I’m trying to avoid caffeine for the first hour after waking up and stop drinking caffeinated coffee after 12 p.m. to avoid disrupting my sleep.

After noon, I switch to decaf.

I’ve also read studies about mycotoxins and mold in coffee, which is why I’m selective and usually go for organic, third-party lab-tested brands such as

• https://newzapiens.com/brands/peak-performance-coffee
• https://newzapiens.com/brands/danger-coffee
• https://newzapiens.com/brands/noordcode
• https://leancaffeine.co.uk/

Would love to hear more caffeine routines:

@jochen-meyer
@paul-hammer
@anne-latz
@hillary-lin
@karina-repko
@amon-lang
@ori-raz

I drink 2-3 cups of coffee in the morning and stop after 1pm to reduce any impact on my sleep. But I am not dogmatic about it. Occasionally I will drink a coffee in the afternoon as well.

As I am a fast metabolizer, so this works perfectly for me.

When I first tried a classic week of fasting (only water) many years ago, I got raging headaches on day 2 or 3 ... It couldn't have been from alcohol, and I could rule out a lack of minerals. When I couldn't take it anymore, I sipped a cup of espresso and the headaches immediately disappeared! I found that crazy!

Since then, I have been trying (with varying degrees of success) to reduce my coffee consumption.

Currently, I am doing well with two small cups in the morning and one small cup after lunch. I rarely, if ever, drink coffee after 2 p.m.

And being a fast metabolizer, too, I am also not too dogmatic with that rule.

I usually drink 2 espressos a day. One at breakfast and the other after lunch (2 p.m.).

I'm trying to drink a matcha latte at breakfast rather than one espresso, and I feel better. It seems that I feel more energetic for longer, but without dragging myself around afterwards.

I never drink coffee after 5 p.m. (even decaffeinated) because it makes me feel nauseous.

I switch between coffee and matcha depending on what kind of energy I need.

Coffee wakes me up fast but sometimes makes me feel a bit anxious or jittery.

Matcha on the other hand gives me a calm and clear focus, more balanced and longer lasting.

I like having both options. Some days I want that fast kick, others I prefer the long lasting zen mode.

I don't drink coffee and I hardly drink tea. Some tea bags might contain plastic. And according to my dna,

I should avoid sulfation inhibitors. It says no chocolate, flavonoids, piperine, black/green tea, and citrus fruits!

Moved from coffee to green/black tea a while ago. Helps me stay focused for longer and without the "caffeine crash" - and my gut is happy about the switch as well ;-)

If you stick to coffee and experience those crashes or also jittery or anxious feeling as described by others, maybe try combining it with L-Theanine. Really interesting compound found in many teas. Studies show that it can improve the effect of caffeine quite a bit.

One recent study:  Nawarathna et al. (2025) "High-dose L-theanine-caffeine combination improves neurobehavioural and neurophysiological measures [...]"

I like to start my day of with Gyokuro or a sencha-matcha blend, 500-750ml. It doesn't impact my blood sugar or cortisol (which pre-food caffeine can in some individuals), so I am fine with drinking it about 30-45min after waking.

I might have a matcha in the afternoon, depending on whether I feel like it.

As for coffee: I usually have my filter coffee, 250ml, 1-2 hours after breakfast. I have this gap to not have my coffee interfere with absorption of certain nutrients (iron, calcium, etc.). I have never tested my levels with or without this gap and am not even sure whether 1-2 hours is enough for gastric emptying of my breakfast/nutrient absorption, so this is not in any way a scientifically validated approach.

I usually have a decaf coffee later in the day, since decaf seems to confer most of the health benefits (esp. cardiovascular health, polyphenol content, fibre) of regular coffee.

I rarely drink espresso due to kahweol and cafestol and their negative impact on LDL-C absorption.