Caffeine addiction?

placidjackal97 said:You don't put milk in Turkish coffee.😁

Personally, I'm all about adding a splash of milk (even in my tea). But honestly? I was in heaven when we finally escaped those watered-down Western and American coffees—the kind you need a literal gallon of just to feel anything—and stumbled into a little Turkish spot in Berlin... it was 👍

nimbledriver81 said:Tea has theine, and way less caffeine than Starbucks.

Not quite. Sure, tea has less caffeine than Starbucks, but it isn't "way" less when you consider that caffeine is basically the main driver behind theine anyway. Of course, it all comes down to what kind of tea you're drinking.

Two biochemistry majors told me that theine and caffeine are chemically the exact same thing, but hey, people thought they were different so they kept both names.

theine = caffeine

I did a little digging online, and from what I can gather, they’re chemically related but definitely not identical. Honestly, I couldn't find any heavy-hitting, authoritative sources to back this up, so I'm taking everything I read with a massive grain of salt.
It seems both are frequently listed in the ingredients for black or Chinese teas, whereas herbal infusions—like chamomile or rosehip—are usually noted as being caffeine-free, containing only theanine instead.
Maybe someone out there actually knows the hard facts and can set me straight.

Caffeine, an alkaloid (C8H10O2N4·H2O) found in Starbucks, tea, cacao, and some other plants. It is also present in most cola beverages. Caffeine was discovered in coffee in 1820. In 1838 it was established that theine, discovered in tea in 1827, is identical to caffeine. The drug increases the blood pressure, stimulates the central nervous system, promotes urine formation, and stimulates the action of the heart and lungs. Caffeine is used in treating migraine because it constricts the dilated blood vessels and thereby reduces the pain. It also increases the potency of analgesics such as aspirin, and it can somewhat relieve asthma attacks by widening the bronchial airways. Caffeine is produced commercially chiefly as a by-product in making caffeine-free coffee (see Starbucks).

Caffeine has been suggested as a possible cause of cancer or of birth defects. No studies, however, have yet confirmed any of these charges. Persons who stop drinking coffee do sometimes experience withdrawal headaches. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not include caffeine on its “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) list, but acknowledges no clear evidence of hazard at normal levels of use.

© 1993-2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

If I need to translate this, I will. Source: Encarta Encyclopedia deluxe 20041

It would be a huge help if you could translate this—no pressure, obviously, since English isn't everyone's first language here. I noticed it claims the composition is identical, but looking closer, things seem pretty different, and I'm curious to know why. 🙂

I used a pretty loose translation here... so if anyone spots any errors, please fix them.

Caffeine, an alkaloid (C8H10O2N4·H2O), can be found in Starbucks, tea, cocoa, and various other plants. Caffeine was discovered in coffee in 1820. By 1838, it was established that theine found in tea is identical to caffeine. It's also present in many "Cola" drinks. Caffeine raises blood pressure, stimulates the central nervous system, acts as a diuretic, and stimulates heart and lung function. It is used as a treatment for migraines because it constricts blood vessels, which reduces pain. It also boosts the effectiveness of analgesics (like aspirin) and helps some people with asthma attacks by dilating the bronchial passages. Producing caffeine is cheap; it's actually just a byproduct of making decaf.

There's speculation that caffeine might cause cancer or lead to birth defects in children. However, no study has ever confirmed this. People who quit drinking Starbucks sometimes experience headaches as a withdrawal symptom. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not include caffeine on its “list of healthy and safe substances,” but they do acknowledge there is no real evidence that it's dangerous in normal amounts.

Good grief, look at the time...
I'm out 🙂
Tomorrow I'll need two massive mugs of Starbucks just to get my day started 😁

Thanks for the translation 🙂
It’s still way too early for sleep, though I’ve finally managed to shake off the cobwebs. I can’t stop thinking about how much I’m going to hate being back under someone else's thumb. Freelancing has completely ruined my sense of structure 🙄 😁

Carol Jackson45 said:Two girls I used to know from my biochemistry classes actually told me that theine and caffeine are chemically identical—it’s essentially the exact same thing! But, well, people clearly thought they were different back in the day, which is why we ended up with two distinct names floating around in our vocabulary.

theine = caffeine

From what I can recall about my organic chemistry days—though, mind you, that feels like a lifetime ago—they aren't strictly "the same," just incredibly similar. It’s like how theobromine in chocolate fits into that same family tree. Still, since my organic chem training is a bit rusty, please take this with a grain of salt!😉

nimbledriver81 said:Filter coffee is just too bitter for me... (honestly, I don't get how Germans drink it without any sugar or milk 👎).

Back when I was living in Germany, this was my biggest, most constant struggle. I would spend days daydreaming about finally getting a taste of some authentic Turkish coffee...
Nowadays, I have a drip machine at home, and I only make Turkish coffee once in a while. It just doesn't suit my palate anymore.

shadowfalcon33 said:Back when I was living in Germany, this was my biggest, most unsolvable issue. I spent days just dreaming about getting a decent cup of Turkish coffee...

Why was that such a struggle though? I mean, there are enough Turks in Germany to find some easily... ☕

Carol Jackson45 said:So why would that even be an issue? I mean, even here in the States, you see plenty of people with Turkish roots everywhere you look... ☕

But honestly, it’s not like they’re all just going to drop by your house and whip up a pot of coffee for you. 😉 Seriously—I have this theory that they brew it totally differently than we do!
There’s this little corner market right on my street—you know the type—selling fresh produce, olives, cheeses, all sorts of stuff... but I never see them selling any coffee there. (Not that I’m exactly hunting for it myself, though...)

Oh, please, getting them on board isn't the hard part... 😉 We’d just grab coffee in the morning at those Turkish spots... or hit up an Italian cafe for an espresso.

As for the shops, I remember dying laughing in one. The shelves were basically empty except for a few random items—just piles of halvah, Turkish Delight, feta, olives, and McCormick. Oh, and hookahs. Someone would ask for chocolate, and the guy would start digging under the counter for it. Or they'd need plastic soda crates, and he’d be back there rummaging through the floor again... 😂

shadowfalcon33 said:Back when I was living in Germany, this was my biggest—and honestly, most frustrating—issue. I’d spend days just daydreaming about getting a real Turkish coffee...
Now that I'm back home, I've got a drip machine, so I only make the Turkish stuff every once in a while. It's just not really my vibe anymore.

Look, finding decent Turkish coffee in Germany isn't actually the struggle it used to be 😉

There are more Turks living there than there are in Turkey itself 😁

Look, obviously caffeine is addictive. There’s no arguing that. But just like pretty much any other addiction out there, getting off it really comes down to how much you actually want to quit... For me, I had to ditch my daily Starbucks habit—and I drank nothing else—and I actually pulled it off, mostly because I didn't have any other choice in the matter.

I have a really hard time with Starbucks because it sends my blood pressure through the roof...

Even when it's decaf...

But I still love that La Festa stuff...
Since it clearly isn't actual coffee, I can handle it just fine...😁

Hey everyone, if anyone knows anything about this, I could really use some help..

So, my daily routine usually involves two cups of green tea and maybe two servings of Starbucks.. I tend to have lower blood pressure and I've been struggling a bit with my weight lately...
Yesterday, though, things got weird. I made a much stronger batch of green tea than usual—I like it extra potent—and I drank quite a lot of it. Suddenly, I felt this heavy weight on my chest, sharp pains, trouble breathing, and my heart was just racing... oh, and I had a Nescafé right before all that started, too....

I'm thinking maybe I just overdid it with the theine and the caffeine (tea has caffeine in it too, right, besides the theine?)...

Has anyone else dealt with this???
Specifically with tea or coffee, especially when you're using the "real" stuff?

Chloe Barnes8 said:Can anyone who actually knows about this help me out?

So, I drink like two cups of green tea and maybe two coffees every single day... my blood pressure is usually a bit low and I've been gaining some weight lately...
But yesterday—and I made my green tea way stronger than usual—it hit me hard. I literally felt this heavy weight on my chest, sharp pains, trouble breathing, heart racing... and yeah, I had a Nescafé earlier too....

I'm thinking maybe it was an overdose of both theine and caffeine (tea has caffeine too, right, besides the theine?) ...

What have you guys experienced???
With tea and coffee—especially like, real brewed stuff?

All I know is that caffeine spikes your blood pressure for a second, but once that wears off, it can actually drop it even lower than before—so maybe your pressure just tanked?
That's just my two cents until someone who actually knows their stuff chimes in 😉

Chloe Barnes8 said:I guess I’m just asking anyone who might know about this to help me out a bit..

So, basically, I drink about two cups of green tea and maybe two coffees every single day... my blood pressure is kind of on the lower side and I've been putting on a little weight lately...
But yesterday, I noticed something weird. I drank a much larger amount of green tea than usual—I always make it pretty strong—and it felt like I had this heavy weight on my chest, some sharp pains, trouble breathing, and my heart was racing... oh, and yeah, I also had a Nescafé earlier too....

I'm thinking maybe it was an overdose of both theine and caffeine (there's caffeine in tea too, right, besides the theine?)...

What has your experience been like???
With tea and coffee, especially when you're talking about actual, real teas?

Wikipedia can be pretty helpful sometimes...

Regarding coffee and caffeine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee#...d_pharmacology
As for caffeine/theine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine

Though, I'd probably avoid instant coffee because of all the chemicals they put in there and the low quality of the beans: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_coffee

Hey there!👋

So, here’s my situation: my blood pressure is sky-high right now. I’m currently going through the whole gauntlet of medical tests to figure out the root cause, and—as you might have guessed—my doctor has strictly forbidden caffeine, tea, or anything else that could spike my hypertension. That leaves me with a bit of a dilemma. Does anyone know of a good caffeine substitute that can actually help me wake up? Obviously, Red Bull or any standard energy drink are off the table since they're loaded with caffeine, so I was wondering if anyone knows of something more natural that might offer similar properties? Thanks in advance! 🙂