Whether you're caffeine-intollerant or just want to lighten-up your caffeine intake then a caffeine detox or just a 'caffeine reset' could both dramatically help balance your health & wellbeing without sacrificing coffee enjoyment.
Should I caffeine detox or not?
Good question. While January takes the limelight as the time to reduce all the bad things in your life, any time is the perfect time to improve your wellbeing and health.
If this sounds familiar and you’re a little too dependent on caffeine or finding life in general is affecting your levels of stress and sleep, then there are a couple of options to consider...
A Healthy Swap
Whether home working or home-schooling, juggling life with too much caffeine can result in higher levels of anxiety and stress so going cold turkey on caffeine is an option. But you need not sacrifice your love of coffee as there's a hero out there and it's name is speciality grade coffee - scroll straight to Tip #2 to find out more.
Don't detox...just reset
On the flip side, foregoing daily brews just aren't an option for coffee lovers like you or us so there's definitely a balance to be had so simply reset your relationship with caffeine with the help of our decaf coffee tips here.
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Tip #1 Caffeinate your way to better sleep
The truth is you don’t need to eliminate that much-needed morning coffee to help kick-start long days at the office. The answer is to enjoy the best of both caffeine worlds, indulging in caffeinated cuppas before lunchtime, then switching to decaf in the afternoon. You’ll be caffeine-free by early evening and significantly boost the quality of your sleep, while reducing any anxiety levels at the end of a long day.
Thanks to the gradual caffeine reduction over a period of days or weeks you’ll also be avoiding all the painful withdrawal symptoms associated with a full caffeine detox. So aim to restrict the number of caffeinated coffees to four cups a day to avoid exceeding the 400mg of caffeine that the European Food Standards Agency recommend.
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Tip #2: Keep calm and drink speciality grade decaf
A key weapon in any caffeine detox or reset is the once ugly duckling of the coffee world, decaf.
For many, the very word induces horrid memories of enduring insipid mugs of instant decaf in pursuit of going caffeine-free.
Worse still, 8 out of 10 of those mugs were highly likely to have been exposed to the same chemicals found in paint stripper, used to remove the caffeine.
While solvent decaffeination is still very much a reality, decaf has luckily been re-born in the last decade thanks to processes such as Swiss Water and Mountain Water Decaffeination by simply combining spring water, temperature and time to create delicious, chemical-free decafs that taste like the real caffeinated thing.
So if you love coffee but have had enough caffeine, then seeking out quality naturally decaffeinated coffees like our Swiss Water Decaf pods or our Colombian Sugarcane Decaf (another natural decaffeination process) is the tastiest way to carry on enjoying the ritual and taste of coffee without a caffeine kick or chemical trail.
Our Blue Goose Range of Ground and Whole Bean Coffees currently includes a Colombian Sugarcane Decaf, or if you drink Nespresso machine coffee then our organic Swiss Water Decaf Pods are Nespresso-compatible and plastic free so are the perfect coffee capsule solution.
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Tip #3: Don’t let stress kill your love of coffee
Coffee is a small luxury indulgence so, whether working from home, looking after the kids or tackling a long to do list, it’s important to enjoy your cuppa in a happy or relaxing place to avoid associating coffee itself with stressful situations.
Why not actually book a coffee break in the kitchen with your other half for a good natter, or snuggle up with the kids to watch a lovely film.
Your coffee break presents an ideal opportunity to cherish moments at home with your loved ones, embracing the comfort and joy it brings to everyday life.
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Tip #4: Make brewing a cinch while looking after the environment
If the thought of grinding and brewing your own coffee is too much then invest in your very own original-style Nespresso® coffee pod machine. Convenient and simple to use, they are a dream for creating barista quality coffee at home.
But beware of your environmental footprint if you just opt for standard aluminium or plastic pods. They will outlive your children and your grandchildren if they end up in in landfill so, instead, choose our range of the Nespresso® compatible eco pods, delivering speciality grade coffee in entirely compostable coffee capsules.
From our Organic Swiss Water® pods to our Which? Magazine Best Buy compostable pods filled with 2 Star Great Taste Award Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee, it's a range that is the perfect eco option for any conscious coffee drinker.
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Tip #5: Caffeine Calorie Burn...sip your way to a thinner you!
Evidence shows that enjoying a coffee before exercise enhances your fitness and athletic performance and will help burn an average of 15% more calories for exactly the same effort.
Take Channel 4s “Food Unwrapped Does Superfoods” programme, for example. Presenter Kate Quilton’s stepped up to test the theory, where a caffeine-free workout boosted her metabolic rate by 100 calories.
But exactly the same workout, post-espresso, boosted her metabolic rate by 300 calories. She was 30 seconds faster too, proving caffeine really does help enhance athletic performance and burn more calories for exactly the same amount of exercise.
Who knew a simple shot of espresso could work such wonders for the new you?
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Tip #6: Be more ethical - choose climate-conscious coffee
When regularly confronted with so many issues in the world, it’s easy to forget the wider threats we face such as climate change. So making some really simple choices when you next buy coffee will help you enjoy many exceptional chemical-free mugs of the good stuff whilst also hitting your eco-conscious intentions.
For example, always choosing organically grown coffee will help local wildlife and biodiversity thrive in the coffee fields as well as reducing the creation, use and disposal of man-made chemicals. This is particularly true when purchasing decafs, so always look for the Swiss Water® Decaf logo or opt for coffees decaffeinated using alternative natural processes such as the Mountain Water or Sugarcane methods.
Now more than ever small businesses like Blue Goose Coffee need your help too. Our purpose driven approach means we pay our farmers a premium well above the Fairtrade Minimum Price and donate to water and wildlife charities. We also offset our workforce’s carbon footprint and supply all our coffee in entirely plastic-free packaging.
So, by choosing our organic decaf coffees in compostable pods, or from our range of whole bean and ground coffee in compostable pouches, you’re also choosing a delicious, sustainable and ethical coffee experience that is good for you and the planet.
We hope these tips and insights have helped you re-frame the much needed caffeine in your life and we, in some way, can help you discover a happy balance for your wellbeing and the planet.
Best, Nick
Founder, Blue Goose Coffee