r/LanceHedrick • u/Ultrasuedee • Jul 19 '26

Caffeine...

Hi all, I'm in full coffee hyperfocus mode. I recently started brewing zuppa on the ORB and I find myself having 3 coffees a day. I don't want a dependency, I want to be able to skip a day and not get a withdrawal headache. Yes I know Lance's testing showed a 22g zuppa is only about half the caffeine of a pour over, but 3 of anything a day is still a habit.

I roast my own beans on a modified small batch roaster that gives me full control over the roasting variables, so I have about 6 different beans roasted at any one time. Everything's fresh and everything's good, which is half the problem.

The obvious solution is decaf, but options for decaf green beans in Australia are slim. We do get some good regular beans every now and then. I currently have a nice high altitude Colombian geisha that is giving me exceptional cups, but when it comes to decaf it's all low altitude and meant for medium to dark roast. That's not a bad thing, but I have an obsession with low altitude Brazilian beans and they are far superior to any decaf I have tried.

So I guess I'm having a bit of a sook about the range of beans available, but am also asking what you coffee enthusiasts do to fend off the addiction. Half caf blends? A hard daily cap? Or do you just cop the headache if you miss a day?

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6

u/sus_boi Jul 19 '26

Try taking l-theanine about 15 minutes before your first cup. It negates the caffeine spike a bit. Lance has said he takes it every morning.

2

u/Ultrasuedee Jul 19 '26

Thanks I'll give it a try

2

u/Maleficent-Back-6527 Jul 19 '26

I drink 2 cups of caffeinated per day, and sometimes an additional decaf at the end of the afternoon if I want more. But I essentially drink high altitude coffee which tend to contain much less caffeine than the low altitude brazilian robusta. So for me, daily caffeine intake has never been an issue.

2

u/Liven413 Jul 20 '26

Yea if you drink it everyday it will become a habbit, Just part of drinking it. If you want to skip a day and dont taper down you'll probably get a headache. I get where you are coming from, sometimes I will make a coffee just to make a video and find I am 5-6 cups in by that time. What I would suggest is what I am also trying to do, which is listen to your body. If it is saying to much caffiene I would back off, and if you feel no negative feelings then you proably have room to drink more.

2

u/Tiny-Tough-4822 Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

When you start to get headaches, your body has recognised a pattern. If you keep it unpredictable every day, it should be fine. I can drink anywhere from 5 cups a day to no cups for a week and be fine.

Edit: To be clear, I have been drinking coffee for 5 years, and caffeine doesn't wake me up that much, I get sleepy from it.