I stopped drinking coffee a while ago, probably a few months or longer. I still have it every once in blue moon when I'm out and about, but it's not a regular staple in my everyday routine.
There are a few reasons why I quit drinking coffee regularly. The number one reason is that it's too abrupt with the effects and the aftermath. The second reason is that it's a pain in the ass to make, and clean up after all the time.
What I've switched to is tea. After I watched a documentary on tea's origins, I learned that monk's in japan claimed green tea helped their meditation and have made it an integral part of their daily culture. Now tea's caffeine is processed differently and slower in the body than coffee, so it's more subtle. I can drink a lot of tea and not really feel on edge, but still have the uplift. I also hear there are a lot more benefits to drinking tea than coffee. I changed the water heater's temperature so the water that comes out of the faucet is burning hot when pulled all the way to the left, so It's incredibly easy to make tea without any preparation.
It's also important to note that I don't add any sugar or cream into my tea. Every once in a while I'll have a sugary drink, but I've come to find that sugar is statistically worse for the health than fat or salt. Lots of sugar also makes me feel tired so it's not good for trading.
R.I.P. Joseph Bach (Itchymoku), 1987-2018.
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I also stopped drinking coffee and switched to Tea in the morning. I feel 100% better, and can actually fall asleep. I use to literally have a cup of coffee anytime I was sitting at my desk, morning or night. I realized the true addiction was having a warm substance in a mug. In the morning it's green tea, and throughout the day I keep a mug with warm water and lemon to combat that need to have coffee.
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@DrewDown,
I bet you are enjoying a cup right now since it seems that you are up early! I am in the same boat, I have a cup of black strong coffee in my hand before I get out of bed. Then perhaps 2 more cups in the morning, in fact I have one now. We grind espresso beans and make it in a french press for the max flavor. But you need to know your limits. If I have more then 2 cups then I am strung out and can't focus. No more coffee in the afternoon otherwise it may impact sleep. As for sugary drinks, its only unfiltered apple juice. I think sugary drinks such as soda & "energy drinks" are the worst and make me very tired after the sugar high fades so I avoid them plus I don't think they are any good for the body. I would rather stick to the basics like a good beer, wine, coffee, milk, water and apple juice IMO.
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Well speaking of health habits you should just drink water and eat raw vegetables, let's assume that this give you 5 years more to live, what's the point in living this way?
I think the truth stays always in the middle, my day can't start until I have a couple of coffee and usually end with a couple of beers. I try to limit meat to a couple of times a week and have at least 7 hours sleep a day, that's the best I can do
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use to only drink sencha tea and gyokuro, but ever since fukashima i dont trust it to be radiation free, so i been drinking
chinese green tea and black tea. I might start drink white also, but not a fan of oolong.
Maybe he's enjoying it, not suffering like it can be thought. Same with smoking, for some not smoking is a torture, for others its a joy and smoking is disgusting. All personal. I enjoy coffee. Lits of it. Not sure how it can get someone on the edge. A glass of vodka will. But apparently different for everyone.
Best cup 'o jo is to stop the brew process after 2 cups have been brewed and pour that into the mug. All coffee should taste that robust. Guess I'd need a scoop per cup to come close. Not enough room in the filter holder for that much though.
This is an interesting article. What I've learned is that I should add hot water into the coffee maker instead of cold.
"If you're going to use a drip machine at home, odds are it's not heating the water to a high enough temperature. To hack it, Greg suggests starting out with water as hot as your tap will supply."
I think that 43% of my personality is the type of coffee I have in at the AM.
You can pretty much tell from the "What Now?" or "How Can I Help?" what kind of coffee I had an hour earlier.
Matt
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1. Add burning hot water into the coffee machine
2. double filter
3. add a little black pepper and cinnamon
4. put pennies on the plate
5. Re-brew the Coffee
I also want to try re-brewing with a fresh filter, but I don't want to get too crazy with the amount of effort it takes.
R.I.P. Joseph Bach (Itchymoku), 1987-2018.
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Due to my Mormon beliefs I don't drink coffee or tea, based on the teachings found in what's called " The Word of Wisdom". I seem to trade and function throughout the day just fine without them.
I think what the body really needs in the morning is water. While sleeping the body uses a lot of water for the regenerating and rebuilding processes overnight. That's why you always need to pee once you wake up. So the best thing to do in the AM is just to rehydrate. Taking drinks like coffee, tea, juice, milk (cereal), whatever, help towards that but in the end it's really just about getting the H2O.
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I've experience something similar with tea, where I feel more alert for a longer period of time, instead of up and down. So what I like to is start off with 2 cups of coffee, then drink tea during the rest of the day.
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I've found that a small scoop of ice cream has the right amount of cream to sugar ratio for your coffee. It also cools it down a bit so its ready to drink without waiting around. Tastes smoother too.
R.I.P. Joseph Bach (Itchymoku), 1987-2018.
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I am a psycho about staying optimally hydrated and I find if I have a vente Starbucks I literally can't get hydrated and want to take a nap eventually.
My go to is a Bialetti Moka stove top espresso but usually with 50%-75% decaf beans. If I need more of a kick I will just have 4 of them.
Hydration wise I just always have a water bottle around. If you spend a month being properly hydrated you will never go back.
Holy crap me too. All I drink is water mostly and
I can't stand to not have my water bottle around.
I like french press coffee but I have to drink it after 12
Due to it dehydration effects and it's makes me go to the bathroom so I don't risk that during morning hours.
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I started to learn about theobromine and now to use it in a powder form in place of caffeine. Mind you I never really used caffeine much. Maybe a coffee once a month or so at the most. My wife is in Pharma and used to sell in the field some 15 years ago to urologists among other docs. This group for the most part do not drink dark liquids because they understand the problems associated with them, namely kidney and or gallbladder stones. So this is another reason I don't drink coffee and caffeine beverages (they all tend to be darker liquids meaning a lot of solids).
Theobromine is the resason dogs can't or should not eat chocolate. Most people think caffeine when they think about chocolate but theobromine is found in greater amounts in chocolate than caffeine.
I take anywhere from 0.3-0.5g mixed in some drink.
Basically all the benefits of caffeine with none of the downside.... that's a winner in my book....lol.
Ron
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I'm not trying to suggest that people not drink water and coffee instead or that people drink coffee for an edge in trading. If you're drinking any beverage that's not water and are thirsty you should drink water. This is a tip for alcohol too to not get a hangover. I believe in excessive water drinking, but it has nothing to do with coffee. It's not like we have a limited amount of water we can drink a day and if we drink coffee it'll take away from the total amount we can drink.
Coffee shouldn't be a substitute for an edge either and there's too many variables involved to really tell if it helps one's bottom line. Trading is purely about impulse control. On one hand coffee helps one stay alert and focused and on the other hand it might make one eager to get results. If the trader is experienced he'll know that refusing to take a risky trade makes him just as much money as taking a trade that meets all of his criteria.
I'd like this thread to follow the same concept as the hamburger or pizza threads where it's about coffee itself instead of these other auxiliary topics, but it's up to you guys. I know it's my fault that I initially made it about one thing and now it's morphed into another. maybe i'll make a pure coffee related thread.
R.I.P. Joseph Bach (Itchymoku), 1987-2018.
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It's okay, I've decided I'm going to create a thread about coffee and link the threads. I still value the discussion about caffeine and other chemicals that are similar, even how they correlate to trading.
R.I.P. Joseph Bach (Itchymoku), 1987-2018.
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What I believe is trying to be alluded to here is not the chemical being ingested (some being far better than others), but the chemical lag time occuring in your brain (far more important to my mind than the current flavor of the day, "psychological self control in trading").
From the point that your eyes note something assumed to be actionable, to the time your brain builds up enough chemical to encourage you to take an action...is something quite bankable.
Whether it's "coffee," the delivery vehicle, or "caffeine," the pure stuff, it's all vitamin "C" to me -- an essential of life.
It would be the "water of life," except that's already taken. ( Uisge Beatha or Uisge Baugh ) Also essential, in my experience, although generally not at the same time.... Not that a wee dram in the morning coffee is not sometimes a good thing too....
The coffee without the dram is probably better for trading, though.
Bob.
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Alcohol is different for everyone. It's very easy to develop a tolerance where that one or two drink mood lift is compromised for a 3-4 drink minimum. Common logic would tell you it's not conducive to trading success because it's not really conducive to anything other than leisurely enjoyment. I think it can be good to help to take the edge off. (literally)
R.I.P. Joseph Bach (Itchymoku), 1987-2018.
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a bit of booze makes it more relaxed but addiction and tolerance develops, as you noted, and it won't end up well.
sugar is another thing that lifts mood and kicks brain into the overdrive. But too in 30-40 minutes the level will drop and insuline shock will hit the brain and slow it to the level of retard. Solution to keep stuffing yourself with cake is good in short run, but in the medium to long run it will turn you into fat diabetes-laden peace of furniture.. problems problems )
Trade to live. Not live to trade.
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Since I embraced LCHF iet, well not really but trying to stick to the guidelines, I stopped drinking coffee with sugar. Therefore stopped doing lazy french press black, or trkish how they call it here. Only strong espresso plus nice fatty cream to it. I love so much now, it accent the flavor of the roast and sugared coffee is almost disgusting when I try, sweet kills the flavor, like a fish souce..
Trade to live. Not live to trade.
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i generally drink my coffee black so I don't get dehydrated from sugar or anything added to it. Idk why but after you get used to it like this it's hard to change.
R.I.P. Joseph Bach (Itchymoku), 1987-2018.
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It is. My morning pot is always enjoyed straight. I was at Starbucks last night after getting some stuff done, and they never have anything good brewed up after about 3 PM, so I get a pour-over or a latte. This time I went for the latte, and I have them so rarely now it was like I wasn't drinking coffee at all. Would order straight espresso if Starbucks wasn't terrible at it.
black is my preference also though I've been mixing some milk with my nescafe lately...yes, nescafe, staying with people who have a convection stove and can't brew an espresso and our french press is sitting in Virginia (we are in the middle of moving).
sometimes I add a little bit of milk or cream to my coffee just to take off the bitter edge. other times I don't feel like walking to my kitchen so I just drink it black. I have a 12 cup coffee machine next to my desk. I guess it depends how adventurous I'm feeling.
The main reason I don't like adding sugar to my coffee is because I just hate that fuzzy coating of sugar on my teeth. I hate going to the dentist and I have an OCD with that feeling. It drives me nuts. There has been times I've been places I don't have access to brushing my teeth and couldn't go to sleep because of that coating on my teeth.
R.I.P. Joseph Bach (Itchymoku), 1987-2018.
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Black coffee drinkers are just about to be accused of psychopathic tendencies, it seems. A study soon to be published in the journal "Appetite" will reveal that they're likelier to have anti-social and psychopathic personality traits. According to research at the University of Innsbruck (Austria).
It turns out that bees like caffeine, and that they also get it from naturally caffeinated pollen. Apparently many flowers have evolved to produce caffeine, which helps to attract more bees.
I am in the same boat, I have a cup of black strong coffee in my hand before I get out of bed. Then perhaps 2 more cups in the morning, in fact I have one now. We grind espresso beans and make it in a french press for the max flavor. But you need to know your limits. If I have more then 2 cups then I am strung out and can't focus. No more coffee in the afternoon otherwise it may impact sleep. As for sugary drinks, its only unfiltered apple juice. I think sugary drinks such as soda & "energy drinks" are the worst and make me very tired after the sugar high fades so I avoid them plus I don't think they are any good for the body. I would rather stick to the basics like a good beer, wine, coffee, milk, water and apple juice IMO. 
