I did not start drink coffee until I was in my 20’s, and then it was one cup once in awhile. When I went into programming about 15 years ago I drank 10 cups between 6 AM and noon. After a few weeks of that I cut back to one cup a day. I got tired of hanging from the ceiling by my fingernails. Everyone around me drank Jolt Cola – lots of it!

Just to be safe I began drinking decaff. Here is what I found out about decaff. There are two primary methods to extract caffeine from coffee, Water and Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK). MEK is something I used in industry and it is not nice to be in the same room with this chemical as far as I am concerned!

A report about decaff served in places like Starbucks and Peet’s Coffee was interesting. This included off the shelf brands. Starbucks had a consistent 6 mg of caffeine as measured at several Starbucks locations. Other chain coffee houses and off the shelf brands varied and most were in excess of that amount of caffeine found in regular coffee!

The article went on to state that there are no regulations that define how much caffeine in decaff is allowed. Decaff can be a gamble for those with a health risk. Caffeine can affect your heartbeat and if you have certain types of problems with your heart you want to stay from too much caffeine.

I now drink Organic Green Tea. Two cups a day is my limit. I think that Green Tea is something to be enjoyed and provides a restful feeling, unlike what coffee did to me.

All things in moderation may be the best advice. Enjoy a bit of this and a bit of that and do not over do anything.





>My favorite person in the world, an eight year old girl, gave me about 10 lbs of different varieties of coffees for Christmas. There are a number of different brands - Zavida and Ghirardelli are a couple of them - and about 30 different types. Everything from Chocolate Rasberry to Creme Brulee. I have a coffee maker at my desk, so I come in every morning and make a cup of one of these. I only have one cup for the day - ok, it's kind of a big cup - and I absolutely love it. Am I much alone, or are there other coffee freaks out there? I also have Earl Grey and Jackson's of Piccadilly teas, but it's not the same as the coffee.