How much is too much?

[Hide]

How much coffee is too much coffee?

Ive been using the Bialetti Venus stovetop (6cups?) and tried filling the basket full, 3/4full and drank it all in one huge tall glass filled with milk. Is this too much coffee?

[Fresh_Coffee]

Re: How much is too much?

Only you can decide if having 6 espressos worth of caffeine in one sitting is a good idea 

Stove tops are designed so that you have to fill them to capacity to get the correct character of coffee produced. That is why they come in different sizes eg, if you want 3 cups you dont use the 6 cup machine filled to half capacity....you use the 3 cup machine! Otherwise, the coffee is not brewed properly.

Hope that helps.

Rgdz,
Attilio
very first CS site sponsor.

[trentski]

Re: How much is too much?

The very fact that you are alive and posting suggests to me that you have not had "too much".

I would suggest to you that perhaps drinking less in one sitting might be a good idea.

After several espressos in a short time span I find that I get a little light headed, i am expecting to experience this numerous times this weekend at Beanology ;D

[Thundergod]

Re: How much is too much?

Its a case by case thing as far as Im concerned.
I drink 6 shots a day with no effect and a few years ago I used to drink iced instant coffees almost non stop during summer also with no ill effects.

It would dedpend on your metabolism, size and possibly other factors.

[Bullitt]

Re: How much is too much?

I agree it is an individual thing, depending on your genetic makeup. Some people can consume more or less, for the average person, the equivalent of 6 cups in one sitting is probably too much, but maybe not for you, although hwo many of those 6 cup drinsk do you consume in a day?
For some of us, the quivalent of 6 cups a day is too much if consumed every day, but that doesnt mean we cant enjoy our coffee in lesser volumes.
OTOH I have friends who have almost lived on coffee, consuming many cups daily, can even have one just before going to bed and claim to sleep well.
It can also depend on the extraction method, generally espresso will have lower amounts of caffeine compared to most other methods of brewing.

[trentski]

Re: How much is too much?

can even have one just before going to bed and claim to sleep well.

Im like that, however I have a friend that is 6ft5 and about 100kgs, fairly lean and if he has a double shot then he is buzzing ;D

[Ryjoda]

Re: How much is too much?

A doppio and a nap goes fine for me.

[Justin_Boyle]

Re: How much is too much?

I saw some results from a study that gave a recommended average intake of caffeine in mg per day before it affected sleep and other things. I worked it out to about 6 espressos.

http://www.abc.net.au/health/library...27/1829125.htm

600mg per day. The article says that a 250ml energy drink contains around 80-100mg and is equivalent to 1 shot of espresso.

I reckon a stovetop will extract more of the caffeine from the bean but im also guessing that your 6 cups doesnt use 40-50g of coffee that an ordinary 6 shots of espresso would.

The big surprise is that the average 200g block of chocolate has 550mg!!!

[Barry_Duncan]

Re: How much is too much?

Some results of my limited internet research on the effect of caffeine.

Moderate consumption of tea or coffee, up to 6 shots per day is linked with reduced heart disease.

Dogs, cats, insects and spiders have more trouble than us to metabolise caffeine. 

14 coffee shots has put people in hospital with an overdose, while over 50 shots in a day may give a fatal dose of caffeine.

I drink about 6-8 macchiatos a day.

If I have 2 macs with lunch and visit the doctor at 2.30pm, my blood pressure is up. If I have no coffee with lunch my BP is normal.

I am not on any drugs for blood pressure other than coffee.

Barry

[SniffCoffee]

Re: How much is too much?

Dogs, cats, insects and spiders have more trouble than us to metabolise caffeine.

"Thats it Lassie, no more macchiatos for you...and youre gonna have to cut back on your smoking too" ;D ;D

[Hide]

Re: How much is too much?

Before someone call the ambulance, Im still alive.

Ive learnt my lesson feeling uneasy whole day after filling the basket of the 6cup stovetop to full.

Now I can fill the basket with less grind and less water and control the fire accordingly. Pretty interesting experiments everyday as the taste changed accordingly.


As for chocolate, I can finish that 200g chocolate easily and thats 6cups of espresso?!

[Javaphile]

Re: How much is too much?

The article says that a 250ml energy drink contains around 80-100mg and is equivalent to 1 shot of espresso.

Hhhhmmmm.....Whats wrong with this picture?

An espresso comes in at around 90 mg per 150 ml.

a 250 ml energy drink contains around 80 to100 mg caffeine – about the same as a shot of espresso.

A shot of espresso is 150ml?!? :-?

Somebody (Not you Justin B but rather the authors of the article and its source documents.) needs to do some serious fact checking. The last time I checked a shot of espresso was 30ml. Now perhaps theyre talking the 150ml is a latte. But a latte is not an espresso. Either somebodys science is screwed up or their terminology is.

The subject of just how much caffeine is in a shot of espresso has come up many times on here and the short version (Run a search of the whole site if you want the long version and sources.) is it works out to an average of 40mg per 30ml shot of espresso.


Java "Gimme another shot!" phile

[Justin_Boyle]

Re: How much is too much?

I read that too. I can only imagine they are talking an espresso based coffee at 150ml. Journos are good at printing articles on a report they read and not connecting the dots between the line. Ive read at other sources that an energy drink is the same as a shot of espresso so was satisfied with my statement. I havent researched that well though so perhaps Im not connecting the dots now.

[Javaphile]

Re: How much is too much?

Because I got curious I dug up one of the more complete threads (As it includes thorough sourcing.) that discussed how much caffeine is in espressos:
http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1115516893/25#25


Java "Lets do the time warp again!" phile

[Fresh_Coffee]

Re: How much is too much?

Excellent work Java.

rgdz,
A.