Blake's Take

By Clarissa Blake

I have always been a coffee drinker, and in recent years have added White Monster to the list. It started with egg coffee at the Cottage Inn with my grandparents in Big Stone City when I was about 10 years old. It came with a freshly baked caramel roll and what felt like half a container of sugar. If you don’t know what egg coffee is, it’s a whole raw egg mixed with the coffee grounds before brewing. It is a Swedish style of coffee that creates a smoother, less bitter taste. Strong coffee lovers consider it a weak style of coffee.

    Fast forward, and caffeine in general has become a cultural phenomenon. There are coffee shops, drive-through coffee trucks, fancy home brewing machines and endless rows of energy drinks at grocery stores, vending machines and gas stations. And I’m here for them all.

    My current routine can include a triple shot of espresso in the morning, a White Monster after lunch and, depending on the day, another coffee in the afternoon. Is that excessive, or is it acceptable for a healthy heart?

    The FDA says up to 400 milligrams of caffeine a day is generally not associated with negative effects for most healthy adults. That is roughly four cups of brewed coffee, although the amount varies depending on the drink. Concentrated caffeine powders and liquids are a different story and can be more dangerous. So, where does my daily caffeine intake fall? And an afternoon caffeine intake is considered to be bad for your sleep routine. It doesn’t affect mine, and I’m wondering if that should be concerning in itself.

    Last weekend, I read a Wall Street Journal opinion piece about our culture of “max optimization,” and it made me think about my own caffeine habits. We are constantly trying to get more done, work harder, and squeeze more productivity out of every day. I certainly feel more “optimized” when I have caffeine.

    The author described an energy drink like this, “The caffeine hit me harder than coffee does. I could’ve cartwheeled down the corridor. Instead, I typed some emails very quickly.” I couldn’t relate more. There is something about that first sip of caffeine that makes the to-do list seem a little less intimidating. At what point does trying to optimize ourselves become too much?

    I am not ready to give up my morning espresso or afternoon White Monster yet. But maybe I should pay a little more attention to how much caffeine I am actually consuming. If I need caffeine all day just to feel “optimized,” maybe I should ask myself what my normal energy level actually feels like.

    If you are reading this while drinking your third cup of coffee, don’t worry.