I work in a coffee shop, and coffee is one of my biggest pleasures so far as diet goes.

But although I literally have access to unlimited coffee drinks of all sorts I try limit myself to no more than two servings a day, one cup of regular black in the morning and maybe a few shots of espresso later on in the day depending on when I plan to go to bed. It's a mild upper for me but nothing crazy. However I'm bipolar so my mood is more dependent on what my crazy little brain is doing that week. I've worked eight hour shifts and had 16 shots of espresso with none of the typical shaking, anxious reactions most people would have. I don't do that anymore, though! Meanwhile, the boyfriend can't have it often because it makes him really crabby and angry when he has it every day but he has no problems with tea.
I do think it's smart to be aware of how much caffeine one is taking in every day, just because caffeine really does stay in your system for eight hours (I saw a really interesting report on the half life of caffeine and how long it takes to break down in your system not too long ago) and it can ruin sleep quality. It's full effects kick in only twenty minutes after consuming it. Another thing most people don't realize is that decaf still has caffeine in it, just not a lot, but it can still cause sleep problems.
Useful numbers, based on where I work: One shot of espresso = 75mg of caffeine. One grande cup of coffee has 330mg of caffeine. One can of Coke has 34mg of caffeine. One red bull has 80mg (the boost doesn't really come from the caffeine but from the vitamins, when I'm short on sleep but have to be functional I'll allow myself a red bull). In terms of caffeine content in tea, white tea is the least processed and has the least caffeine. Green has a little more, and then black has the most, with about 1/3 the amount as the equivalent sized cup of coffee. These teas all come from the same plant and are classified by how long they are processed which is why white and green tea have more health benefits than black.
Rooibos does not have caffeine but does provide a lift to some people. I've read varying reports about whether or not yerba mate has caffeine but I do think it does have caffeine and it's my favorite tea for energy and a mood boost. When I drank it on the regular it also gave my complexion a nice glow.
Yeah, I'm a dork.
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