndrome in the general population. BMJ. 1992;304(6819):87-90.
Bitar KN. Function of gastrointestinal smooth muscle: from signaling to contractile proteins. The American Journal of Medicine. 2003;115(3):15-23.
Rubach, Malte, et al. Identification of a coffee compound that effectively inhibits mechanisms of stomach acid secretion in human gastric parietal cells. Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society. Vol. 239. American Chemical Society, 2010.
Rose C, Parker A, Jefferson B, Cartmell E. The characterization of feces and urine: a review of the literature to inform advanced treatment technology. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology. 2015;45(17):1827-1879.
Strandwitz P. Neurotransmitter modulation by the gut microbiota. Brain Research. 2018;1693:128-133.
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More Articles on Gut Health and Coffee
The Best Nootropic Coffee
Thanks to caffeine coffee is the most widely used nootropic in the world, and with a few herbal additions it's made even better. Coffee, cacao, cinnamon, chaga, and cistanche combined together form a potent cognitive boosting elixir which also fortifies general health, immunity, and longevity. See the recipe, learn the health benefits, and upgrade your coffee to the next level today!
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated March 2022. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
Your life will never be the same after trying out this secret nootropic coffee recipe because afterwards you’ll never go back to a regular cup of coffee.
In the United States of America where 146 billion cups of coffee are enjoyed per year, and worldwide where that number is MUCH larger, this coffee drink might even change the world.
One reason coffee is so popular is because each cup contains ~100 mg of caffeine. Caffeine is a mild stimulant that increases alertness and focus, wards off sleep, and boosts the metabolism. Caffeine is the most widely used nootropic worldwide and coffee makes it easily to consume a physiologically and psychologically relevant dose. So how do you improve upon the world’s most widely consumed nootropic beverage?
Well in my quest to make the perfect coffee, one that’s smooth, not too bitter, packed with micronutrients, and doesn’t create any anxiety or jitter I turned to herbalism, experimenting with many different recipes, and one day I blended together the ultimate cup of joe.
This super coffee is such a health and productivity hack that I honestly shouldn’t share it with anyone, but I’m feeling magnanimous so here goes.
The Dark Mocha Rises
One of the main drawbacks of coffee is that it can sometimes cause jitteryness and anxiety, especially when multiple cups are consumed and when plenty of extra sugar is added. Instead of creating a triumphant feeling of focus and productivity, you’re left feeling worn and emotionally snappy.
Bulletproof coffee was the first to address this issue by replacing sugar with a fat like butter or coconut oil, in the process taking the paleo community by storm. The blend of fat and coffee nicely enhances alertness and focus while boosting fat metabolism, providing all day energy without any blood sugar crashes. Why stop with one improvement when we can go one step further with what I call the dark mocha.
A typical mocha combines coffee with steamed milk and chocolate, delicious. A dark mocha is different.
Instead of mixing in cream and sugar, a dark mocha starts with a cup of black coffee and mixes in 100% pure cacao along some honey and a few synergistic herbal supplements.
Pure cacao powder contains a good blend of fat, fiber, and protein which together function better than butter or coconut oil in stabilizing blood sugar and without creating an oily coffee. Cacao also has a delicious flavor and melts easily into a warm cup of coffee. Add to that some honey to cut some of the bitterness, Ceylon cinnamon for flavor and for it’s insulin sensitizing effects, and chaga mushroom and cistanche for a wealth of health and longevity benefits, and you have the ultimate cup of coffee. Here’s the recipe.
Dark Mocha Recipe:
1 cup (8oz) black coffee
1 tbsp cacao powder
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp ceylon cinnamon
1/8 tsp chaga mushroom powder
1/8 tsp cistanche powder
Instructions:
Brew a cup of black coffee using your favorite coffee beans and pour into a shaker bottle.
Add cacao honey, cinammon, chaga, and cistanche
Blend together for 1-2 minutes until the cacao and honey are fully dissolved. Drink from the bottle or pour into a mug.
Some of the cinnamon, chaga, and cistanche will slowly settle out over time, so give the coffee the occasional swirl or stir with a spoon to keep everything suspended.
The Health Benefits of a Nootropic Coffee
It’s common knowledge that many herbals exist which are great for health and wellness, and incorporating cacao, cinnamon, chaga, and cistanche into coffee (is it a coincidence they all start with the letter C?) makes it real easy to boost the beneficial energetic and cognitive effects of coffee and one’s overall health at the same time.
No messing around with pills or brewing a pot of tea to practice herbalism, simply turn on the coffee machine, scoop the different powders into the cup, and mix. This nootropic blend is so good that it can also help curb a coffee dependency, because a second, third, or fourth cup of coffee won’t be needed to keep alertness, focus, and productivity high. To better understand why this is, let’s learn about the health benefits of each herbal ingredient in the dark mocha.
Health Benefits of Cacao
Cacao is best known for it’s voluptuous flavor and mood-boosting effects, widely considered an aphrodisiac by many. Cacao contains procyanins which are strong anti-inflammatories and have been shown to increase longevity and be neuroprotective. Cacao flavonols reduce mental fatigue and improve cognition during sustained mental effort, also reducing anxiety and depression. Cacao is also good for the heart and cardiovascular system at large and has insulin-sensitizing effects.
The balanced combination of fat, fiber, and protein in cacao also makes it an excellent addition to coffee helping to stabilize it’s more jittery effects.
Health Benefits of Ceylon Cinnamon
Ceylon cinnamon has great flavor and is a well-known anti-diabetic herbal. Cinnamon reduces blood sugar spikes, improves glucose utilization in cells, and can reduce fasting blood glucose alongside cholesterol levels.
Using Ceylon cinnamon instead of cassia cinnamon is important because ceylon cinnamon contains much lower levels of coumarin, a compound that is toxic to the liver in high doses. To receive a concerning dose of coumarin more than an ounce (28 grams) of Ceylon cinnamon would have to be consumed, which is nowhere close to the 1/2 tsp amount recommended in the dark mocha recipe above.
Health Benefits of Chaga Mushroom
Chaga Mushroom is typically found growing on birch trees and is best known for it’s immune system boosting and anti-cancer properties. Chaga mushroom fortifies the cardiovascular system, helps with digestive upset, increases work capacity, and is a potent antioxidant with gene-protecting properties. Chaga is well tolerated in large doses and therefore has a strong safety profile.
Chaga is also a general immune system enhancer which possesses anti-tumor properties. Chaga has been used for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine and is now used the world over.
Health Benefits of Cistanche
Cistanche is a plant found growing in arid deserts that contains a wealth of plant compounds such as glycosides, lignans, polysaccharides that boost health across the board. Cistanche fortifies the kidneys and renal system at large, increases learning and memorization ability, protects against neurodegenerative diseases, improves immunity, increases longevity, is an endocrine adaptogen (often boosting testosterone levels), and helps with chronic fatigue syndrome. Cistanche has a strong safety profile and has been used for thousands of years, first in traditional Chinese medicine and now worldwide.
Cistanche also strengthens the cardiovascular system and improves endurance, prevents bone loss, and has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in general. Cistanche is one of the ultimate herbs for increasing general longevity and vitality, and it goes great with coffee.
Note - I’ve used cistanche (at greater doses than what’s in this recipe) to boost my free testosterone levels over 50+%. Learn more about the Cistanche and Cholesterol Protocol.
The Best Super Coffee
The combination of coffee, cacao, cinnamon, chaga, and cistanche is a match made in heaven. All are dark brown and ready to please your palate, together enhancing your energy, mental cognition, and health in a way few supplements can match. If you want to make the dark mocha 100% plant-based and vegan, substitute the honey for a sweetener like agave syrup.
If you’re consuming more than 300 mg of caffeine per day, switching to a dark mocha will help in reducing daily coffee consumption simply because more cups of coffee won’t be needed. The synergistic effects of the cacao, cinnamon, chaga, and cistanche make one dark mocha all that’s needed to maintain all-day focus and cognitive performance.
Alternatively if you are struggling with your high consumption of coffee and running into negative symptoms as a results, I recommend undergoing a coffee tolerance reset in order to resensitize to the beneficial effects of coffee. Lucky for you I’ve written the complete guide below, check it out!
Nootropic Coffee Ingredients
The ingredients needed to blend together a dark mocha are sold from Mountain Rose Herbs and Nootropics Depot.
Organic Raw Cacao Powder
Mountain Rose Herbs grinds raw whole beans harvested from the tropical plant Theobroma cacao to produce their raw cacao powder. It is not roasted as is typically done.
Standard dose is 2 - 5 grams.
Organic Ceylon Cinnamon Powder
Ceylon cinnamon is true cinnamon and is preferable to use compared to cassia cinnamon because it contains dramatically lower levels of coumarin as discussed earlier.
Standard dose is 0.5 - 2 grams.
Organic Chaga Mushroom Powder
The Mountain Rose Herbs chaga powder is milled from the entire sclerotia. As a whole milled powder it contains the full spectrum of beneficial health compounds found in chaga such as beta-glucans and triterpenes.
Standard dose is 0.5 - 3 grams once daily.
Cistanche is not available from Mountain Rose herbs and instead can be purchased from Nootropics Depot, as can a more finely milled chaga powder.
Cistanche Tubulosa Powder
The cistanche product sold by Nootropics Depot is highly standardized, containing a minimum of 50% echinacosides and 10% acetoside, overall delivering more echinacosides and acetoside per gram than most other cistanche products.
Standard dose is 200 mg once daily.
Chaga 1:1 Mushroom Extract Powder
The chaga mushroom powder sold by Nootropics Depot is very finely milled which makes it excellent for stirring directly into a drink like coffee without creating any unpleasant clumps or graininess.
Standard dose is 500 mg once daily.
Beta-Glugan (β-Glucan) minimum content: 8%
Contains Triterpenoids
References:
Malcom Stuart, et al. The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism. Crescent Books, New York.
Latif R. Health benefits of cocoa: Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care. 2013;16(6):669-674.
Ranasinghe P, Pigera S, Premakumara GS, Galappaththy P, Constantine GR, Katulanda P. Medicinal properties of ‘true’ cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum): a systematic review. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2013;13(1):275.
Shashkina MYa, Shashkin PN, Sergeev AV. Chemical and medicobiological properties of chaga (Review). Pharm Chem J. 2006;40(10):560-568.
Li Z, Lin H, Gu L, Gao J, Tzeng CM. Herba cistanche (Rou cong-rong): one of the best pharmaceutical gifts of traditional chinese medicine. Front Pharmacol. 2016;7.
Disclosure: Wild Free Organic is a member of various affiliate programs and if a purchase is made through one of our affiliate links a small commission is received. This does not affect your purchase price. Visit our disclosure page for more information.
Caffeine Usage and Tolerance Reset Guide
Caffeine is the world's most widely used stimulant for good reason because it has a host of beneficial heath effects when used appropriately. If caffeine is overused and a tolerance develops, there are a few ways to reset a caffeine tolerance that exist. Learn how caffeine works, it's health benefits, recommended usage, withdrawal symptoms, and how to reset a caffeine tolerance with this guide.
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated June 2022. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
Other than water, coffee and tea are the most popular beverages worldwide, both of which contain caffeine. Caffeine is a neurostimulant which has a variety of effects on the brain and body, most notably caffeine increases attention, arousal, power output, and fat oxidation. Beyond the simple pleasure in enjoying a cup of tea or coffee, people use both beverages, as well as other forms of caffeine, for increasing focus, productivity, and to help stay awake. In moderation caffeine usage poses little risk to health and for most people caffeine usage is beneficial to overall wellness.
In this guide we discuss the psychological benefits of caffeine if used in moderation, what those dosages are, the symptoms that may arise with caffeine overuse, caffeine withdrawal symptoms, how to reset a caffeine tolerance, and recommendations on the best ways to consume caffeine.
How Caffeine Works
The main mechanism of action that explains caffeine’s effects throughout the body is that it blocks the effects of the naturally occurring neuromodulator adenosine.
Adenosine is one of four nucleoside building blocks to DNA and RNA, which are essential for all life. Adenosine mono-, di-, and triphosphates, also known as AMP/ADP/ATP, are organic compound that provides energy to many of the cellular processes vital to life. Adenosine causes sedation and relaxation when it acts upon its receptors.
The chemical structure of caffeine
Caffeine binds to some of the same receptors as adenosine, acting as competitive antagonists and in the process blunting the sedative effects of adenosine. Caffeine’s effect on adenosine changes the activity of neurotransmitters noradrenaline, acetylcholine, dopamine, and others. When caffeine is overused adenosine receptors alter in behavior away from normal and as such the behavior of the important aforementioned neurotransmitters is also changed.
If caffeine is being over used at dosages of >3 mg/kg bodyweight per day, then it takes several days or weeks of caffeine abstinence to return all systems back to normal. With moderate usage (<3 mg/kg) overnight abstinence from caffeine is sufficient in preventing tolerance formation in central nervous system adenosine receptors systems. If you don’t drink more than a couple cups of coffee or tea in a day, and you don’t drink any at night, then it’s unlikely that you have a caffeine tolerance.
Beneficial Effects of Caffeine
There’s the common saying that coffee makes the world go around, and it’s such a popular beverage because of it’s caffeine content of approximately 95 mg per cup of coffee. Caffeine is a mild and relatively safe stimulant that has a number of beneficial health effects. Because caffeine blocks adenosines sedative properties, caffeine is an energy boost for the brain and body. For most people, caffeine usage in moderate dosages at <300 mg/day has the following beneficial effects:
Caffeine improves simple and choice reaction time
Caffeine increases the speed of processing new stimuli
Caffeine increases alertness and reduces fatigue in low arousal situations such as in the early morning, when working at night, when experiencing a cold, with sleep loss, or it can even remove the sedative effects of certain drugs
With illnesses such as the common cold, caffeine can improve mood
For tasks requiring sustained attention, caffeine increases alertness and vigilance when already in a normal alert state
Caffeine eliminates the sleepiness produced by the consumption of lunch
Caffeine usage during the day reduces the slowing of reaction times seen at the end of the day, helping maintain performance levels
Caffeine at night maintains the performance of individuals as seen during the day
Fatigued people show a larger performance boost from caffeine than well-rested people.
High consumption of caffeine (2-3 cups of coffee everyday for long periods of time) is associated with better mental performance in the elderly.
Caffeine reduces depression
Caffeine improves fat oxidation and power output
The standard scientific definition of caffeine moderation is <300 mg per day. The beneficial effects of caffeine start at around 30 mg which is the amount found in a cup of green tea.
When doing performance tasks, the beneficial effects of caffeine are most pronounced when circadian alertness is low. Little evidence suggests there are any impairments following the consumption of normal amounts of caffeine, and while caffeine changes alertness levels, it does not noticeably increase or decrease distractibility.
The benefits of moderate caffeine usage discussed here are what the majority of people who use caffeine will experience. That said, everyone is as different on the inside as they are on the outside, and individual response to caffeine consumption can vary quite a bit among individuals.
Caffeine Sensitive Individuals and Caffeinism
If sensitive to the effects of caffeine, then potential negative side effects of caffeine usage may appear at doses below 3mg/kg bodyweight per day. For others, these symptoms may appear at doses above 3 mg/kg. The main negative symptoms of caffeine which are sometimes experienced include:
Sleep loss
Increased anxiety, especially if stress is encountered
Reduced fine motor control, aka jitteriness
To feel the negative symptoms of caffeine usage, one typically has to consume amounts greater than 300 mg/day. Studies that have shown these negative effects using dosages of 6 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg, or bolus doses such as 600 mg at once.
Daily intake of caffeine in the range of 1000 mg and beyond is known as caffeinism, and at these very high intakes the associated symptoms are virtually indistinguishable from severe chronic anxiety. Anyone that suffers from anxiety is recommended to keep their caffeine intake below 300 mg/day, and if especially sensitive to the effects of caffeine, then lower than 100 mg/day is my recommendation.
How Long does it take for Caffeine to Kick In?
Peak plasma levels of caffeine occur 15-45 minutes after ingestion and begin to decrease from there. The plasma half-life of caffeine is 5-6 hours. If 100 mg of caffeine is ingested, as would be found in a cup of coffee, then caffeine blood concentrations will be highest for the first 2 hours and then decrease steadily.
Metabolism of Caffeine
Most of the beneficial effects of caffeine follow a linear dose-response relationship (that is, the more given the bigger the effect) up to about 300 mg. Beyond 300 mg the beneficial effects typically flatline or even begin to decrease again as undesirable symptoms like anxiety and jitteriness may develop.
How Caffeine and Cortisol Interact
Caffeine has an effect on cortisol levels. Cortisol is a hormone that most notably rises and falls everyday as part of the circadian rhythm. In concert with light and temperature, it’s a peak in cortisol blood concentrations that causes someone to wake up in the morning.
When caffeine isn’t used regularly, then caffeine will cause a robust increase in cortisol during morning, afternoon, or evening usage. When consuming caffeine on a daily basis, then morning caffeine usage doesn’t impact cortisol significantly but afternoon caffeine usage will elevate cortisol blood concentrations for up to six hours. Even if caffeine creates an afternoon cortisol increase, cortisol levels will drop to normal levels by nighttime.
Since it is the circadian rhythm and cortisol which plays a large part in the wake and sleep cycles of the body, it is important to be mindful of caffeine usage throughout the day and to limit usage of caffeine to time windows that won’t affect normal sleep, unless that is the desired goal. A good rule of thumb to follow is to not have any caffeine after 2 pm.
Caffeine and Sleep
The fact that caffeine reduces or removes sleepiness means that it can interfere with normal sleep. Caffeine’s interactions with normal sleep at night depend on how much is taken and when. If large amounts of caffeine are consumed shortly before bed, then for most people sleep will be disturbed.
Caffeine in these situations increases sleep latency, which is how long it takes to fall asleep, and caffeine also decreases sleep duration. The latency increasing effect of caffeine occurs in the first half of the night and reduces as caffeine is metabolized. Interestingly, people who use caffeine frequently will report less sleep disturbances than people who are infrequent users. Infrequently using caffeine makes the effects of caffeine more pronounced as less tolerance has developed, as it is with me. I am caffeine sensitive because I rarely enjoy more than 100 mg of caffeine on any given day.
Green tea is a common source of caffeine, though weaker than coffee, and it’s worth pointing out that green tea also contains an amino acid known as L-theanine. L-theanine has been shown to improve sleep quality because it helps stabilize and increase in amplitude 8-12 Hz alpha brainwaves. As the body and mind wind down at night in preparation for sleep, brainwave frequency decreases from predominately 12-30 Hz beta brainwaves to alpha brainwaves and lower. Deep sleep is characterized by strong 0-4 Hz delta brainwaves and REM sleep is characterized by strong 4-8 Hz theta brainwaves.
Green tea is a unique caffeine containing beverage because consumption of green tea in the morning or early afternoon will provide the user the same beneficial effects of caffeine that many get from coffee while simultaneously improving their sleep at night. L-theanine has also been show to reduce anxiety and to help with the jitteriness that caffeine can cause in high doses. It’s for these reasons I don’t drink coffee often and instead prefer green tea, as it’s a better nootropic compound that also improves gut health and metabolism.
Is 200 mg of Caffeine a lot?
For the average person, 200 mg of caffeine in a day, either taken at once or spread out across 2+ usages, is a moderate amount of caffeine. 200 mg of caffeine would equal about 2 cups of coffee or a few cups of tea.
For a sensitive individual, 200 mg of caffeine can be a significant amount that may cause unpleasant side effects such as anxiety and jitteriness. I’m caffeine sensitive myself, especially if I drink coffee on an empty stomach, and I know that if I have more than 100-150 mg of caffeine at once I become shaky, experience symptoms of low blood sugar, and in general feel unwell. One reason I am caffeine sensitive is because I don’t use large amounts of caffeine often. I drink green tea around 4-5 times a week but even with 3 cups of green tea throughout the day I don’t ingest more than ~100 mg of caffeine.
Since caffeine takes 15-90 minutes to reach peak blood concentrations, I recommend only having one caffeine containing beverage at a time and then waiting to see how you feel. I only recommend the usage of foods that naturally contain caffeine like coffee, tea, or yerba matte, and I advise avoiding high-dosage caffeine containing beverages that are full of sugar, artificial flavors and colors, and other chemicals of questionable nature. The research is clear that when consuming caffeine as found naturally in food products such as coffee and tea, it’s rare to experience negative side effects and most people will intuitively control their caffeine intake to maximize the positive benefits.
Caffeine Withdrawal Symptoms
Caffeine withdrawal symptoms are generally the same as those experienced by caffeine sensitive individuals. The main symptom is headache, followed by increases in anxiety and generalized fatigue. Since the adenosine receptors are recalibrating from the removal of caffeine, extra drowsiness and feelings of low energy may be experienced.
Unless a severe caffeine tolerance has developed, caffeine withdrawal is typically fairly mild and lasts a few days at most. If large amounts of caffeine (>3 mg/kg bodyweight per day) have been consumed for months without break, then caffeine withdrawal will be more severe and can be quite difficult. Most people are able to control their caffeine intake to maximize the benefits while limiting the negatives, but for those whose caffeine usage has gotten out of hand, resetting their caffeine tolerance is highly recommended for overall health reasons
How to Reset Caffeine Tolerance
Heavy habitual caffeine usage leads to an insurmountable tolerance in which more caffeine usage no longer leads to any useful effects except for it’s ability to delay sleep. To reset a caffeine tolerance, the two main methods strategies are to reduce caffeine usage slowly over time, or to completely stop caffeine usage over a period of time. Let’s examine each.
Weaning off Caffeine
The first method available for resetting a caffeine tolerance is to slowly reduce caffeine usage over the course of 2-6 weeks. If consuming 600 mg of caffeine daily, then reducing caffeine usage by 100 mg per week until reaching zero would cause little if any withdrawal symptoms. Once no caffeine is being used, staying at zero usage for a few weeks is recommended. Caffeine’s effects on adenosine receptors in the brain are not yet fully understood and it’s likely best to cycle off from caffeine from time to time in order to return to normal baseline brain activity, and this goes for all users.
While weaning off caffeine it’s also useful to narrow the consumption time window. If coffee is normally consumed anywhere from 6 am to 6 pm, narrowing these hours to 8 am to 12 pm will create less of an impact on cortisol and be beneficial for the overall circadian rhythm.
Quitting Caffeine Cold Turkey
The second method for resetting a caffeine tolerance is to stop all usage of caffeine immediately. While quitting caffeine cold turkey is the fastest method in resetting a caffeine tolerance, it’s also the most likely to produce noticeable withdrawal symptoms. Some individuals don’t do well with weaning off things slowly and though the withdrawal effects may be more severe, they may be most successful with a complete halting of all caffeine. If quitting caffeine dead stop, then a tolerance may be gone in as little as one week, though it’s typically best to stop caffeine usage for 2-6 weeks before reintroducing caffeine back into the diet in moderation.
The Importance of Ritual
Drinking coffee or tea every morning creates a daily habit, and the enjoyable ritual of brewing a steaming cup may be one of the reasons why it’s tough to break the habit of using caffeine. In this case, the ritual of brewing a cup of coffee or tea can be used to one’s advantage. If a heavy coffee drinker, brewing green tea doesn’t break the ritual but provides only about 1/3rd of the caffeine that coffee does, while also having the aforementioned heath benefits that go beyond just those of caffeine. Brewing a cup of decaf coffee also works, though it contains <10 mg caffeine per cup. Mixing regular and decaf coffee into a blend is one way to brew coffee of certain caffeine concentrations.
While rare, if dealing with a caffeine tolerance as a tea drinker, switching to a non-caffeinated peppermint tea for example is a great option. Peppermint tea is tasty and fantastic for brightening the mood while improving gut health.
The Coffee Bean Method
Another effective way of weaning off excess caffeine consumption, more specifically from coffee, is to use coffee beans.
Instead of brewing less coffee day by day, quit coffee cold turkey and have a few coffee beans available at all times. If caffeine withdrawal symptoms appear, simply eat a single coffee bean and move on. At the beginning many coffee beans may be eaten, but fairly quickly into the reset they’re only rarely or no longer needed and the caffeine tolerance is gone. To make it extra effective, eat dark chocolate covered coffee beans! The theobromine found in chocolate is similar to caffeine in effect but functions differently metabolically and won’t affect a caffeine tolerance reset.
Want a Better Coffee?
Coffee can be made better with the addition of a few herbals that support cognition and energy metabolism while have general synergistic effects on health and longevity. I call this herbal coffee blend a dark mocha, learn more about how cacao, cinnamon, chaga mushroom, and cistanche will revolutionize your relationship with coffee.
Switch from Coffee to Tea
While coffee has a bunch of wonderful health effects when consumed black and with no sugar, it’s often a vehicle for more sugar, cream, and calories to enter into the body. Coffee can also overstimulate the digestive system to hurry on up, negatively impacting normal gut motility unless constipated (which requires examination in and of itself).
Because of it’s lower caffeine content, green tea is a gentler way to enjoy the benefits of caffeine while reducing the negatives like increased anxiety and jitteriness. Additionally it’s really easy to add other herbs to green tea and create herbal tea blends that can be used for various medicinal effects. In general I recommend you check out the herb section of this website and explore the many uses and health benefits of herbs more!
I purchase my green tea from two places, Mountain Rose Herbs and Pique Tea.
Mountain Rose Herbs has a bunch of different types of green, white, black and other teas, as well as many other herbs which can also be brewed into tea. For green tea simply heat water to 170 F (75C), pour, and let steep for 5-8 minutes.
My favorite way to brew green tea is part of a vitality blend which also includes ginger root, Siberian ginseng, and Reishi mushroom. All the products from Mountain Rose Herbs are organic and are very cost-efficient.
If convenience is the ultimate goal, then Pique Tea sells tea crystals in small packets which are incredibly easy to use and can be dissolved into hot or cold water. I like their ginger green fasting tea and matcha green fasting tea, available separately or together. Pique Tea has dozens of different teas available in their unique tea crystal packets at different quantities, and even if you primarily brew your tea using using loose ingredients like I do, having some tea crystal packets on hand comes in handy more often than you’d think. Use WILDFREEORGANIC for 5% off at checkout
I hope you found this guide on caffeine and how to reset a caffeine tolerance useful. Overconsumption of caffeine can lead to undesirable effects and many people who overuse caffeine feel trapped because they don’t want to experience the withdrawal symptoms which can be quite unpleasant. If you know someone who is searching for guidance on how to reset a caffeine tolerance, please share with them this guide, they’ll be glad you did!
References:
Smith A. Effects of caffeine on human behavior. Food and Chemical Toxicology. 2002;40(9):1243-1255. 10.1016/S0278-6915(02)00096-0
Lovallo WR, Whitsett TL, al’Absi M, Sung BH, Vincent AS, Wilson MF. Caffeine stimulation of cortisol secretion across the waking hours in relation to caffeine intake levels. Psychosomatic Medicine. 2005;67(5):734-739. 10.1097/01.psy.0000181270.20036.06
Juneja L. L-theanine—a unique amino acid of green tea and its relaxation effect in humans. Trends in Food Science & Technology. 1999;10(6-7):199-204. 10.1016/S0924-2244(99)00044-8
Medical Disclaimer: All information, content, and material of this website is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider.
Disclosure: Wild Free Organic is a member of various affiliate programs and if a purchase is made through one of our affiliate links a small commission is received. This does not affect your purchase price. Visit our disclosure page for more information.
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