Are you a starbucks fan? I have two words for you.

“Legal crack!”   (LOL)

That’s what my business partner refers to coffee as.

 

Of course, he’s exaggerating, but let me explain why.

We were sitting at Barnes and noble conducting business (gym gets boring sometimes) and I mentioned how much I enjoy the atmosphere that is created in Starbucks coffee shops.

 

He agreed that Starbucks has been successful at creating a certain ambiance, then he added “It’s not hard to be successful when you are selling ‘legal crack’,” referring to the addictiveness of caffeine.

 

And he has a point.

 

Now it seems like everyone has an opinion on caffeine. And because I’ve used caffeine so much personally, whether to stay up in college or get ready for a workout, I’ve read a lot of about caffeine, as well as its affects on cortisol, adrenaline, dopamine, etc.

 

And maybe it just depends person to person, but I know I get addicted to caffeine pretty easily.

 

And when you are addicted to caffeine, you want the best ‘fix’ you can get, right?

 

Well, interestingly, it turns out that per ounce, Starbucks coffee is considerably higher in caffeine than other common coffees on the market.

 

According to research conducted by Bruce Goldberger published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology, 16 ounces of Starbucks coffee contained 100 mg more of caffeine than the same size coffee at Dunkin Donuts. 100 mg is more than the caffeine found in one serving of the popular Red Bull energy drink… a measurable amount. And remember, the 100 mg wasn’t the total, it was just the difference between the two.

 

Goldberger also found that caffeine content varied from day to day. One day the 16 oz. breakfast coffee blend in a Starbucks store contained 259 mg of caffeine. On another day, the same size drink contained 564 mg (approx. the same as 4-5 cups of home-brewedcoffee).

 

The health effects?

 

The research on coffee is mixed. But it is well-known that dosages above 400 mg or so will begin to increase anxiety levels in a dose dependant response. And people seem to vary from one person to another in terms of their ability to metabolize the drug, as well as their individual responses to caffeine withdrawal.

 

Best bet? I think you’ll find that it’s preferable to eliminate caffeine from your daily diet and maintain more stable energy levels. Although, if you are able to just drink a cup in the morning and don’t find yourself craving more and more, that’sprobably fine too.

 

It’s probably not a good idea to use the decaffeinated versions too often as there is quite a bit of controversy about the chemical solvents that are used in the decaffeination process.

 

If you need a little caffeine kick without the negatives, try green tea. Green tea is filled with powerful antioxidants, as well as L-theanine, which helps moderate the effects of caffeine by promoting the development of alpha brain waves, being a precursor to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and interacting with dopamine and serotonin. In short, it’s good stuff.

 

Either way, now you might have an idea why Starbucks has become so popular over the last few years.

As always I welcome your feedback What have you experience with caffeine?