Is Coffee Good for You?

[@jameshoffmann]

Click my trainwell (formerly CoPilot) link go.trainwell.net/JamesHoffmann-cp to get 14 days FREE with your own expert personal trainer!

[@patrickgillilan3014]

If it weren't for you I would've had first comment! Curse you Jaaaaames! Jk, love everything you do! Thank you!!!

[@ropro9817]

But you didn't talk about coffee enemas. 😂

[@Bubblepoot]

What's dayter? 😅 Data

[@sunshineflyer]

We’ve decided we want you to be our coach, lol.

[@samiraperi467]

Is that My Co-Pilot or Myco Pilot? The latter sounds shroomy. 🤔

[@hammertime_]

Imagine waking up in hospital and seeing James Hoffmann intravenously administer a cup of coffee into you.

[@OddLeah]

That is an enema bag 😬💩

[@hammertime_]

​@@OddLeah Even better 😂

[@olamisie]

Well that would be a dream scenario 😅🤓

[@julianshepherd2038]

​@@hammertime_😂

[@TaylorDeCastro]

Me: “ungh….FINALLY!”

[@highvis_supply]

Its nice of them to let Hames Joffmann continue his video-making hobby at the mental institute

[@SoapyCilantro]

LOL

[@MarkoBotsaris]

On the other hand having James give me a coffee I.V. during a hospital stay is kind of the best case scenario IMHO. 😂

[@dogcarman]

Let him talk about coffee and he will stay calm. Ask him to shut up and… no, you don’t want to go there.

[@cyan_oxy6734]

​@@MarkoBotsarisThat wasn't an IV though it's an enema bag. IVs aren't open at the top so James is just putting coffee up your arse.

[@ilintsai]

I almost spewed my coffee reading this comment.

[@hellfish2309]

Note to all: James Hoffmann, while denying being a health professional, *did not* deny being a professional athlete

[@digitalairaire]

Would sign up for copilot if James is my pro coach

[@PanuSimolin]

😅 True..

[@riveness]

Surely that is hoff jamesmann

[@HansProbs]

being the 7th Grand Slam tennis champion, you’d never know it! As they say, Humble Hames

[@dmdrosselmeyer]

WBC '07 Champ were talking about here!

[@DADVNTRS]

Teeth health would have been super interesting to cover…I’ve noticed my teeth health worsen over the last 5-8 years drinking 1-2 high quality cups per day & I find almost anyone seriously in the coffee industry such as a roaster, barista or taster often has less than ideal teeth appearance & oral health. Thanks for your amazing insights & effort as always James you’re a gift to the world!

[@filipgeci]

I have also thought about this...and I had hoped it would be covered in James' video. It would be useful to know how the oral hygiene routine should be altered for regular(or extensive) coffee drinkers, since coffee is acidic and it is known that acidic foods/drinks cause damage to the enamel.

[@MariaMartinez-researcher]

Is sugar in coffee also a factor to consider?

[@DADVNTRS]

@@MariaMartinez-researcher the guys who are serious about coffee don’t do sugar… it’s either pour over/filter or espresso black

[@MariaMartinez-researcher]

@@DADVNTRS The Turkish are very serious about coffee, and they do sugar. The question is legitimate. Besides sugar, and coffee, plenty of other things can damage teeth. Coffee and cigarettes? Coffee and no enough calcium and vitamin D? Coffee and poor hygiene? Coffee and not/too much...? Or, you can stop drinking coffee and see whether your teeth improve. A scientific experiment.

[@NoonDragoon]

That would be interesting! There's likely a lot of factors besides just coffee consumption affecting oral health. I'm in my late 20s and have been drinking coffee since high school but I've never had a cavity or even any major teeth procedures (besides wisdom teeth removal). I do wonder if additional additives to coffee, such as milk or sugar, exacerbate possible problems. I also always heard from my dentist to brush your teeth before your first cup of coffee, I don't know if that even does anything but I brush my teeth first thing when I wake up and, like I said, my teeth are still doing good. Would take a lot of research to really look into that!

[@tobytyke308]

The production values here are better than a fair few TV shows. It's great to see how enthusiastic James is. 👏

[@joewalsh8390]

As a practicing scientist whose family has been asking for these kinds of summaries of nutritional investigations for decades, I can say, well done, James! Deep, even-handed, thorough, and fantastic meta-cognition (keeping the big picture in mind) throughout. Next, do one on the virtues of red wine!!

[@PinataOblongata]

There are no virtues. The studies showing some benefit have been swamped by those showing direct correlation between each glass and negative outcomes. Even pure resveratrol hasn't faired well on the rollercoaster of studies on it as a possible calorie restriction mimetic. Any flavonoids or other antioxidants you might get from it would be better consumed from sources without the ethanol.

[@miketranfaglia3986]

As a physician, a neuroscientist, and a home coffee roaster, I've naturally been interested in this topic for quite a while. My review of the literature concurs exactly with what James said here---coffee is definitely not bad for you, it's probably very good for you, and it really is one of life's great joys. I think that further research may show that coffee is the one true Superfood. Drink up!

[@julianshepherd2038]

Nerd!

[@josenadie]

Now, I worked at a lab as a Research Assistant and couldn't help notice how much science relies on caffeine to be made: do you think there might be some bias when it comes to coffee research? (this is a joke question)

[@AreteZoe]

this dudes right bro i get faded otw to work and then chug coffee to coast . shit is awesome and definitely healthy cause i dont feel like eating which is even BETTER

[@FartPanther]

Hot off the (French) press!

[@Genre99]

As a physician, I too concur. I tell my patients that the only thing wrong with coffee, is doctoring it with cream and sugar.

[@normansuchorzewski1026]

Not drinking coffee will cause an early death, mainly due to desire. I used to get a lot of acid reflux, from bread, pastry and instant coffee - I take a spoonful of Apple cider vinegar twice a day - no acid reflux in 6 months. Coffee was given to us and is a natural product - just like garlic, ginger, turmeric, blueberries etc, designed to be useful in our bodies. Too much of everything can cause issues. I drink coffee up to 8:00 pm, and sleep incredibly well when I go to bed at 10:00pm. All the coffee I drink is freshly roasted and ground daily. Normally through an Aeropress and I just love it - love it - love it.

[@AntMelz]

Well researched and nicely produced. Thanks! Surprised about the fiber!

[@InimicusSolitus]

I drink coffee, quiet a lot. I did stop drinking it for about 4 months, to see if I felt any difference. To be honest I didn't - my sleep was the same, my energy level was the same, I just missed my coffee. So I took to drink it again, and I love it! [Always black]

[@SamSoulTrop]

One coffee by french press and one espresso a day are good for me (no more no less). That's also the reason why I carefully choose the coffee when I buy some. And I gave up decaf.

[@MephitisUK]

Love the fact that when you said "awful tabloid rag" you held up a copy of the 'Daily Heil'

[@dustrider9306]

And one cup for the algorithm.☕ . I wanna see decaf studies! To settle it once and for all: polyphenols vs caffeine!

[@gabrieldias3479]

This video is nothing short of amazing, James! However, if I can make a small nitpick: you didn't make any reference to coffee (caffeine, to be more precise) as a painkiller. I guess it's because its stimulant nature, but am not sure. Another negative thing about coffee and coffee addiction it's when you try to remove/lessen the amount of caffeine you ingest daily. It can be a painful process, quite literally. Maybe a Part 2 someday, as newer studies come up? 😊

[@glenovovich]

I would love to know if natural process coffees or other methods of 3rd wave coffee production affects health outcomes. We just need a million coffee nerds to dedicate the rest of their lives to this study and we'll be good to go!

[@Konic_and_Snuckles]

11:57 - It's not so much the acidity of coffee that exacerbates GERD symptoms, it's mostly the caffeine itself. Caffeine relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), the valve that keeps stomach acid from refluxing into the esophagus. This is true whether one chooses to consume hot brewed coffee vs cold brewed, tea, soda, or energy drinks.

[@wv_]

Can you do a day in the life at Square Mile. I would love to know what the actual work is behind coffee (logistics, sourcing etc), or even; how do you get in touch with Holby City to use their set

[@bernRA]

this was excellent, James; although you should have shown a disclaimer when you filled the IV bag up with a pour over ;) was this shot at a real hospital ?

[@ActualStawman]

I need to cut down on my coffee intake (tryin to get those bennies). Thank you for the video.

[@siboolofficial]

When it comes to coffee, this man is a walking encyclopedia.

[@kirbsmeister2]

If I had to summarise for a friend: 1) Be _super_ careful that the caffeine isn't affecting your sleep in ways that you might not be aware of. 2) Maybe go easy if you're having like 10 cups a day. 3) After that: forget about it. Maybe focus on diet, exercise, sleep and alcohol/tobacco consumption as a higher priority.

[@AccountingRaiding]

S tier as usual James.

[@vrrosales]

The meeting when planning this video: Production team: "So James, how much budget do we have for this video" James: "Yes" Production team: "Yes is not a valid answer boss, we need a figure" James: "Yes" Production team: "But..."*James interrupts* James: "Did I fucking stutter?"

[@2ShoesPhoto]

Coffee is delicious, that's all we need to know.

[@flatspotting2898]

I want to know James thoughts on paper filters for espresso shots

[@roughxvr]

I have PVC and I still drink coffee if I drink more than 4 cups I get no single one if do not I get many PVCs

[@zaidkidwai7831]

For me, coffee before 2pm, tea after 2pm

[@jenniferhumphreys8636]

Whats the best office coffee?

[@ariadnavigo]

I work for a publishing house devoted to science communication... This video is a prime example of how to do *great* SciComm. I just shared it with our senior editor. Thank you, James! ❤☕

[@jackdeniston59]

Chat gtp is going to destroy you

[@EpochSecutor]

@@jackdeniston59 You can't even seem to get the acronym right, I'm sure your opinion isn't exactly going to warrant any reaction from them.

[@calliioa]

​​@@jackdeniston59I've used ChatGPT (cautiously, always double checked the output) and it's a hell of a ways off for my use in scientific research. Even with prompt engineering I've seen grossly wrong or even nonexistent sources from the LLM.

[@WrongButtonWB]

@@calliioa Though it might be true, atm LLMs are in their baby years. Gpt4 already is as smart as the smartest of us, while not even being a toddler. It's expected that the next gen, Gpt 5, is going to have 10x higher IQ than it has now... and it's only months away. 1600 IQ AI, wondering who is going to need prompt engineering.

[@Daddo1]

Well…AI is going to destroy us all actually.

[@elloragriffin5478]

James really meticulously researched for a whole literature review and then presented it in a hospital with a coffee IV whilst wearing scrubs. Both the most ridiculous and most educational video I’ve watched in a long time.

[@TheFroneyZone]

right, and like coffee...we need MORE!!!

[@vikkispence]

I can't wait to see the Hames Joffmann remix 😄

[@therealsunnyk]

Honestly don't know how he did it. Is he actually in a hospital or are these separate videos and he's on top with green screens and some medical equipment?

[@kg-Whatthehelliseventhat]

And he used an enema bag as an IV.

[@johnnybravo3869]

Absolutely correct.

[@Liryc19]

I think my biggest question out of all of this is what is happening with the production of that video. That's a crazy amount of information delivered in a crazy good production setting.

[@olamisie]

Plus all the cameos deserve an Oscar 🤩

[@Alec_Collins78]

I want to know why the woman in the waiting room moved.

[@Alec_Collins78]

We don't know. But we do know that we shouldn't imply that correlation can tell us about causation.

[@dogcarman]

@@Alec_Collins78Because weird coffee person…?

[@alertsquirrel]

O think it was too create movement on a scene where James wasn't moving much and to shift the weight and focus of the shot. Both positions were very intentional imo.

[@KarlSmithByrne]

Cancer epidemiologist here, this was really quite a measured video. One thing I might have considered including is that what people report consuming is rarely easy to parse from other factors such as socioeconomic status. This makes is challenging to know whether higher coffee leads to differences in disease risk or whether some other covarying factors may be accounting for that result -statistically significant, or otherwise.

[@thedylangirl]

Thank you. Many an impoverished person run on coffee alone, due to economic and access factors. It is nigh impossible to know how much of a role coffee consumption plays in their overall health when so many detriments exist throughout their daily lives.

[@NightmareCrab]

word salad, understood nothing

[@charliepoe4935]

I thought the same thing. It is expensive to have four cups of coffee in a day, especially craft coffee.

[@alinaqirizvi1441]

​@@NightmareCrab it's not that complicated lol

[@alinaqirizvi1441]

@@thedylangirl I think that the point was that people of higher socioeconomic status consume coffee more than more impoverished people and so people who consume coffee are more likely to report better health due to their socioeconomic status

[@Andy_Panda]

The production value of this video was amazing. Also the level of research takes this to another level. Well done, James and team, well done!

[@sordel5866]

New sponsor=new production opportunities

[@Fragffs]

Yeah really like the whole setting and cuts to new scenes. Keep up this production!

[@chewielewis4002]

999: What is your emergency? Hospital: There are 4 weird people who broke into the hospital and started filming 999: Whats the issue Hospital: They keep shoving coffee down our patient's throat, putting coffee into IV drips, and their using the ventilators to press a cup of coffee Hospital: The guy with the glasses is now making coffee in the bed pans

[@wouldntyaliktono]

I would absolutely love to know how much work went into producing this episode, with all the props and side gags. Fantastic work.

[@nahor88]

I loved the shot where sits down in the chair, and the woman near him promptly moves to another chair like "ugh who the hell is this guy?". XD

[@etatsopa]

At the start of this year I detoxed from caffeine for a month, then limited myself to one caffeinated beverage per day. I no longer have a headache by 10am if I haven’t had a coffee, and once or twice a week I don’t have one at all. I’ve also discovered that in the last 10 years decaf has gotten pretty good (in the right cafes) I’m enjoying coffee more than ever before, because I’ve broken my reliance on it

[@bradyvilhauer4445]

This is awesome. I never had an extreme reliance on it, so I’ve kind of always been in the shoes you’re in now, but the ability to go without coffee during a day is really cool. I am encouraged by your comment to challenge myself even more. I enjoy the idea of being healthy enough to naturally summon the energy that myself and billions of others typically expect caffeine to give them!

[@MrChologno]

It took me so long to understand why I had terrible headaches on weekends. Then one week I avoided coffee and the headaches stopped. I really hate those withdrawal headaches. I had to switch to decaf and even diet coke in large amounts can trigger them the folowing day.

[@gillauld2965]

Caffeine is a migraine trigger for me so had to get off the caffeine. Got to watch even soft drinks as it’s amazing how many have caffeine. Still love coffee but it’s decaf now

[@FSPersonalAcct]

I did this too when coffee in the morning gave me digestive flare-ups from my IBS. I drink coffee midday now, but being free from the caffeine dependence to wake up and not feeling the brain fog/headaches when I don't have the means to drink coffee has really changed my life for the better.

[@satchin.]

The effects of caffeine on anxiety, panic attacks and depression are missing, and it would be interesting if more studies would further explore this field using different roasting and brewing methods. Besides, the video is great as always!

[@pelilin2519]

It increase cortisol and disrupt deep sleep which result in mental issue and dependency for caffeine the next day to function.

[@mastazenkei]

Well from what I've noticed with myself , when in distress or pre-stress mode - don't drink coffee , for me drinking coffee is good when I'm calm , sometimes when work gets stressful i skip drinking coffee to not get more agitated .

[@Ingridole]

It's a super important topic, I agree. I think all the questions should be answered at least in these two groups of slow and fast coffee metabolizers. There are also some gene single nucleotide variations (polymorphisms, SNPs) which are essential in conclusion if drinking coffee "protects" you from some serious heart disease or if more than 1 cup a day actually increases the likelihood. Time for personalised / precision medicine, hehe :) *Doing SNPs assay is not that expensive and everyone can get it done. Most companies who are thought by the general public to sequence your genome are just doing these assays.

[@april4657]

I've found personally, I can have 1 cup on a good day. Black or green teas are more my speed

[@KuropatkaJoe]

Agree. that’s something which is missing in this video and smth I personally most suffer from. went through lots of scientific papers on this topic just to get back to trusting my own inner feeling if I can have this yammi shot today or not :)

[@gabrielpaganini4893]

James, congratulations! As a doctor, I have rarely seen someone communicate scientific findings so clearly, concisely, and responsibly on the internet. Excellent work!

[@veganmonter]

8:37 - "The side eye while looking at phone, then move away from the crazy man talking to himself" is the maneuver all people in large cities learn to do.

[@agwasp]

The problem in my case is that an absence of coffee is bad for those around me…

[@JimJakubJames]

it means you are addict

[@AnotherAyushRaj]

@@JimJakubJames even if the comment was made as a joke, I agree. If you cant go a day or two without coffee then you might have a problem. An I say that as an avid coffee drinker

[@nfc153]

@@JimJakubJames No, I can stop any time I like, and sometimes do because I'm a control freak who is afraid of addiction - ANY addiction - but changes are noticed. Caffeine causes behavioural changes in addicts and non-addicts alike.

[@doqtorisykero7971]

​@@AnotherAyushRajTBF, caffeine withdrawal symptoms are worst during the first day or two (after which they drop massively, if not "healing" completely). You're absolutely right though.

[@REDSIX]

​@@JimJakubJamesyou're addict for pointing that out...

[@kuriteufel]

"Coffee does improve another kind of performance too." The editing, him laying down and looking at you from below, the pause, and even the tiny smirk really made me think of something else. This isn't just a video, this is a three-day Manchu-Han Imperial FEAST for Hames Joffmann, there's just so much for them to go wild with.

[@SashaGrace94]

“Awful Tabloid Rag” - Produces a copy of the Daily Mail 😂 As if it was possible, James has just gone up even further in my estimation!!

[@jutrbr]

The production quality of this is top notch! Keep up the good work, love watching your videos :)

[@binaryslate]

Informative video. I'm now decaffeinated coffee only, by order of the Doctor, so it would be interesting to know if you'll include anything as regards 'Is Coffee Good for you?' in the planned decaffeination process videos that you mentioned a few months ago. Hopefully they're still in works.

[@jameshoffmann]

I don’t have my notes to hand, but several studies saw positive impacts from decaffeinated coffee - caffeine isn’t always the important compound offering potential health benefits

[@dannyquiroz5777]

@@jameshoffmannthere are many decaf processes, perhaps a video is in order

[@nijamase]

I remember reading a study on heart decease for office workers and they saw a positive effect for the coffee drinkers compare to the people who didn't drink coffee. But when they re-did the study with coffee drinkers vs a group who drank an equal amount of water they saw no difference. That is when they realized that it was the tiny amount of exercise (walking to the office cafeteria 2-3 times a day) that gave the positive effect on heart decease and not the coffee.

[@adrian-vdr]

Is that the condition where the heart deceases? 😀

[@GPantazis]

There's no way it's that easy right? Like walking to the nearest water cooler is enough to change your heart disease statistics. It seems more likely to me it's straight up from the added consumption of water, with or without beans inside.

[@nichthier8d239]

@@GPantazis Errr besides the effect that coffee dehydrates you and is not adding water to your body

[@comady25]

@@nichthier8d239This is a myth

[@gbf111]

@@nichthier8d239the amount of water more than makes up for it

[@zaxsp1118]

I can’t began to express how much I appreciate you James Hoffmann. You’ve legitimately gotten a clinic to agree to you going about filming a video on coffee. I don’t know anyone else that would put this level of effort into such a project!!

[@peterzeller5736]

The level of quality videos James puts out is incredible

[@crimsonharvest]

dealing with getting ADHD meds is extremely frustrating but good coffee and exercise has helped me focus on the business of keeping house in a similarly useful way

[@segamble1679]

Preach!

[@Sibula]

For me, I've found a low dose of Concerta with some additional tea or coffee to be pretty good. But different meds wok differently for different people, and some might prefer to go without them.

[@austinhancock8204]

Brilliant content with editing to match. You never miss James!

[@timtiny01]

The aspect of this video that surprised me the most was that James & team found a hospital willing to let them film in their facilities. Nicely done, but I think they deserved a shout-out.

[@anttihilja]

Haha thought the same, I'm thinking it might be a private clinic on a Sunday or after work hours etc.

[@miketomas8564]

@@anttihilja Or and Actual Set in a Rent-A-Studio.

[@gilessmith9917]

@shiniy I'm afraid to report this is most certainly a set (source: I've worked there also), but I admire your reasoned arguments otherwise.

[@CrabLadius]

@shiniy The sheer lawsuit that would be created from doing this, unauthorized, in a hospital is hilariously large. Even if they had authorization to do this in an actual hospital, there wouldn't be any random people or patients in the shots, especially patients, because that is seriously illegal. Those people that showed up were literally props for humor, they were done on purpose, especially seeing as the back at 5:10 had almost perfect timing for the cutaway.

[@francesderr3708]

@shiniy it's pretty obviously a set for a lot of different reasons

[@laldagorth]

Nice touch at ~ 8:40. That's exactly what would happen if some rando in scrubs starting talking out loud about coffee studies whilst sitting in a hospital waiting room (or, really, pretty much anywhere).

[@VincentGroenewold]

I worked in science for 20 years and I always had a bit of a dislike to many of these kind of studies. Many are done by medical students in training to become a doctor... why? Simply because it gets you into a field sooner, without a PhD you already lost almost. They want to become a doctor, not a researcher (most of the time, there are really good ones ofcourse). And that motivation isn't good for the quality of the research, you get a looooot of these meta-studies. The biggest issue is that trends are so hard to prove, bias can be all over the place and meta studies rely heavily on the other studies to have been done well. All in all, I take conclusions from these studies in and always with the biggest grain of salt added to it in my brain.

[@solomoncumquats776]

I feel that sometimes easy access to this knowledge is a burden. Of course the word cancer also gets people to click and view ads

[@assain2]

I love this comment. Thanks for sharing your experience. You can see on a daily basis people claiming that 'a study shows x, y and z'. However, if you actually look into these papers, they are rubbish written because somebody needed to advance in their academic career.

[@aldocompagnoni5851]

Sure thing: but the fact still remains that few substances have such positive effects in association studies as coffee. The most logical conclusion is that probably coffee has neutral effects on health. Except perhaps regarding its effects on cholesterol, which does seem substantial from RCTs.

[@VincentGroenewold]

@@solomoncumquats776 That's usually in the title or in the proposal, because it generates funding more quickly. :) Not that I'm saying everything is always crap, but a lot is not really something to rely on at all.

[@VincentGroenewold]

@@assain2 Indeed, add to that the effect of a media outlet that only reads the summary and presto.

[@classicrockonly]

Toward the end of her life, my grandma was told to drink decaf coffee for her health. She did it a while and said “I’m going to die soon anyway, I might as well enjoy my coffee”. Wise words from a wise woman. What good is living longer if you don’t enjoy it?

[@steelydanfan321]

Cigarette smokers and coffee drinkers are the same lol.

[@2_-]

​@@steelydanfan321me who doesn't do both :

[@PinataOblongata]

My argument to that line of reasoning has always been that it's very easy to find things just as enjoyable or only slightly less enjoyable that will enable you to be vastly healthier. Take food, for instance: for just about every item in your fridge or pantry there is a high protein, low fat and/or low carb option that is either just as tasty or 85% as tasty, to the point where it's very easy to switch to and get used to and still enjoy. I've had some pretty nice decaf before - if I had a heart condition that made caffeine dicey, I'd definitely switch to it if it potentially meant the difference between having a heart attack or not having one and living several more years. Life is priceless, so most things you can do to extend it is worth it, and those things a rarely going to lower your quality of life to the point it's NOT worth it, despite what some moaners will always say.

[@classicrockonly]

@@PinataOblongata you don’t sound like someone who is 85 and been living day by day with many health issues, not knowing if you’d wake up the next day

[@PinataOblongata]

​@@classicrockonly I was more aiming my comment at the general argument applied to everyone, not someone who has already lived out their average life expectancy. That said, I still don't think I would be making poor health choices at that age, because it's probably even more important for seeing the next few years. If there are small changes you can make that are really not taking much away from your enjoyment of life, then it's always worth doing. Maybe sometimes you can still have the "full fat" version of the thing as a treat now and then, but still not all the time.

[@jimmylittle9081]

My name is Jimmy Torres and I’m from Texas. I moved to Peru to grow coffee over 17 years ago and I’m still down here. I have watched several of your KZbin videos and can sense that you are a real ‘coffee nut’ and know a great deal about coffee, flavor, caffeine, etc. I wanted to float a couple ideas across to you that you might find interesting. First thing that must be understood is time from harvest versus boiling coffee for drinking. Coffee is shipped/sold (normally) in its ‘pergamino’ or parchment paper. It is visible after drying as an opaque film over the bean. This ‘paper film’ retains the flavor and caffeine of the bean until ready to roast. Second, the time from harvest is shipment to the U.S. (or any country) varies greatly. Here in this area (north/central Peru), from harvest, drying, sale to mid-man, and shipment can vary from two months to four months. An 18-wheeler arrives from Lima and picks up a truck load of coffee sacks. A 2,000-mile road trip starts back to Lima taking another week. Then the coffee is stacked in a warehouse until a ‘coffee ship’ arrives to move it to various countries around the world. That can be an additional two to four months. So, we’re now somewhere between 4 months and 8 months of elapsed time. Then it must be sold to a ‘dealer’ somewhere within the U.S., shipped and stored ‘again’, before being actually roasted and sold for consumption. Time is coffee’s worst enemy! Deterioration of caffeine starts at the time I expose the bean to the air, i.e., take the husk/shell off of the bean. How much caffeine has deteriorated from the time the outer protective shell is removed (usually red or yellow) to the time it is consumed? I don’t know!? I make my own coffee here where it is grown. I have no machine to roast it. I roast over a wood fire with a large one inch thick, 24-inch wide, flat bowl. Time of roach and color are my guides (plus the second ‘crack’). I roast to dark - second crack. All of the coffees you test have a time factor. Also, a time factor AFTER the pergamino is removed (which allows more air to enter the bean). Time between removal of pergamino and the roast, and time to the selling/drinking. Have you taken all of this into consideration during your testing? Have you visited a coffee plantation and roasted coffee after it has dried (freshest available)? Have you compared that result to ‘off the shelf’ coffee?

[@RealMattHaney]

I am an Italian American physician and just wanted to reiterate two things-coffee is amazing, and your last point that, like so many things in life, moderation is key. ☕️

[@ajl8198]

Exactly!

[@fernandareid3984]

Exactly, Even water can be harmful if you drink too much!

[@Tristin.Midnight]

I watched already expecting the answer, and I watched fully knowing I would only believe my own confirmation bias that coffee is fine for me

[@akshayde]

The only real comment needed on this thread

[@underbedmonstersmusic]

I would definitely watch Mr Hoffmann’s content even if I wasn’t a coffee person. What a quality!

[@captainvector]

I do watch his content and I'm definitely not a coffee person!

[@ajburdett882]

This was an incredibly detailed video and covered a lot! Awesome work :D I would love for more research to be done into how our bodies can become dependent on coffee and the science behind caffeine withdrawal symptoms. I tried to go cold turkey on caffeine a short while ago as I'm pretty sure it was (and probably still is) effecting my sleep. I wasn't able to get over the such extreme withdrawal symptoms though, I felt like crap. It's not that I felt addicted like I had to have the coffee, I just felt like pure crap until I did.

[@djr093r5]

Interesting note: there is a certain subset of the population, typically with ADHD (although not all people with ADHD experience this), where drinking coffee actually makes us drowsy, and feel the need for a nap. Happens with certain other stimulants as well. I always wondered why coffee had that effect on me, until I was diagnosed with ADHD. Coffee also works really well for headaches, as caffeine is a vasodilator. So, you can give your paracetamol a supercharge. Should also point out I'm not a medical expert, so don't do that unless you talk with your doctor first.

[@ornous]

I'm also not a medical expert, though I put on some scrubs to write this comment 😁 The only reliable treatment I've found for my migraines is a cup of coffee with an analgaesic. Been my go to for over a decade and works every time! Also works on my tension headaches but I only get those like once a year. Thanks for that note about the impact of coffee on individuals with ADHD, certainly surprising! I imagine you'd have a similar issue with teas or is it specifically a coffee thing?

[@cg505_]

I'm very curious about this. I have some level of ADHD and often experience sleepiness after drinking coffee, but it's hard to find any good information on this. Is it really related to ADHD or is that mostly anecdotal confirmation bias?

[@lakritzeslena]

​@@ornousit's not a coffee thing, same effect with other stimulants with ADHD. (Since I take my ADHD medication (a form of amphetamine) I take a day nap 😅)

[@kiwaminski]

Back when I was drinking a coffee every few hours at work (before being diagnosed and medicated for ADHD with stimulants), coffee would make me almost fall asleep from a sudden onset of drowsyness. Same thing now with stimulants, though to a lesser degree. Funny how that works; you wouldnt really expect stimulants to put you to sleep haha

[@vikkispence]

I have ADHD (and I'm also autistic) and coffee makes me calm and sleepy, same as my stimulant meds. It's great stuff

[@notapplicable7292]

I would love a behind the scenes video because the production of this was wild!

[@johnhmaloney]

It's definitely healthy for me. Caffeine helps mitigate my ADHD symptoms and greatly improves my ability to focus. Learning that different people metabolize caffeine at different rates explains a lot for me. Every evening, around 6 pm, I have one or two 12 oz. cups of iced coffee and I'm struggling to stay awake by 9 or 10. I always thought that it was odd, given that most people I know can't touch caffeine after around 2 pm without being up all night, but now, I better understand my tolerance for it. I'd love to see these studies be more specific about cup size. As mentioned earlier, the cups I drink are rather large, but it is the recommended serving size. I wish I kew if it counted as a cup according to these studies.

[@HiyuMarten]

Coffee is know to have a drowsiness effect for lots of people with ADHD (many drugs have some opposite effects, in fact)

[@Dogtor_Orsum]

I came down to say something similar. ADHD too, and I'd been having severe sleeping problems - sometimes I would lie awake, literally unable to close my eyes. It also coincided with all the usual sleep advice of cutting down on caffeine and avoiding screens and all that, but nothing was working; If anything, I was only getting worse, because now I was incredibly bored and unable to sleep. I only seemed to switch off after I would decide it wasn't worth trying to sleep anymore and having a coffee to start a new day. Took embarrassingly long to work out that the coffee was helping me sleep, even after the ADHD diagnosis - it was giving me that stimulation that my brain was craving at that moment, which was why I was being kept so nastily awake.

[@mrmuttley]

@@HiyuMarten I get a bit of that. Sometimes I have coffee and it totally relaxes me. I also have a ritalin prescription that does the same. 😉

[@Vaan4756346]

Thanks, great video again. Only thing I think was missing are withdrawal effects if you drink too much and the effects on the brain from overconsumption.

[@kathisaurus]

A question in which I'd be very interested to have an answer to: The psychoactive side of coffee. Specifically on neurodivergent people, ADHD for example. I'd love to see a colaboration with you, where you talk to someone from the youtube space who is presenting knowledge of the fields of neurodivergence and find that out together

[@t3chno0]

I second this🙌.. I've always used coffee to regulate my adhd naturally since ever. Would like to understand how it actually works

[@becauseimafan]

Yes, would love to see this!

[@nvdawahyaify]

I am autistic and have adhd. I have a "paradoxical" reaction to coffee (and stimulants in general). The more coffee I drink the better I sleep, the calmer I am, and the less anxious. I have drank a gallon of coffee in a day before, on multiple occasions and I haven't had better sleep than when I did. Normally I only drink about a half gallon a day. And I drink about a half gallon of plain water too (sometimes a whole gallon depending on different factors) Weirdly enough alcohol does to me what caffeine does to other people. If I drink alcohol I'm up all night unable to fall asleep, feeling anxious and jumpy.

[@kathisaurus]

@@nvdawahyaify Thanks for sharing! It's interesting because I also don't have problems sleeping! ADHD here. And I literally can feel how my brain goes from morning fog to fast connection, flood of motivation and calm happiness.

[@Nodde1991]

The lighting in the set is astounding. If it's an actual hospital and not just a studio it's even more impressive 😮

[@neal7611]

I would be very curious for a deeper dive into the effects (or lack thereof) of caffeine on people with ADHD! I know for myself, I can drink horrific amounts of coffee and feel very little to no effect on my sleep and energy levels, and I've read in a couple different places that the specific brain chemistry of people with ADHD interacts with caffeine in a unique way.

[@mikafoxx2717]

Some people even get sleepy, and coffee ends up acting like chamomile and melatonin.

[@lizzieb7373]

I can actually take a nap after coffee. I wake up feeling amazing. I used to decide between one of the other til I realized that I felt better with the coffee + nap. ADHD as well, and I do perform better with 2 cups as opposed to one. My cups are usually 8-10 Oz. I try to keep it to two 8 Oz cups.

[@Vin84_]

Im the same like you. Now make me wonder is that a good thing or a bad thing. He mentioned slow caffeine metabolic.

[@jaspermooren5883]

Yeah, I have ADHD and I can drink like 4 espresso in the evening or nothing and I've found literally 0 relationship between my ability to sleep and the coffee. I didn't do a double blind test or anything, but I did try it on different types of days and different levels of tiredness.

[@Rosalynn78]

As soon as he said “some people can drink a double express and go right to sleep” I thought “those people have ADHD. My partner has ADHD and before he was medicated, caffeine put him to sleep. Now that he’s on meds it seems to have more of a neurotypical effect on him.

[@JasonsWorks]

Would love to here about coffee enemas! That has a crazy history. First discovered in WW1 by accident, it has been proven to be incredibly beneficial. I bet you'll get a lot of views on that one!

[@0tispunkm3y3r]

My dad bless him, was drinking 9-10 instant coffees a day pretty much for something to do. Doctors couldn't understand why his blood pressure was so high and continued to stay high despite the various medications they tried. He then read something about coffee and blood pressure and cut it out almost completely... blood pressure back to normal!

[@eyhtwozed2606]

My intake is nowhere your dad's amount. Only about 1 to 2 cups per day and that causes my high bp. If i dont take it at all then my bp back to normal.

[@cieproject2888]

I don't think there has yet been a video more primed for a superb Hames Joffman cut than this one

[@thedaver8]

This felt like a Wes Anderson film

[@matts2806]

Glad you discuss the effect on GERD -- when you appeared on the video with Zoe discussing these issues, this was the main issue that I wished had been discussed. (My own experience is that coffee has a very mild exacerbating effect on GERD compared to some other foods, but everyone's triggers are a little different.)

[@80PercentScottish]

Coffee is a slight trigger for mine but nothing, and I mean NOTHING, comes close to what oats do to me. If I have oats in the second half of the day, I will be choking on acid all night while trying to sleep. Coffee at least doesn't do that to me. Thank god lol.

[@matts2806]

Yeah -- for me, grain in general is a huge trigger, oats included. I used to have severe GERD and think coffee was the problem; now that I've changed my diet and the GERD is gone, I realize that it had more to do with the cute pastry I might eat with the coffee...

[@milesedgeworth132]

I drank like half a teacup full of coffee and GERD fucks me up. Nausea, acid reflux and sourness in my mouth all day.

[@freechilli8755]

@@80PercentScottish Wow this is crazy. I have GERD too but my body does well with oats and dies from coffee (especially hot brew and light roasts). Now I'm getting a little paranoid sipping my oat milk...

[@80PercentScottish]

@@freechilli8755 strangely, oat milk (the processed stuff in the shops) doesn't have the same effect on me. Homemade oat milk does though.

[@kalhan8644]

How much ever you've spent on production for this video, I'm going to say it has been worth it. Real philosophy tube contra points vibe. Good job, a truly entertaining and informative bookmark and share-worthy video.

[@kristofkomeny]

James and Team, well done everyone who was involved in the making of this video, amazing work!

[@marie-evebeauchemin-nadeau3497]

Slight precision: GERD is worsenned by coffee mainely because it relaxes the inferior esophagal sphyncter, which allows the stomac acids to go backwards in the esophagus. Great video, I love the reserch you do and the humor you bring to the subject!

[@MeiinUK]

And remember one thing, your tummy is made for alkaline food and recipes. This is why, when you create a recipe.. it is for that nutrient and food consumption. If you add acid on acid.. it can actually burn a hole in your tummy. (Not a joke. This is a real thing.) And your tummy's job is to break down food... so that it can be filtered, or added to the body as energy... So, before people think about whether to reduce and to process food or whatever.. We mince meat, as to help with processing. So.. I wouldn't throw away basic good ideas with the baby as well... It makes no sense. It is a weird thing that people associate as consuming minced food as food from the hospitals.. or whatever. But in reality, you do need to process some food.. but not all. Vegetables, shouldn't be over processed. Meat should be broken down.

[@liftordietrying]

@@MeiinUK If acidic food could burn a hole in your stomach, then you stomach acid would do it by itself. The human body maintains homeostatis, there is more danger to you erroding your teeth through acids drinks and food then doing anything to your stomach. If you add acidity to your stomach, then it will still dilute the stomach acid, since whatever "acidic" food you eat will always be higher PH than stomach acid, unless you drink straight acids, but that's rather not food.

[@fahadtahir4651]

Great subtle eccentric humour - fingers crossed for more in this style!

[@Creed132UNC]

@JamesHoffmann Great video as always! Just wanted to point out that in medicine we generally talk about it taking about 4-5 half-lives for a drug to clear your system so this would mean caffeine takes closer to a full day to be eliminated. This is because with each half life, only half of the remaining drug will be cleared. So after the second half life you have cleared 75%, after 3 half lives you are at 87.5% cleared, 4 half lives gets you to about 94% and 5 gets you to 97%. The point remains, if you have a coffee at noon a lot remains in your system at bed time and you will even still have more in your system the next morning than you would expect.

[@liftordietrying]

That's not how a human body works. Imagine you have your daily maximum dosage of 400mg. If your body can clear 200mg of caffeine in 5 hours, it will not suddenly only clear 100mg after the first half-life is up. Half-life is only a rough guideline about how quickly certain substances are eliminated from the body when it comes to actual human consumption, it is NOT like Uranium degrading into other elements.

[@deathlok44]

I think an underrated discussion point is coffee's relation to stress. I often am a stressed individual and brewing and sitting down with a great cup of coffee is an incredible stress reliever. I think reducing stress is healthy and coffee makes me happy so, I believe with my entire being, that coffee is good for you

[@rosiehoy4736]

Interesting, I've heard coffee called "anxiety in a cup"

[@dejavu011]

Would you say that's specific to coffee? Probably not...

[@HauntedSheppard]

You should double blind test it with decaf and see if it's placebo connected to the experinece of sitting down. Probably vary it eith meditation or breathing exercises like boxed breathing

[@skeetsmcgrew3282]

I heard someone say once that drinking beer is good for you for this reason. There are objectively hundreds of cheaper, more productive, better ways of reducing stress. Just saying

[@falloncj]

​@@HauntedSheppardI think it's a task we get to start and complete successfully, to varying degrees of complexity and involves going through a process. How many times a day or week do you get to start and successfully complete a task?

[@TheSlave1Taxi]

the production value is INSANE. fantastic informative work, James.

[@farhandhamani8024]

the amount of research put into this video is just mind blowing and the way you explain things makes it so simple to understand.. and loved the production in this one.. always learning something new from you Mr. Hoffmann. Thanks!!!

[@kipsick8693]

I'd love a video comparing different types of coffee for their health benefits. Blonde arabica vs. dark robusta, etc. Amazingly well put together video as always!

[@konradsenf]

On future health-related topics: I would be interested in withdrawal symptoms. Prevalence, predisposition, etc. I spent at least half a year, possibly longer, suffering from terrible headaches most Sundays, which I initially attributed to overwork and lack of sleep. Both issues are probably causing other problems, but the headaches vanished as soon as I stopped consuming espressos at work on weekdays (and no coffee whatsoever at home during the weekend).

[@Jptg_76]

This was a great video! I would love to see more discussion around caffeine as a diuretic, leading some people to say it dehydrates you. I get that athletes get a noticeable performance boost from caffeine, but for someone who is an endurance athlete, how would that effect their hydration throughout a long exercise.

[@timmarshall3278]

certainly a valid point, when I'm planning a longer day doing my sport where I can't stop for a pee or worse I generally wean myself off coffee in preparation and can then manage my fluids for an extended period of time so far around 8 hours.

[@laserwolf65]

It's good for the soul; that much is clear.

[@danielsmullen3223]

I was surprised with the level of academic rigor you showed in this video. You really did a great job, and I'd know -- I'm a scientist! My partner (a physician) also thought this was well done despite initial skepticism. She thinks that I'm really far too much of a weird coffee person but I imagine this video improved her perception of weird coffee people in general somewhat. Also, I think you may have murdered that poor man at the beginning of the video by directly filling their veins with coffee.

[@miketomas8564]

ANY Exposure to James improves perception of weird coffee people... :)

[@robenglish7475]

So fun! Loved the video, and the playful shooting style. Always a bright part of my day when I get to spend a few minutes watching James.

[@BrianLough]

One aspect that I don't really think was covered was it's impact on your mental health (maybe there isn't a correlation between coffee and mental health) I've been off coffee for about 6 years because I felt the additional caffeine was having a negative impact on my anxiety. I definitely used to drink too much though and not get enough sleep. I think quiting it helped at the time. My anxiety issues are much better now I do often wonder about returning to it. I still drink decaf infrequently, but it's just not the same!

[@Eliza-xd5ck]

I'd love more info on if coffee is good for the environment, or generally its sustainability and environmental impact

[@SoidHoid]

I'd be curious to see James do a taste test of a more acidic brew of coffee, with a small pinch of baking soda added to neutralize the Ph. I do this with my seltzer water (the C02 makes it acidic), and I find it quite enjoyable.

[@noob19087]

I believe he did that in the coffee water video. I did that a lot when I was starting with espresso, and I'd pull shots that tasted like battery acid. Though in the case of seltzer, I believe it's more about the sodium and bicarbonate ions providing their own flavor than about neutralizing the carbonic acid, since when you neutralize carbonic acid it just turns into CO2, i.e. fizzes away. You can achieve the same result by just shaking the bottle.

[@18_rabbit]

It's a very very good point! I also have used baking soda very successfully with various coffee's and even other drinks including tea and cocoa (particularly during a sort of fasting period, and also when i didn't have any milk to add, i would use the baking soda, and with pure cocoa powder drinks, it was brilliant results. Same with coffee, bcuz normally i dn't drink black coffee unles very diluted brew

[@vidpet]

One thing you missed from this video I think is anxiety. People sensitive to caffeine often report increased level of anxiety when drinking coffee regularly.

[@liftordietrying]

To be fair people sensitive to any substance exist and should probably avoid said substances. That's a bit like saying that peanut butter could be unhealthy, because some people are allergic. These sorts of things are so entirely individual that it is nonsensical to talk about it in the broad spectrum. If you realize that drinking coffee makes you feel worse, then don't drink cofffee. The question about coffee's health effects is mainly aimed at people that do drink coffee, do not feel any negative association with it and wonder if they are potentially harming their long-term health. They likely will not. But if you or anyone you know has an issue with coffee inducing anxiety it is obviously recommended to cut it out. But considering that literally everyone here in northern Europe drinkds ungodly amounts of coffee and I have not yet met a single person ever reporting this, it may be just a tad bit overstated.

[@KuropatkaJoe]

@proeuropa1783 totally wrong conclusions! coffee raises the level of cortisol in the systems which drives all people anxious sooner or later. that’s just the matter of amount consumed by each person

[@CoffeeKnife]

I always love your demeanor and personality during these videos. Somehow you seem logical and yet lighthearted, passionate but also relaxed, and ofc that smooth british accent is like a nice relaxing massage for my ears. Thank you for being you and providing us with such quality content ❤

[@natekiellach2940]

When will James finally upload his technique for aeropress IV bag coffee

[@coffeenerdaaron]

Wonderful video James!!! I love that you explore and educate us on more areas of coffee other than brewing and product reviews!

[@MorganKendle]

This is exactly the kind of video I've been looking for for ages. I wish more objective, balanced, and considered analysis of information videos like this were done, excellent work to all involved.

[@shmackydoodRon]

Finns drink the most coffee. They’re also the happiest. And they use saunas most often. The takeaway is obvious. Drink coffee in a sauna.

[@iainburgess8577]

Interesting point; if caffeine does not affect your sleep, your alertness, or even makes you sleepy for the first cup or two, consider ADHD, even self-assessment (last personal stage before Drs/official assessment). Many or most ADHD people use caffeine to self medicate, and because it affects us through a similar mechanism to stimulant ADHD meds, many see drowsyness or no affect on alertness Before we reach doses that actually stimulate.

[@Mariposa_46]

Informative, quietly humorous, creatively filmed. James always delivers.

[@AdamJRichardson]

Loved this. And shout out to the supporting cast who were giving you odd looks, ignoring you, holding inhumanly still, or avoiding you. I'm happy that it confirms my belief that coffee is at least not bad for me :) I'd love to see a similar treatment about the current freakout over gas stoves in the US, which feels ripe for debunking. (I mean, if they're really as toxic and cancerous with benzine as some are saying, doesn't it seem like we would have noticed by now, given how widespread their use is in the population over many decades?). But that's probably a bit far afield from coffee! Also, I loved how your ID badge says "Not a Hospital"

[@funkyspacecow]

The fiber content of coffee was a big surprise to me, I had no idea it contained so much soluble fiber. Great video all around, loved how you gave a very serious summary of complex research in such an approachable and goofy way. Keep up the great work James!

[@clegg2005]

BREAKING NEWS: “James Hoffmann discovers Coffee is unhealthy, has existential breakdown”

[@adrian0bracher]

8:15 One minor correction: If the half life of a given substance is 5 hours, then that doesn’t mean that after 10 hours it has fully cleared your system. After 10 hours you‘ll have a quarter the original amount in your system.. exponential decay.

[@owenness6146]

Can we--can we just appreciate the production that went into this video.