Hi all,

I'm trying to sort out an issue I have that occurs only when I drink
certain coffees prepared certain ways. Maybe someone on this list can
help. What I have noticed is that I experience a lot of anxiety after
drinking coffee prepared in a French press, or as an espresso. Drip
coffee does not affect me . . . as long as it is a dark roast.
Medium-roasted coffee, even when dripped, causes a lot of anxiety (not
jitters, but knot-in-the-stomach fear) after I drink it. It's not
caffeine, as near as I can tell, because I can drink a lot of tea, a lot
of caffeinated soft drinks, and my drip coffee has a lot of caffeine, I
think, as I use a heft amount of a fine grind, and little water into a
small cone, resulting in only a 3/4-inch amount of coffee in a demitasse
cup. It's pretty strong -- and very flavorful, I like it. Two or three
of these in the morning. Dark roast, no problem. Medium roast (or French
press or espresso shots) and for the next couple hours I'm completely
wigged out. Give me Valium!

I'm thankful that I have found a coffee preparation method that works
for me; otherwise I would not be able to enjoy coffee at all. I reckon
there is some compound or compounds that dark roasts don't have, and are
more plentiful when coffee is not passed through a paper filter. What
might they be? What, besides caffeine, can trigger anxiety?

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westphalia: "Mellow Yellow (The Electrical Banana)"
KG6RCR

For what it's worth, I read somewhere that the darker roasted coffees
contain less caffeine than the lighter roasts. The longer roasting
process apparently causes the caffeine dissipate. Also, I believe
that there is not nearly as much caffeine in tea and most soft drinks
as there is in coffee.
I'm not sure if caffeine is the problem, as you say. There might be
some additives that could cause anxiety, but I'm guessing that these
would be more likely to just give you a headache.
I went through a bout of anxiety a while back, and I found that coffee
seemed to exacerbate the problem. Now that I've gotten the anxiety
under control, I'm back to drinking coffee without any problems.
Let's hear what others have to say on this.
Gary

For what it's worth, I read somewhere that the darker roasted coffees
contain less caffeine than the lighter roasts. The longer roasting
process apparently causes the caffeine dissipate. Also, I believe
that there is not nearly as much caffeine in tea and most soft drinks
as there is in coffee.
I'm not sure if caffeine is the problem, as you say. There might be
some additives that could cause anxiety, but I'm guessing that these
would be more likely to just give you a headache.
I went through a bout of anxiety a while back, and I found that coffee
seemed to exacerbate the problem. Now that I've gotten the anxiety
under control, I'm back to drinking coffee without any problems.
Let's hear what others have to say on this.
Gary

For what it's worth, I read somewhere that the darker roasted coffees
contain less caffeine than the lighter roasts. The longer roasting
process apparently causes the caffeine dissipate. Also, I believe
that there is not nearly as much caffeine in tea and most soft drinks
as there is in coffee.
I'm not sure if caffeine is the problem, as you say. There might be
some additives that could cause anxiety, but I'm guessing that these
would be more likely to just give you a headache.
I went through a bout of anxiety a while back, and I found that coffee
seemed to exacerbate the problem. Now that I've gotten the anxiety
under control, I'm back to drinking coffee without any problems.
Let's hear what others have to say on this.
Gary

Gary wrote:

> For what it's worth, I read somewhere that the darker roasted coffees
> contain less caffeine than the lighter roasts. The longer roasting
> process apparently causes the caffeine dissipate. Also, I believe
> that there is not nearly as much caffeine in tea and most soft drinks
> as there is in coffee.

I believe you are right about that.

> I'm not sure if caffeine is the problem, as you say.

I can do quite a lot of my strong dark roast drip. If I overdo it, I get
some jitters and a kind of yucky feeling in my stomach. Not the same as
the acute anxiety that I experience when I drink a couple cups of medium
roast, prepared the same way.

> There might be
> some additives that could cause anxiety, but I'm guessing that these
> would be more likely to just give you a headache.

I buy my beans from Peets and Trader Joes. I would not expect to find
additives in either.


--
--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westphalia: "Mellow Yellow (The Electrical Banana)"
KG6RCR

Gary wrote:

> For what it's worth, I read somewhere that the darker roasted coffees
> contain less caffeine than the lighter roasts. The longer roasting
> process apparently causes the caffeine dissipate. Also, I believe
> that there is not nearly as much caffeine in tea and most soft drinks
> as there is in coffee.

I believe you are right about that.

> I'm not sure if caffeine is the problem, as you say.

I can do quite a lot of my strong dark roast drip. If I overdo it, I get
some jitters and a kind of yucky feeling in my stomach. Not the same as
the acute anxiety that I experience when I drink a couple cups of medium
roast, prepared the same way.

> There might be
> some additives that could cause anxiety, but I'm guessing that these
> would be more likely to just give you a headache.

I buy my beans from Peets and Trader Joes. I would not expect to find
additives in either.


--
--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westphalia: "Mellow Yellow (The Electrical Banana)"
KG6RCR

Gary wrote:

> For what it's worth, I read somewhere that the darker roasted coffees
> contain less caffeine than the lighter roasts. The longer roasting
> process apparently causes the caffeine dissipate. Also, I believe
> that there is not nearly as much caffeine in tea and most soft drinks
> as there is in coffee.

I believe you are right about that.

> I'm not sure if caffeine is the problem, as you say.

I can do quite a lot of my strong dark roast drip. If I overdo it, I get
some jitters and a kind of yucky feeling in my stomach. Not the same as
the acute anxiety that I experience when I drink a couple cups of medium
roast, prepared the same way.

> There might be
> some additives that could cause anxiety, but I'm guessing that these
> would be more likely to just give you a headache.

I buy my beans from Peets and Trader Joes. I would not expect to find
additives in either.


--
--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westphalia: "Mellow Yellow (The Electrical Banana)"
KG6RCR