Tag: caffeine

1340: Bzzzzz

Think I’ve had too much caffeine today. I sometimes feel like caffeine doesn’t really affect me all that much, but then I drink as much as I apparently have today and I get all jittery and anxious. It’s not an altogether pleasant feeling, but at least I think it’s finally wearing off and I just want to sleep. It’s like that moment in The Sims 3 where your temporary caffeine buzz positive moodlet wears off and is replaced by a caffeine crash negative movement. Actually, it’s not “like” that at all, it just is that.

I should have probably heard the warning signs when I went to work in the coffee shop earlier, and I ordered my usual “first drink of the working day” if I’m working in there — an iced white Americano. I’m pretty sure that up until today, the people there have been making said iced white Americanos wrong, because previously they looked more like iced lattes. (I don’t mind; I like iced lattes. Iced Americanos are marginally less calorific, though.)

“Four shots,” said the girl serving me to her colleague who was preparing my drink. Four shots? So I was essentially drinking four espressos in one go? Hmm.

I thought nothing of it at the time, and it certainly didn’t feel like it had much of a “kick” while I was drinking it, so once I’d got on top of all the work I had to do I had a latte to keep me going through the rest of the afternoon.

That was the tipping point, I think. While it was delicious as usual, once I finished it I started to feel a little queasy. Not to the point of actually wanting to be sick or anything, just… not quite right. And as the day continues to progress, I started to feel more and more anxious and jittery. As I said before, it’s not an altogether pleasant feeling.

There’s probably a lesson to be learned amid all this somewhere. Will I learn it, though? Probably not. I give it a few days before I do this exact same thing to myself again, completely accidentally.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go and try and sleep. Or, failing that, I’m going to stare at the ceiling for a few hours while trying very hard not to let all the chattering inside my brain distract me too much. Or, failing that, I’ll go and play some more GTA V, which has hooked me a whole lot more than I thought it would. The police chase I had earlier, which culminated in me driving an open-top sports car up a mountain and then flinging it off the summit at top speed, only to cartwheel several times on the way down and land right way up on the freeway while in the middle of a phone conversation, made it all worthwhile.

Anyway. Sleep. Attempted sleep. Whatever. Bzzzzzzz.

#oneaday Day 974: The Caffeine Review

I review games and mobile apps every day. So really, how difficult can it possibly be to review something that isn’t a game or a mobile app?

I thought I’d try today with coffee. I am going to work my way through all the different types of coffee in the house today in an attempt to determine whether or not said different types of coffee do, in fact, taste any different or whether we’re just being taken for a ride.

Let’s begin! (Note: I drink my coffee with a splash of milk and no sugar. I know, I know, if I’m truly hardcore I should drink it black, but… no.)

Kenco Millicano

Kenco Millicano purports to be a “wholebean instant” coffee that, in theory, should taste a whole lot better than regular instants such as Nescafe et al. And indeed it does — there’s none of that “dirty water” taste (though granted, given the state of our kettle, it’s entirely possible that it is just dirty water when that taste comes up) and a pleasing aroma. It has a smooth flavour that is just the thing for a morning coffee — enough of a taste to wake you up a bit, but not so intense that you’re wincing at the bitterness.

Rocket Fuel

This coffee supposedly contains guarana, that mysterious ingredient that powered those weird Boost bars with crunchy green bits in them a while back. I remember a friend and I eating too many of those in one day once — some promotional ladies were handing them out in the student union — and literally being unable to stay still for afternoon classes. I’m not entirely sure if this coffee will have that effect as yet. Actually, I do feel slightly more alert after getting through that whole cup. Interesting. Caffeine normally doesn’t feel like it affects me that much, but I can certainly feel this one kicking in.

As for the coffee itself, it’s not especially great. It tastes like cheap instant (and isn’t that cheap) and has a weird aftertaste. Specifically, it has that distinct “dirty water” taste about it, though not to the same degree as cheap own-brand supermarket coffee. It’s certainly drinkable. We’ll see how I feel a bit later to determine whether the “kick” is worth the peculiar taste.

Nescafe Latte Macchiato

Rocket Fuel’s surprising intensity also came with a big caffeine crash a couple of hours later, so I decided to dial back the intensity somewhat. Nescafe’s Latte Macchiato sachets make a cup of weak, milky, bubbly coffee and are all too easy to make lumpy if you don’t stir them hard enough. They’re not particularly strong or “coffee-y”, but they’re nice and smooth if you’re just looking for a warm drink.

Real lattes take the piss out of them, though.

Starbucks VIA Italian Roast

This stuff makes a strong cup of coffee with a smoky flavour, and was just the thing to top up my flagging caffeine levels, as I’m not entirely convinced there’s any caffeine in those poncey bubbly Nescafe things. Starbucks coffee has a kick, though, and the Italian Roast blend is definitely on the “strong” side of the spectrum, both in flavour and in caffeine content. At least it felt like it was on the strong side, anyway. It’s good, but expensive. Now I feel a bit more awake.

Nescafe Azera

This is Nescafe’s equivalent of Starbucks’ pretentious VIA coffee. Like Starbucks’ pretentious VIA coffee, it’s a very finely-ground instant coffee that makes a convincing-looking cup that has the appearance of having come out of a machine, complete with crema on top. It’s about half the intensity of the Starbucks’ blend, however, meaning you need to use twice as much of it to get a satisfying cup of coffee. Fortunately, the little pots they sell it in are about twice as big as the pots of Starbucks’ pretentious VIA coffee for half the price, which is nice, and I like the way the little bubbles make the nice crema on top when the water goes in and I already said that and wheeeeee this is nice and I’ll never get to sleep tonight after all this.

Percol Decaf Colombian

BuzzbuzzbuzzbuzzI’mabeeI’mabeeI’mabee like the Black Eyed Peas wheeeeeeeee coffee coffee coffee too much coffee argh I can’t take any more coffee please make it stop I can’t sleep I want to sleep WANT TO SLEEP SO BAD but can’t too much coffee why am I still drinking this I don’t know it’s not as good as the Starbucks and Azera ones but its still quite nice and I’m just glad it doesn’t have any caffeine in it supposedly I hope so any more caffeine and my head will explode EXPLODE DO YOU HEAR ME ARGH NYARLATHOTEP that’s what I’ll do now I’ll watch Haiyore! Nyaruko-san until this buzzing sensation in my head wears off and I facvvvvvvvvvvbyhgbngybnm;lcv