I'm a coffee achiever, Sam.

[Megalyth]

What is your opinion of/relationship to coffee? Do you drink it at all? Do you drink it to enjoy it, or to simply function? How much per day? How do you like it?

Personally, I like huge cups of coffee with minimal sugar and just enough milk to make it a dark brown. Too much sugar kills the natural coffee taste for me. I also enjoy iced coffee at times, with no sugar. Sugar tends not to dissolve well in cold coffee, and I dislike sucking sugar through a straw.

I'm no Voltaire (thanks st. alfonzo), but I have been known to consume a dozen cups of coffee or more in a day/night, while other days/nights I drink none at all. Being a smoker, naturally the combination of coffee and nicotine is extremely enjoyable for me, probably too much so. I can certainly function without it, but if I've spent several days drinking large amounts of coffee, I'll (not surprisingly) get a mild headache if I don't drink any the next day.

When I was about 23, I worked at a sheet metal/ductwork shop with my best friend for life, who is a notorious coffee fiend. We had a deal that, alternating days, whoever made the first pot of coffee in the morning could take the first cup out of the machine, which is of course extremely strong (and we made the coffee strong as hell to begin with). This resulted in an extremely manic first half of the day, eyes slammed wide open, ears ringing, etc. Good times.

TL;DR - Coffee, discuss. O_O

Edit: Multiple typos. Too much coffee, perhaps? :)

[Mithran Denizen]

I don't really care for coffee. I intentionally avoid it most of the time so that I don't become dependent on it, but I do occasionally drink it in binges to keep myself awake for stretches of several days at a time.

When I do drink it, I generally take it totally black, or with a dabble of milk in the shit if it's been sitting festering and rancid for too long to be palatable.

[AndrewB]

About 3 cups a day. Always fresh ground, with fair trade beans. I like cream, no sugar, sometimes double cream. Goes best with birthday cake.

[Planky]

I dislike coffee, yet love the smell. Go figure.

I get my caffeine fix via Coke/Energy drinks.

[Technician]

It's rare that I drink a cup these days. I'll always drink it black, and then have a good half-hour of the jitters.

I've even cut back my Pepsi drinking to one can a day.

[Daiyu_Xiaoxiang]

I always like to drink coffee, and I dearly drink it everyday. It's weird that I can fall asleep without much problem after drinking some coffee.

[Jodwin]

I'm a social coffee drinker, have been since I was a kid. Meaning that I drink (sometimes a lot) when I'm with other people but by myself I prefer tea. However, no amount of caffeine has any kinds of effects on me. When someone says they need coffee to wake up or that they can't get sleep because of too much caffeine I have no idea what the fuck they're talking about.

[Liam]

I've been working on and off as a barista for about 5 years now. only just recently did I join back up with the Big Green Devil, which has its perks, but there was nothing like tending a bar where all the beans were roasted on-site, a 5-second walk from the espresso machine.

free, good quality coffee at work and at home is definitely one reason I keep coming back to the job; I personally drink 2-3 cups a day although it used to be more. a double espresso enjoyed with a cigarette is pretty much what is best in life.

[exp(x)]

This is my coffee of choice. I prefer it made with a French press, and I drink it straight.

[wildweasel]

I don't drink a lot of coffee - I tend to save it for special occasions. It's good stuff.

[Bank]

Black as the sky on a moonless night.

[Belial]

I don't drink coffee, and most of the people I know who do don't drink it for the taste, they just need it to keep them awake through the day.

Tea, no sugar.

Better yet, mineral water.

[Remilia Scarlet]

I almost never drink coffee, but not for any particular reason. Instead I drink a lot of tea, mostly black though I also occasionally drink mugicha and Ito En green tea when I can find it. But when I do drink coffee, it's usually straight black with no sugar, or a cup (not a shot) of straight espresso.

[hex11]

Yeah, once/day I drink this coffee:
http://tjonlinestore.com/xcart43/product.php?productid=2814

It's cheap, and tastes great with small amounts of cream & sweetener. Hot in the winter months, and iced the rest of the year.

I also drink green tea, diet mountain dew, and mix cocoa powder in with my breakfast cereal (eaten with plain yoghurt, not milk).

[gggmork]

I almost never drink it and don't really like it (alcohol either). Besides it would probably make my black hairy tongue condition worse.

[Bloodshedder]

Coffee tears up my gastrointestinal tract, and caffeine gives me a headache.

[DoomUK]

Gotta start the day with a mug of super strong filtered coffee. Ideally made with freshly-ground beans, but I don't find it a prerequisite. Two sugars, lots of cream or whitener (more economical, still tastes better than milk).

That is my daily morning ritual. For the rest of the day however I won't touch coffee. I'll have a cup of tea or two throughout the afternoon. Too much caffeine in my system makes me jittery and irritable.

[Mr. T]

Every morning, I buy a liter of crap (usually "coffee milk" or coke) and a liter of either green tea or mugi tea. Fun!

I used to be a real coffee freak (4-5 cups of black a day) but cut it out when I overcaffienated and couldn't concentrate on sheeyat

[myk]

The achiever is coffee itself because the combination of relative addictiveness and its mildness on the body (compared to must drugs and alcohol) makes it something people keep buying even when the price goes up.

Daiyu_Xiaoxiang said:
It's weird that I can fall asleep without much problem after drinking some coffee.

Yeah, same here. I remember it used to keep me awake more clearly but generally not anymore. I think one develops a resistance to the effect. I don't even drink it every day, and often not more than one small cup per day but that must be enough to remain accustomed to it. Tea keeps me awake more effectively, in fact, but I drink it less regularly. In addition, milk has the opposite effect, I believe because when we are babies, it's given to us before we're put to sleep, forming a psychosomatic-digestive habit. A mix of both could cancel their effects. I drink coffee without milk for the most part, though.

[Memfis]

I accidentally tried it once when I was 7 or so (mistaken it for the tea). BLEEERGH.

[myk]

That reminds me I disliked it when I was small but not as an adult. It was "some smoky strong black thing grownups drink." What you thought about it at 7 may not be representative of what you might taste today :p

[DoomUK]

Memfis said:

I accidentally tried it once when I was 7 or so (mistaken it for the tea). BLEEERGH.

Perhaps it's an acquired taste. Try a mild or medium-strength coffee with lots of sugar and cream. Just don't corrupt your senses by using instant coffee (Nescafe et al) as your foray into the adult world of coffee drinking. That stuff makes me want to puke.

[TwinBeast]

I like coffee. I usually just drink one big cup in the morning. I guess I make it kinda strong too, at least it's two times stronger than it was when I started drinking coffee. I have sugar and sometimes I have cream, never milk. Milk in coffee just tastes weird. Sometimes I put some chocolate melting in it. Sometimes ice cream.

[hex11]

Nescafe? That's premium stuff! You should try the instant coffee that comes with MREs. Well at least you can mix it with the cocoa and non-dairy creamer to get something halfway decent.

[DoomUK]

hex11 said:

Nescafe? That's premium stuff!

Nescafe Gold is ok I guess. But the regular stuff and the decaffeinated variety? Eeew.

[Aliotroph?]

Mom used to go through a shitload of Nescafe. It was scary how much she drank. Then one day she quit drinking coffee.

I don't drink it much. I don't usually like being a quivering mass in front of the computer. Sometimes I have coffee when my bro makes it, or I drink it socially. I like it, but I don't like the side effects.

Have had some bad times with it before. Brought an extra-large Tim Hortons coffee to a six-hour exam once. Left with a hangover. Also drank a pot of really strong coffee while writing a paper one night. My heart rate tripled and stayed there for four hours. Thought I was gonna die. The footnotes didn't happen.

Also drank tons of ice coffee in Japan. The place we ate at often liked to serve it as part of the meal combo.

I usually drink tea. Usually unsweetened Earl Grey. Trivia: if you ask for tea with no sugar in the hospital they ask if you're diabetic! :D

[DuckReconMajor]

Though I love coffee, caffeine pills take less time from my schedule.

I used to drink it black, but when finishing up a programming final project I made a cup of instant coffee where half of the cup was filled with the powder. I forced it down, and it kept me awake, but later I vomited. Then I went to bed, woke up, and vomited again. So at least for a while I'll be putting cream/sugar into mine.

However, I'm a much bigger fan of sleep than I am of caffeine. I hope not to need any caffeine this summer.

[hex11]

This is The Stuff, right here:
http://penguin-mints-gum.amazonwebstore.com/Penguin-Caffeinated-Peppermints-Mints-12-x/A/B0002CTW50.htm

Of course, back in the old school D&D days we weren't all that fancy. To stay awake through a weekend marathon session, we just took in massive quantities of regular caffeine pills (nasty stuff), mountain dew, and pizza. Ahh, good times!

[DooMAD]

Don't like coffee or tea. I just drink water at work and either juice or soft drinks at home.

[Shaikoten]

I don't drink coffee. I jump out of bed and am awake and alert without any further prodding.

On a typical day I will only drink a few thing, just out of habit. Water is what I drink the most of. I enjoy beer, so a glass or two with dinner is not out of the question. And on the off chance I get fast food, I will sometimes get a sprite.

But mostly I just drink water. Feels good man.