How much coffee is too much?

Well, that’s a good question. I think the more, the better, but a few bloggers know that I reach my limit when my left eye starts twitching. When that happens, I usually stop drinking until the next day.

I read a good article with the same title in The Economist that discusses the subject. It seems like every now and then, someone will write an article about how much coffee—or wine, for that matter—we should drink to stay within healthy limits. I know my limit for coffee, and since I don’t typically drink wine, it’s one less thing to worry about.

Before going into the amount that the article states as the limit, let me give you a brief history of coffee and my own habits.

Anecdotally, coffee originated around the 9th century in Ethiopia, but historical evidence supports that coffee cultivation and trade began in Yemen around the mid-15th century. Around the same time, Sufi monks (practitioners of Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam) were brewing coffee for religious rituals.1

In Puerto Rico, where I’m from, coffee was introduced around 1736 by Spanish colonists—probably from Martinique or Santo Domingo. Our coffee is mainly cultivated in the mountainous towns of Yauco, Adjuntas, Utuado, and Lares because of the fertile volcanic soil and cool elevations.2

I’m biased, of course, and I think Puerto Rico produces the best coffee in the world. The photo below shows my favorite brands.

Photo by Edward Ortiz

I usually order these online and pay $6.65 for Yaucono and $5.70 for Crema.3 I drink a lot of coffee from these 14-ounce bags, and it’s definitely way cheaper than your typical Starbucks Americano. I don’t do fancy coffee, so black with little or no sugar is my way to go.

When I was in the military, 6 or 7 cups were my normal, which resulted in the occasional eye twitching. Now I’m at about 4 cups a day (early morning, mid-morning, after lunch, and before dinner) with no eye twitching for the past two years. And when I say cups, I really mean 12-ounce mugs.

The amount of coffee I drink daily is close enough to the recommendation from the article and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: 400 milligrams per day4, or roughly 4–5 cups (8 ounces each).

The article says that some components of coffee can reduce inflammation, there is some suggestion that it can fend off cancer, and apparently, one study by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm reported that post-menopausal women who claimed to drink 3 to 4 cups of coffee per day were significantly less likely to develop breast cancer.5 And we all know that caffeine is a stimulant and that coffee combats tiredness.

I’m not sure about all those benefits, and science will continue investigating to confirm or deny such findings. I drink coffee because it’s awesome, and I’ve been drinking it since I was 14 years old, maybe even before that.

Not sure if reading this post stimulated your coffee neurons or not, but I can tell you it stimulated mine, and with that, I’m going for my last cup of the day. Drink up, my friends.

My 3D printed coaster
  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee#History ↩︎
  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_production_in_Puerto_Rico ↩︎
  3. https://prcoffee.com/ground-coffee/ ↩︎
  4. https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/spilling-beans-how-much-caffeine-too-much ↩︎
  5. https://breast-cancer-research.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/bcr2879 ↩︎

111 thoughts on “How much coffee is too much?”

    1. That’s awesome. I can’t live without it, so I order online every three months or so. It’s so good. Thank you for reading and commenting. I’m happy to hear that your husband likes the coffee from my beautiful island.

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    1. Thank you, and I agree. I tried many, but none grabbed my attention. Bustelo is similar to the ones in the photo, and actually, I used to drink Bustelo until they started selling Puerto Rican coffee online.

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  5. WoW Edward, you brought up some memories with these coffee selections ☕🔥… Nothing beats real Puerto Rican coffee, so rich and smooth. People really don’t realize there’s way better coffee from PR than just the Americanized Café Bustelo. Being from Yauco and Sabana Grande, we know our coffee 😎..

    You gotta try Café Selecto from Yauco and Alto Grande from Lares … Yummy !! 😋🇵🇷

    Hey, if your eye’s not twitching, you’re probably good 😆💪

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      2. Being Puerto Rican, I was raised on coffee and would often drink 4-6 cups a day. Now that I am much older, I can only limit myself to 1 1/2 cups a day.

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  7. Huh… I had not heard of the apparent cancer prevention connection. That’s good to know. “And when I say cups, I really mean 12-ounce mugs.” LOL, that’s my definition of a cup of coffee too.

    I’ve never had a problem with caffeine, but I’m extremely sensitive to acid. So I drink low acid coffee. And they are NOT all created equal (some still are too much for me). If anyone else has this problem, I do well with the Lucy Jo brand. Kava Instant seems to be the best for me (also gets hard to find), but well, it’s instant, and Lucy Jo has a much better flavor. Anyhow they say that hot caffeinated coffee helps asthma. That’s my excuse, and I’m stickin’ with it. Hugs.

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    1. Some days I use 16-ounce mugs, but who’s counting? 😀 I’d never heard of Lucy Jo Coffee, so I looked it up. Well, Mello Belly Low Acid Dark caught my attention. I should try it just for the name alone. Thank you, my friend.

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  8. I love black coffee no sugar, but it doesn’t love me. I get the twitching and shaking, energy highs and lows and a massive headache the following day ( caffeine withdrawal). Gave it up around 20 years ago. But I still love the aroma!

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  9. I loved the post, Ed. You tend to give pleasant surprises with your posts, some moving toward compelling thought. Coffee drinker here. I don’t need fancy coffee. Just a good cup of coffee with Italian Sweet Creamer and I’m good. Thank you for sharing. I did appreciate the history on coffee.

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    1. Thank you very much, Sandra. I enjoy sharing what I read with the WP community. You know, I’m glad I switched to physical newspapers, there is so much goodness there. I read The Economist and the Wall Street Journal weekend edition, and they have wonderful articles. I know a lot of people prefer the online versions, but there is something about the physical paper and how it is structured that I like very much. I’d rather turn pages than click on a website looking for the news.

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  10. If I don’t have my 2 cups of coffee first thing in the morning, I am not a happy camper. It is my uplifting, spiritual, nature nurturing, watching my bird feeders and the sunrise (if I am up early enough) ritual every morning.

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  12. I used to drink a lot of coffee at work. I developed a terrible case of gastritis. If I ate something that irritated my stomach, I would start vomiting and experience that for eight hours straight. Once I figured out what was happening, I stopped drinking coffee and haven’t touched it since. Some people can handle it more than others.

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    1. Oh wow, this is the first time I’ve heard that it can cause gastritis, but coffee is acidic so it makes sense. It’s good that you found the cause and were able to remedy it. Thank you, Dawn, for reading and sharing your experience.

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  14. My partner loved the coffee in PR, and we brought a bag back with us. For me, any coffee is too much. coffee and I pogo stick through life. As a kid I drank it with more milk than coffee, and sugar. The ladies serving it were so worried I’d stunt my growth. If I did, I don’t regret it. : )

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  15. I can’t drink coffee black, Edward, but I just add a little bit of creamer. I have 2 small cups in the morning and that’s it for me. I drink it for the taste and ritual with hubby. The funny thing is that I can’t feel the caffeine. But I can definitely feel the wine! 🙂 What a great post! And I love the coaster! Cheers! ☕️

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  17. I don’t want to say how much coffee I used to drink, but now that I can’t drink it at all, this was such a delicious article to read. Thank you, thank you, thank you, love… hugs

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  19. “6 or 7 cups” 😵‍💫 I would be up for 6 or 7 days. 😄 I suppose that type of energy is needed while serving in the military, given the demands. Thank you for the interesting article and for the coffee brand recommendation. I don’t drink it everyday, but when I do, it’s one cup with a splash of cream. ☕🙏🏻

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  20. I’m ready for my first cup and likely my only cup of the day. Also a hefty amount, rather than a delicate cup. And then I’ll move to teas. If I’m out, I may pick up a coffee on the way. I love Starbucks. Though definitely not everyday. At home it’s usually homemade drip and Nabob. Though I’ve had your favourite brands. And you’re right, so good!
    I can’t believe you used to drink enough coffee to make your eye twitch. And 4-5 12 oz mugs still sounds like a lot.
    There’s such a beautiful culture around coffee though. And its flavour and culture is different based on nationality. When I think of it, I actually have a lot of memories around coffee. I started drinking it at 5. I know that sounds ridiculous, but we also sometimes had a sip of wine with dinner as kids.
    Excuse me while I go pour myself a cup. Your post has tempted me.

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    1. I usually make my first cup with the Keurig just to get going, and then use the moka pot throughout the day. I know, I used to drink a lot of coffee, those were some hectic days back then. I’m thinking about cutting back to three cups to get closer to the recommended amount. We’ll see how that goes, and I might start adding tea to the equation.

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  21. Well, what can I say? I am a coffee lover too and am having my coffee while reading your post 🙂 I keep my daily intake small—half a cup (made with half an individual dose). I like it black and without sugar. Besides the taste, I love the cognitive enhancement it provides—an awakened and focused mind. Besides improving the cognitive function, coffee also supports the liver health, diminishes the risk of degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, and of course gives lots of energy. This is to add to some of the health benefits you mentioned and so many more. When taken in moderation, it’s definitely a good choice. A wonderful read, Edward! Much enjoyed! With gratitude, sending you light and blessings and wishing you a peaceful day 🙏✨

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    1. Thank you, Susana, for adding to the post. After posting, I read about the benefits of caffeine in stimulating parts of the brain and countering some symptoms of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Funny that you mentioned drinking coffee while reading the post, that’s exactly what I’m doing now as I reply to your comment, enjoying my mid-morning coffee.

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  24. It’s black, no sugar for me all the way. But I’m surprised that none of the recommended daily servings mention anything about too much coffee too near bedtime interfering with sleep. It’s a sad reality. Sigh.

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    1. You’re right, and the article didn’t highlight that, but it did mention insomnia as a result of drinking more than the recommended amount. It didn’t affect me in the past, but since I’m not drinking coffee at night anymore, it will probably affect me now. Thank you for adding the sleep part, Jane.

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  26. oh man, Edward, I’m glad you now stop at 4 before your eyes start twitching.. lol. Love the packaging and for that price, Starbucks should be a no no although I have to say it’s still one of my favorites consistently. Let’s not forget it helps exercise, brain function and let’s see, we’ll think of something.
    What I love the most is we can turn anything into a study of our choice. Take wine for instance.. even though you don’t drink it much. I make my own rules lol. Once I argued with my doctor about drinking 2 glasses a night most nights and he looked at my stats and said “keep doing whatever you’re doing”.. lol 😂

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    1. Awesome response from your doctor. I keep reading that one glass of red wine with dinner is excellent for health and is a staple of the Mediterranean diet. I might need to give that a go and follow your example, my friend and mentor. 😀

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  27. At my last job they had free coffee and goodness knows how many 8 oz paper cups of that crap I drank all day long. If I have access to strong coffee, my tendency has been to drink about 3 strong cups a day. Two in the morning and one in the early afternoon. These days I have taken to often having powdered ceremonial matcha for that afternoon pick-me-up. Man, once you get a matcha habit you start craving it at least every few days. Like some days it must be coffee in the afternoon and other days it simply must be high quality matcha. And I make that kinda strong as well. No sugar on either one, just creamer or oat milk. But you know – I learned this trick of whisking a tablespoon of heated coconut oil into my first cup of coffee of the day – and man – it’s the best coffee beverage I have ever had. There’s this extra energy that does not happen from just coffee alone and it tastes straight amazing. I discovered this trick online from the paleo diet crowd and they call it “bulletproof coffee”. Not sure if you have heard of it but I love it. I could almost get away with not adding creamer it’s so good, just the oil frothed into the black. Anyway. You are making me want to try coffee from Puerto Rico now.

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    1. Coconut oil, that sounds interesting. I think I have some, so I might need to try it. And if you decide to order some PR coffee, let me know what you think. I hear you about the free coffee in the office. It used to be pots of coffee, and then came the Keurig, which took it to another level of craziness.

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      1. But you have to whisk it, or it isn’t the same. Got of those electric whisks around? I tried just stirring it up with a spoon and it was just oil in coffee with no taste. Something about whisking up the coconut oil into the coffee makes this really rich, nutty natural flavor. I try to limit this to a few times a week and not every day because it’s like 190 calories or something and fatty. But so decadent.

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              2. Try to take notice of it also gives you (or gave you) a little extra boost of either mental clarity or energy. That is supposed to be one of the benefits and I certainly feel it. But everyone has different bodies. The MCT’s in coconut oil are supposed to be an energy booster and all around good for people.

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  28. Interesting post, Edward! For many years, I couldn’t stand the taste of coffee without some milk or cream in it, and prepared that way, I could easily drink 5 or six cups or until my stomach rebelled. About 3 years ago, I switched to black coffee and reduced my consumption to one or two cups before noon and none the rest of the day. If I drink coffee after the noon hour, it keeps me awake at night.

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    1. Thank you for sharing, Terry. I’m going to try to cut down to 3 cups to get closer to the recommended amount. Black is so much healthier. About 30 years ago, I used to put a lot of sugar in it, but I’m glad that now I go without or just use half a teaspoon, depending on the day.

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  33. Love this…and the encouragement to try to drink coffee without all the ‘extra stuff’ added. I’ve heard it a million times – that drinking black coffee (or as close to as possible, like you) is best but I need to cultivate the taste for it. Maybe I need a good Puerto Rican bean to make it work! Thanks for sharing your faves! 🥰

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