I'm Sensitive To Something In Coffee, And It Isn't Caffeine

Ulysses

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I've had coffee tolerance issues for a long time. I just assumed they should be attributed to the caffeine content of coffee, since caffeine is the compound that gets stereotyped as being responsible for all the symptoms I had -- anxiety, jitters , brain fog, etc.

But I noticed that drinking decaf didn't make me feel any better than drinking regular coffee, and I also noticed less sensitivity to tea, so I hypothesized that perhaps I was sensitive to something other than the caffeine itself. To test this, I ordered 200 mg pills of pure caffeine and used them for a week instead of coffee. The result was that all of my negative symptoms disappeared, while the mild buzz and enhanced focus remained.

I brought this up with my dad, who told me this runs in the family: his brother has the same issue with both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee.

I understand that coffee contains many dozens of active compounds, so it would be difficult to pinpoint exactly what is causing the adverse reaction, but I love the sight, smell, and taste of coffee, and I also love the ritual of brewing it, so I'd rather not give it up.

Does anyone have some ideas about what's going on, or how to fix it? The first thing I'm going to try is switching from French press, which I suppose is the "dirtiest" method of brewing coffee, to something with a very fine filter, like Chemex. I think I also do better with espresso, but getting my own espresso machine is just not in the cards right now.
 
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I've had coffee tolerance issues for a long time. I just assumed they should be attributed to the caffeine content of coffee, since caffeine is the compound that gets stereotyped as being responsible for all the symptoms I had -- anxiety, jitters , brain fog, etc.

But I noticed that drinking decaf didn't make me feel any better than drinking regular coffee, and I also noticed less sensitivity to tea, so I hypothesized that perhaps I was sensitive to something other than the caffeine itself. To test this, I ordered 200 mg pills of pure caffeine and used them for a week instead of coffee. The result was that all of my negative symptoms disappeared, while the mild buzz and enhanced focus remained.

I brought this up with my dad, who told me this runs in the family: his brother has the same issue with both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee.

I understand that coffee contains many dozens of active compounds, so it would be difficult to pinpoint exactly what is causing the adverse reaction, but I love the sight, smell, and taste of coffee, and I also love the ritual of brewing it, so I'd rather not give it up.

Does anyone have some ideas about what's going on, or how to fix it? The first thing I'm going to try is switching from French press, which I suppose is the "dirtiest" method of brewing coffee, to something with a very fine filter, like Chemex. I think I also do better with espresso, but getting my own espresso machine is just not in the cards right now.

I think it's the opioid antagonist, it's called something like caffeol quinine. I have a love hate relationship with it. It helps my tummy out if I eat bad stuff and it's definitely dopaminergic but it tends to irritate my mood and give me a bit of anxiety if I overdo the coffee.
 

Elephanto

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It can be irritating to the gut (tannins, chlorogenic acid) which I would hypothesize as a main cause from experience as the negative symptoms are exarcebated when my gut health isn't optimal and only subtly present otherwise. Regardless, it never makes my gut feels great in large amounts so I tend to find net benefits at only one cup a day for the dopaminergic, anti-opioid effects and as my source of anti-stress palmitic acid in the form of cream.
 
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Ulysses

Ulysses

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Yes, but I rarely, if ever, have any perceptible gut issues from drinking coffee; the problems are all CNS effects. With respect to the CNS, everything I've read about chlorogenic acid looks like this, suggesting an effect that's actually opposite of what I'm feeling.
 

Vinero

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I've noticed differences too with respect to coffee vs caffeine pills.
Caffeine pills give a cleaner buzz, coffee is harder on the digestive system and gives me a stress response more easily. I've read Coffee contains MAO inhibitors which can elevate monoamines like serotonin.
 

Tzheng2012

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I also think a lot of coffee issues is from the chlorogenic acid. Its one of the main compounds that contributes to the acidity in coffee. Its a cholagogue so it stimulates the production and excretion of bile and also increases gastric secretions like stomach acid. So perhaps your cns problems occure from irritation and inflamation of mucus membranes in the stomach and intestines, even if you have no noticable GI issues.

For me i get these glupglup noises in my belly about an hour after i drink coffee and i think its cause the bile irritates my intestines and causes it to spasm. I then get a lot of gas, which bile is known to cause because its slightly irritating (which is why coffee helps people with constipation is because it makes the liver dump bile and that makes the intestines start moving), but the gas lasts for a long time i think because those gut spasms are rushing food throughh without adequete time for digestion. Im trying to work out how to stop this other than stopping coffee. Perhaps take herbs that are good for reducing GI spasms and contractions, something along those lines or maybe something closer to the source and maybe try to fix something thats going on with the liver/gallbladder or try to strengthen my intestinal walls so they dont get irritated by bile as easily.

Lighter roasts are more acidic/bright/fruity with sweetness, whereas darker roasts are more toned down fruityness, less acidic and more caramelly/chocolatey/earthy. Heat destroys the chlorogenic acid which is why darker roasts are less acidic. I doubt french press method would contribute much. Probably extract more of the chologenic acid. You would need to simmer the coffee for longer to try and break down the cholorogenic acid. Its something like a 25% reduction in light roasts and 60% reduction in darker roasts.

Id recommend trying darker roasts, or “classic espresso blends (these days brighter/more acidic espresso blends are “chic” so take note of what they specify)” which select beans which are typically grown at lower altitude so they have less acidity and are roasted darker than filter coffee blends. Also order espressos or americanos instead of brewed methods because the extraction time is very short, 25-30 seconds, but under pressure so it gets all the good stuff like caffeine and aromatic oils without the acidity.

Another way is to cold brew your coffee, again with medium or darker roasts. I recommend checking out reddit and do a search “favorite roasteries” or something like that and theres a lot of popular roasteries you can get real quality beans from that arent months old and stale like starbucks or whatevers at your supermarket. Or check out a local roastery if you have one around and get their beans which they should be roasting daily.
 

TNT

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Most coffee has mold mycotoxins in it. I gave myself terrible mold illness with some awful symptoms by doing coffee enemas. I was using an organic coffee that I was told was clean, but apparently, it still had mold mycotoxins.
 

dbh25

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Does anyone have some ideas about what's going on, or how to fix it?
I have the same issues. If I drink tea or take caffeine pills, it does not have the positive/negative aspects of coffee. My theories are it interferes with my digestion, or I'm a slow metabolizer- so it starts to affect my sleep quality over time. I drink with milk, sugar and have with food, never on an empty stomach.
I'd suggest not having it after mid-morning and espresso seems to go better than drip coffee, like a Chemex.
Or go a month without it and compare.
 

jitsmonkey

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any of the answers offered so far could be correct
the most likely issue is like any food... the general quality of 99% of coffee available commercially is ***t.

I agree with most everything @Tzheng2012 said with the exception of I'd recommend light roasted coffee.
I cannot drink dark roasts they upset my stomach and make me tired and truthfully as a registered coffee snob I don't drink burnt coffee and that's essentially what a "dark" roast is
with rare exception when a legit ace roaster roasts dark. If its commercially for sale on a shelf somewhere and its labeled "dark" its simply
mislabeled... its burnt.

anyway just try both I think you have a fairly high percentage chance of finding your answer there.
certainly adding milk and sugar can help as well.

your idea to use a chemex filter is a good one as it, may also filter out some of the irritant compounds that you referred to. its likely unnecessary if you improve the quality of the coffee.
 

YourUniverse

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When I have pre-ground coffee, I notice I feel weird; different. I feel more stressed out.
When I have beans and grind them myself, I feel better. That tells me there must be something in the pre-ground beans, maybe mold/mycotoxins, maybe any number of dust particulates, higher level of oxidation (from surface area exposed to oxygen), etc.

Have you noticed a difference going from pre-ground to whole-bean? From non-organic to organic?
 
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Ulysses

Ulysses

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Do you know of coffee without chlorogenic acid?
I don’t think that exists, but casein is supposed to neutralize chlorogenic acid, so adding milk should solve the problem.

Regarding your other question, yes, I always grind my own beans immediately before brewing coffee. I do notice a difference when doing this. As for organic vs. non-organic, I don’t know. I almost always buy organic coffee, considering that coffee is one of the most heavily pesticided crops in the world.

Thanks to everyone else for the other responses. I’m ordering a Chemex this week and will try switching to a lighter roast, too.
 

fradon

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I've had coffee tolerance issues for a long time. I just assumed they should be attributed to the caffeine content of coffee, since caffeine is the compound that gets stereotyped as being responsible for all the symptoms I had -- anxiety, jitters , brain fog, etc.

But I noticed that drinking decaf didn't make me feel any better than drinking regular coffee, and I also noticed less sensitivity to tea, so I hypothesized that perhaps I was sensitive to something other than the caffeine itself. To test this, I ordered 200 mg pills of pure caffeine and used them for a week instead of coffee. The result was that all of my negative symptoms disappeared, while the mild buzz and enhanced focus remained.

I brought this up with my dad, who told me this runs in the family: his brother has the same issue with both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee.

I understand that coffee contains many dozens of active compounds, so it would be difficult to pinpoint exactly what is causing the adverse reaction, but I love the sight, smell, and taste of coffee, and I also love the ritual of brewing it, so I'd rather not give it up.

Does anyone have some ideas about what's going on, or how to fix it? The first thing I'm going to try is switching from French press, which I suppose is the "dirtiest" method of brewing coffee, to something with a very fine filter, like Chemex. I think I also do better with espresso, but getting my own espresso machine is just not in the cards right now.

coffee has heavy metals like cadmium nickel and some others and all these can create toxicity symptoms

coffee can create problems depending on where it is sourced some from africa and some from south and central america. the beans are usually ROBUSTA OR ARIBICA

i have problems with robusta beans because they carry more mold. aribica beans tend to be better but not alwasy. I bought a bag of organic aribica beans and had a bad rash from it

the only coffee i seem to tolerate well is NEW ENGLAND brand coffee. i think its in how they roast their beans. I used to drink Lavazza but i got bad stomach problems.
 

jitsmonkey

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coffee has heavy metals like cadmium nickel and some others and all these can create toxicity symptoms

coffee can create problems depending on where it is sourced some from africa and some from south and central america. the beans are usually ROBUSTA OR ARIBICA

i have problems with robusta beans because they carry more mold. aribica beans tend to be better but not alwasy. I bought a bag of organic aribica beans and had a bad rash from it

the only coffee i seem to tolerate well is NEW ENGLAND brand coffee. i think its in how they roast their beans. I used to drink Lavazza but i got bad stomach problems.


comments regarding arabica and robusta are accurate
If you find a local micro roaster (your best chance for good coffee that hasn't been abused)
there is ZERO chance they'll use robusta and if they do just leave.
 

Runenight201

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Black coffee gives me anxiety

Coffee with coconut oil/cream gives me anxiety

Coffee with half and half, and I get nice, clean dopamine and energy, with no anxiety...until I drink far too much coffee lol, but the threshold is much higher than with just black coffee

Works for me -.-
 

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