Caffeine Jolt!

I’ve never been a regular coffee or caffeine consumer. A soda here or there, some iced or hot tea sometimes. When I was younger I didn’t like coffee unless it was mostly milk/half & half with a teeny tiny bit of coffee for flavoring. When Starbucks came around, it was “cool” for kids at school to get Starbucks because it was trendy. I wasn’t trendy, nor did I want to be, but I tried it a couple times. The coffee drinks were not my thing because, well obviously a coffee shop is going to make coffee for people who like caffeine, i.e. too strong for me! I did find that I liked the Chai Latte. The blend of spices in Chai is very tasty to me. So whenever I went to Sbux that would be my drink of choice, iced in the summer and hot in the winter. I would also indulge in a frapaccino or two at times. Either way, I never got much of a caffeine jolt out of such drinks.

In the recent past, I was, for a while, having a cup of coffee every morning (again, mostly half and half with a bit of coffee) because Marc would make a pot. (It was also because we had found this really good blend of Pinon hazelnut… yum!) But when I got pregnant I stopped drinking it and anything else with caffeine.

Now since I’m nursing I try to avoid most caffeine, at least in drinks. I do allow myself some chocolate but the bit that I eat wouldn’t have much caffeine to contend with. According to Baby Center it’s acceptable to have a little caffeine on occasion, even regularly for some people. So it wasn’t until recently that I decided to stop on my way to work and get a Chai Latte at Sbux. The first time I stopped to get it was because I missed the flavor. So there I was at work, sipping away at my long missed treat when I realized I was zooming about the office with extra pep in my step! I was also humming to myself and probably talking faster than usual as some of my coworkers appeared to be catching only half of what I was saying. 

What a difference in how my body reacts to the caffeine! Talk about a jolt! The funny thing is, I ge a "tall" which is 12 oz. (I thought it was 8 oz but I guess they have a "short" that's the 8 oz.) I mean, how much caffeine can that have in it? Being a curious person, I looked it up. It has 75mg of caffeine in it. So, how much caffeine is too much? According to the Mayo Clinic  "For most healthy adults, moderate doeses of caffeine - 200 to 300 milligrams (mg), or about two to four cups of brewed coffee a day - aren't harmful". 200-300mg? And I only had 75mg or 25% of a moderate consumers dose! That's just sad! I'm a caffeine light weight! 

Well, that's ok. At least I know that when I need a boost, it won't take much! For now, I'll definitely keep my caffeine consumption to a minimum, because if I have anything more than that I might just learn how to fly!