My preferred source of caffeine is...

[tye ]

Drip coffee

 143/17%

Espresso

 100/12%

Cappuccino

 51/6%

Latte

 50/6%

Mocha

 28/3%

Other coffee drink

 24/3%

Cocoa

 8/1%

Hot tea

 63/7%

Iced tea

 23/3%

Pop (sweet)

 67/8%

Diet soda

 35/4%

Energy drink

 25/3%

Water-plus

 4/0%

Chocolate

 32/4%

Other treats

 2/0%

Pill

 9/1%

Injection

 6/1%

Transdermal patch

 5/1%

IV drip

 21/2%

Root

 13/2%

My lab

 3/0%

I pretend I don't like/need caffeine

 85/10%

Amphetamines are better

 50/6%

847 total votes

[bassplayer]

I voted for "Espresso", but...

I once saw a TV show where they were showing how Starbucks makes their ice cream. At one point, they were flavoring the ice cream mixture with some kind of super-concentrated coffee syrup. Some of that goop, heated in a mug, would have had my vote, I think. If I ever come across some, I'll petition to have my vote changed to "Other coffee drink".

[qedrakmar]

In Rhode Island (where I grew up), they have this stuff called "Coffee Syrup", because "Coffee Milk" is the state drink about 50% of the time. It's much like Hershey's Syrup, only instead of chocolate, well... you get the idea. And yes, it is quite tasty straight. You can occasionally find it in Massachusetts and Connecticut, too...

[Wampa]

I think the better way again sleep and fatique is Vitamin C. Nowdays I have much work and I try drink a lot of coffe but result was that I fall asleep earlier. Friends recommended me Vitamin C when I am sleepy and fatique and now with vitamin C work long time to night and morning I am fresh. Try it.

[pfaut]

Sounds interesting. Can you put it in coffee?

[Wampa]

Yes you can. But coffe must be cold. Hot coffe destroy Vitamin C.

[elwarren]

Are you sure you're not talking about a Vitamin-B complex? Many vitamin-c supplements include it.

[Wampa]

No I am talking about pure Vitamin C. Vitamin B is the last chance how you can live when you work 24 hour 7 days in week. But this is not my live style.

[tbone1]

Chocolate-covered espresso beans. One of these will make a schnauzer outrun Micheal Schumacher. It's so powerful, it can almost keep me awake during a meeting run by HR.

[csuhockey3]

Way back in High School, I used to snack on those all day at this candy store I worked at for a summer job. They came in 20# boxes, so I would take handfuls of them home with me all the time. Good for waking up at the a**-crack of dawn to go fishin'!

CSUhockey3

[Discipulus]

expresso since I'm italian but the better way was not in the list: Napolitanian coffe made with napolitanian machine.. (s/simm'napule, paisą/we are napolitanians, guys/)

But I agree with my friend Wampa 'cuase coffe is a toasted grease so it is hard to degradate.
For a 'only one night awake ' the best think is guaraną

lorenzo*

[TStanley]

I can agree with you on the expresso. I lived in Naples for two years (U.S. military), and that was some good stuff, although I preferred the cappucino to expresso.

[been42]

Kahlua has caffeine, right? I switched to Kahlua during the heat of summer because I can drink it iced. Unfortunately, I think I'm developing a caffeine allergy with some weird symptoms. After 5 or 6 cups, I have trouble walking, but I'm a great dancer.

OK, disregard the above paragraph. Seriously, it's cafe con leche for me. Two years of working in a coffee shop tore my stomach up, so no more strong drinks for me. I need something that's gentle on my tummy.

[hardburn]

Kahlua has caffeine, right?

Yes, but so does Mountain Dew + Vodka.

[csuhockey3]

a few years ago, my roommates and I would add dew instead of water to the coffee pot. tasted okay, but like you said, who really drinks coffee 'because they LOVE the taste' -- not me (take away coke and we might have a problem) The Dew+Drip coffee just tasted a little burnt for obvious reasons.

CSUhockey3

[karisma]

Doesn't the alcohol sort of cancel out the caffiene? I guess it has loads of sugar, but that just helps to make you drunk and possibly tired.
Although I knew a guy who liked to drink whiskey when he programmed, I don't know if that helped him much though. He nick-named himself null-pointer-exception boy.

[been42]

Doesn't the alcohol sort of cancel out the caffiene?

I was joking about the Kahlua part. In real life I can't stand Kahlua. I think coffee should taste like coffee and alcohol should taste like alcohol, and never the twain shall meet. When I drink alcohol, it's Pernod or nothing.

[Paulster2]

While I chose "I/V Drip", I believe another category should be added, that being Mt Dew, as it seems to be the programmers drink of chioce.

So much to do, so little time...

[csuhockey3]

I prefer good old fashion Coca-Cola as opposed to Dew, so I voted pop just the same. It's also easier to drink something like pop instead of coffee when you are eatin' caffeine mints/gum.

CSUhockey3

[sintadil]

I prefer good old fashion Coca-Cola as opposed to Dew (...) It's also easier to drink something like pop instead of coffee (...)

/me agrees. It's also easier to drink something caffeinated but cold during the spring / summer, especially for those of us who think that 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit is hot. :) Temperature issues notwithstanding, however, espresso is definitely my favourite.

[hardburn]

IIRC, Coca-Cola (and certainly Dew) have more caffeine than an average cup of coffee. So you're probably getting quite a bit more caffeine from pop+mints than from coffee+mints.

[karisma]

Well at work we just have this coffee machine that makes coffee from frozen concentrate or something. It isn't that wonderful. But it is coffee, and often necessary.
I personally prefer drinks with shots of espresso in them! Mochas are great, I make my own chocolate-espresso drinks sometimes, those are extremely delicious. So I voted for mochas. I also think late macchiatos are good.

[Chady]

Nescafé, black

[Duco]

Can't believe no-one's mentioned the humble French Press. So much better than drip.

[FoxtrotUniform]

Can't believe no-one's mentioned the humble French Press.

For that reason, I voted "other caffeinated beverage". Properly brewed coffee really can't be compared to what comes out of a drip machine.

That said, French presses are an absolute bastard to clean....

[Duco]

Hard to clean? How so? I just dismantle the plunger assembly and stick all the parts plus the glass part in the dishwasher.

[poqui]

I like to start with Espresso or Latte; but lacking cash in my pocket, I will resort to PG Tips (hot tea), or the free coffee in the break room. Occasionally I will mix some hot chocolate mix with my coffee. I will also partake of 1 or 2 caffeinated pops in the PM (Diet DR Pepper being the preferred vehicle, or diet coke). I am also not averse to the chewing of chocolate covered roasted coffee beans.

WooHoo!!

[wfsp]

I'm drinking PG Tips right now. Made in a tea pot not in the cup. It takes longer but fits in nicely with winXP reboots.

[poqui]

IMNSHO Potwise is the best way to go. :-)

[Lexicon]

While they all contain related stimulants, coffee, tea, and chocolate's "caffeine" are all different chemicals.

Coffee contains caffeine
Tea usually contains theophylline, though I think some black teas contain true caffeine.
Chocolate contains theobromine

[Skeeve]

The German wikipedia states that Tea contains "Teein" (don't know the english term) and that it's chemicaly absolutely identical to caffeine. It also saiys that "Teein" is an outdated word...

[Lexicon]

And the english wikipedia states that tea contains theophyline. And it also says "Caffeine is sometimes called theine when it is found in tea, as the caffeine in tea was once thought to be different than the caffeine found in coffee."

This is why I don't particularly trust wikipedia. I've seen this confusion go back and forth on web sites for a while now, and my best guess for now is that some teas contain caffeine and some contain theophylline. They are undoubtedly different but related chemicals.

[hardburn]

Mountain Dew and Donuts: because breakfest is the most important meal of the day!

[csuhockey3]

no donuts, cold pizza! It holds it's shape in your mouth as you run out the door in the morning.

[nimdokk]

My preference is really to have two cups of coffee in the morning and then a can of something like Mtn. Dew or Coke in the afternoon, taking caffeine in small doses (power napping on the bus on the way home from work can help as well - provided I don't miss my stop :)

[gloryhack]

Green tea. If it's not enough to keep me going, I don't need to be going any more.

After 24 years in the technology business and pushing myself to near-fatal exhaustion three times, I've learned: cutting the candle into sections gets you more ends to burn, but you run out of candle faster.

[ChuckularOne]

I never liked coffee. It tastes quite nasty. The only problem is I drink about 32oz of it on a slow day.

Does that make me an addict?

[hardburn]

I suspect a lot of people don't actually like coffee and won't admit it. The reason is that the way most people drink coffee (including myself, even though I know better) does not get any of the actual taste of the beans.

The key to coffee is the oils on the beans. You must grind your beans just before using them, or the oils dry up (the adverts of "fresh ground" coffee are still true--it probably was fresh when it was ground). Further, most drip-style coffee makers do not get the water hot enough to absorb the oils.

What most people call "coffee" is really black water with caffeine and they lie to themselves that they actually enjoy that sludge.

[ChuckularOne]

Good point. My steam powered espresso machine is the same thing. It forces the compressed steam through much too quickly to make real espresso. For that you need PRESSURE!

[sacked]

tye++ for using the term "Pop" instead of "Soda." (I'm from Michigan)

Perhaps both crowds were addressed by the inclusion of "Diet Soda" as well. Thank you for your inclusive poll options.

[Anonymous Monk]

Where I'm from (North Carolina), we call Pepsi and all other such drinks "Coke" generically. It can be called a "Soft Drink" in most of NC too ... probably because those areas were close to the origin of Pepsi Co (the arch nemesis of "Coke")


"What are you having?"
"I want a coke!"
"Is Pepsi allright?"
"Sure!"

See http://popvssoda.com

[jonadab]

Caffein is immateriel to me. I'm ambivalent about it. I don't think I experience the same effects from it as other people. I can drink two quarts of strongly-brewed black tea fourty minutes before bed and go to sleep like usual, but I can also go days without caffein and not miss it. My pop of choice is root beer, which sometimes has caffein and sometimes doesn't, and I don't care one way or the other. Usually I drink Kool-Aid or milk or room temperature tapwater, though I do occasionally like a big glass[1] of strongly brewed tea: black tea with sugar and vanilla, or green tea with sugar and ginger.

I am a real sucker for chocolate though. Real chocolate, not that phony stuff where they process the product and replace the actual chocolate part of the "chocolate" with milk. Gah, you almost might as well pretend "white chocolate" is chocolate as that stuff. (I like milk, but not in my chocolate. Unless it's chocolate milk. But the addition of milk isn't what kills it; it's the removal of the chocolate.) No, give me the dark stuff, the real stuff, the kind that tastes like *chocolate*. Sugar is optional.

[1] A "big" glass to me is more than 32 floz and lasts about ten minutes if I take my time and sip it between doing other things.

[mildside]

No, give me the dark stuff, the real stuff, the kind that tastes like *chocolate*. Sugar is optional.

Amen to that! It's funny, I woke up one day not liking milk chocolate any more and only wanting dark chocolate. It must be the food of the gods!

[blue_cowdawg]

This poll is totally unfair. Why it should not have been a single choice to make but multiple choice. I get my caffiene whereever I can. I drink it black although I have re-discovered the joys of half-and-half so....

Morning Source

Good old French Roast brewed at double strength. Comes out of the pot sort of in an ooze. Flavor you can chew. If I can put a spoon in and still pull the spoon out in one piece I've done something wrong.

Noon time and afternoon sources

Can be one of or a combination of:
• Iced coffee (see above)
• Diet Dew®
• Diet Pepsi®
• Tea
• Iced Tea
or a combination of the above.

I can drink caffienated beverages of all sorts right up until it is time to got to bed and still fall right to sleep. In fact I've been known to have an expresso by my bedside as a nightcap.

[hardburn]

I have the same issue with caffiene myself--I can still go to sleep with plenty of it in my system. Interestingly, a stiff drink will keep me awake for hours. I've been almost knocked out from fatigue at a friend's house, took a shot of 151-proof rum, and perked right up.

[KPeter0314]

Cafe Breva - nothing like replacing the milk with half and half to make it taste really rich!

[Popcorn Dave]

A combination of Dr. Pepper and penguin mints is my choice. Only problem is I don't sleep much anymore. :)

[Moriarty]

Mmmmm Chocolate :-)

[bibo]

I checked 'other coffee', because I use CHEMEX. Yeah I know it's a drip coffee maker, of sorts. But it's way better for many reasons....

First, it sounds like a science project, with lab coats. Second, it uses very heavy filter paper, which make even mediocre beans taste great, as it leaves much bitterness in the filter. Third, it's a fully manual operation which requires a few brain cells (but less than a french press). The coffee comes out so smooth, it's more like breathing oxygen than drinking coffee.

The downside is I break one every few years, and then I'm out of commission. But I see now you can even get them at Amazon (sort of). But it's seriously my fave way to take caffeine.... 'A pot in every cup'

In the afternoon and evenings, I switch to Mt Dew, but the first 5 hours or so are dedicated to coffee.

[tekniko]

Mmm...coffee...I actually prefer an iced Yukon or Ethiopian blend, but iced mochas are mighty fine, too.

[bageler]

crystal meth all the way. And I've never been so thin! Hey, ya got ten bucks?

[Grygonos]

"Yes, but so does Mountain Dew + Vodka." Can I get a hell yeah on that one? Half Diet Dew + Half Smirnoff Twisted Orange Vodka = the good stuff!

---

Grygonos

[bronto]

Chinotto! Chinotto! Chinottoooooooooooooooooooooohhh!

[theorbtwo]

For general use, I've found nothing better then PG tips (lots of milk and sugar, please). My old call, before castaway converted me, was hot choclate -- not hot coco. It should be made with one glass-full of milk, and a tablespoon (heapingness depending on where in the box you are) of Nestlé brand Quik powder.

OTOH, for occasional use, I like "French Vanilla", that you get out of vending machines in the US (which probably has little to do with anything the French, in fact, drink. However, the best stuff is Starbucks White Choclate Mocha. Also, if they still have it, in the cold cafenated wing, Arbie's Frappachino is quite good.

[ambrus]

Coca-Cola++

[karisma]

Does anybody besides Germans drink coke mixed with beer?

[Grygonos]

Beer as a mixed drink? haha you gotta be kidding....find a beer you like.. drink it straightup.

---

Grygonos

[grinder]

i vot]eed fpor a,pma[htea,mmineso bu t OI tjiml O haev neem hitting thme ab oit tooo hadr and ui can'; t get mu progrtjma to work. Can' t seemsda to figuteere it outt.

[hsmyers]

Caffeine is second most holy to Chocolate. Still worthy of praise though, hence Mocha.

[Shinwa]

How can everyone forget the so many wonderful caffinatted beverages out there? Let us not forget Bawls, which many a gamer is fueled by. Jolt, giving us the morning strength to rise from the wonderful bliss of sleep. Monster, for driving around at high end speeds at around 2am in the morning in a car painted brighter than the sun...

[Trag]

Missing option: Shower Shock soap

[runrig]

Mountain Dew!

[fluxion]

I love cappucinos, but lately I've been drinking Red Bull instead when my constant sleep deprivation begins to catch up with me.

[blue_cowdawg]

One of the coffee shops by where I work has staff that I have finally gotten "trained". They don't look at me funny when I ask them for "The Sniper Special."

They have an item on their menu called "A Shot In The Dark." This consists of a large regular drip coffee into which a shot of esspresso is poured.

I have further refined this to a large drip coffee of the day with 2 shots of esspresso in it. This has become known as the Sniper Special aka "Big Double Shot in the Dark."

Good for what ails ya...

[qedrakmar]

...sounds like the days when I used to walk in and order "A Grande Espresso." No, it's just however many espresso shots would fit in a grande cup (which in our case, was 10 to 12) That would get me going in the morning. Alas, I miss having a stomach lining. Nowadays, I stick to copious hydration and my one-a-day which has about 1000% each of B vitamins 1, 2, 3, 6, and 12, for making your cells oh so happy. Seriously, taking a one-a-day vitamin everyday for a couple of weeks (and keeping up with it) nets a very noticable change, as does keeping up on hydration. Unfortunately, caffeine is a diuretic...

[heroin_bob]

If I could get an I.V. of Mr. Pibb Xtra I'd be a happy camper.

[Scarborough]

My vote capuccino but its not conducsive to work as I usually drink it reading a newspaper in a cafe with lots of bautifull people to watch. Arr sod work

[tilly]

What do you mean by, I pretend I don't like/need caffeine?

I haven't had a caffinated drink in over 6 months. I appreciate not getting aperiodic headaches because I sometimes misjudge my daily dose.

[karisma]

I went about a year without drinking coffee (after going a few with drinking loads of it). I didn't miss the caffeine much. But I missed the taste of coffee and my favorite coffee drinks. I discovered I really do enjoy the taste of a good coffee.

[elbow]

Diet Coke! I love it! But my dentist tells me excessive amounts is wearing away the enamel on my teeth......gonna have to convert to something else...bummer!

elbow

[coec]

I voted 'IV drip' because I've been up all night. The reality is I like strong flat-whites, served at around body temperature.
Mmmmm tepid....

CC

[Drgan]

So I see this thing called pop {sweet}, I'm assuming someone is thinking that refers to soda. Well, let's not get into a debate about it but it's wrong :) Just stick to soda pop or say Coke/Coca Cola and make lots of people happy cause we all know Coca Cola++!

[fluxion]

I always get those little cans of iced coffee they sell in the "asian goods" isle. Great for a quick upper, and only $0.59 per can.

[xorl]

Dr. Pepper - at 10, 2, and 4.

[ercparker]

I'll settle for anything with caffine but coffee is my choice!
now if they just put caffine in my tap water I'd be set!

[karisma]

Due to my tendency to free association this reminds me of the time this wacko doctor told my boyfriend he should drink coke because the cocaine in it helps with certain bathroom problems. Obviously the doctor was confused....
Imagine what the programmers of the world would be like if coke still contained cocaine....did the original coke have caffeine in it too?

[Mago]

coffee ! coffee ! coffee ! coffee ! coffee ! coffee ! coffee ! coffee ! coffee ! coffee ! coffee ! coffee ! coffee ! coffee ! coffee ! coffee ! coffee ! coffee ! coffee ! coffee ! ...

I Love Coffee !

Coffe Break

[Anonymous Monk]

Toddy coffee is my favorite. I got my first Toddy in the 80's. It's a concentrate you make by steeping a pound of coffee in water overnight, producing about a liter of highly caffeinated liquid. Yum. You refrigerate it and then mix as much as you like with hot water anytime. Because it's steeped cold, the acid content is much lower. Mmmm...

[Anonymous Monk]

I was looking for Tim Horton's. This coffee is in a class all by itself. StarBucks and Second Cup -> eat your hearts out.

[gregor-e]

...Kalchem

[mildside]

Disaster! My coffee machine is broken.