Many of us look forward to starting off the day with a nice cup or two of coffee. It can be a pleasant part of your daily routine, and it can also give you the kick you need to jump into the day. There’s obviously a variety of options on the market to choose from, and you first need to decide between regular coffee and its decaf counterpart. Understanding the pros and cons of full-strength coffee in Pampa, TX versus decaf means knowing what you’re looking for: flavor, caffeine content and more. Read on for some helpful information.
What is decaf?
Coffee beans naturally contain a chemical called caffeine. While caffeine can help boost alertness, mental reaction time and improved concentration, it can also have some drawbacks, which leads us to the pros and cons of decaf coffee in Pampa, TX.
If caffeine is consumed in large quantities, it can lead to anxiety, jitters, difficulties with sleeping and even ulcers or heartburn. For that reason, many people opt for decaf coffee. Decaf is coffee that has had a significant portion of the caffeine extracted. It gives you the familiar taste of coffee without as much of the caffeine, so if you’re prone to anxiety or sleep issues, decaf can be a great alternative.
Differences in caffeine
We should be clear about one thing: “decaf” doesn’t necessarily mean “zero caffeine.” It simply means a drastically reduced amount of caffeine in your cup. A normal 8 oz cup of regular coffee can contain anywhere from 70 to 140 mg of caffeine, while its decaf counterpart can have around 7 mg in the same volume.
If you enjoy having two or three cups of coffee every day, but the caffeine load is becoming too much for your body, you can still drink the same amount of decaf without experiencing the same ill effects. If you’re more tolerant of caffeine, one of the big pros of coffee in Pampa, TX is that you get a real lift with your daily cup of joe.
Differences in health benefits
One of the pros of all coffee in Pampa, TX is that study after study proves it has measurable health benefits. Both regular and decaf coffee have been linked to a lowered risk of Type 2 diabetes, for example, as well as a lowered risk of aging-related diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. The effects of decaf coffee specifically are not as closely studied, but we can reasonably assume they’re quite similar. Regular coffee also has particular short-term health benefits thanks to its caffeine content—coffee drinkers have been shown to have better mood, memory and reaction time.
The biggest difference between regular coffee and decaf is, not surprisingly, its caffeine content. Caffeine can be a great addition to your daily diet for the reasons outlined above, but it’s not for everybody, and nobody should be using it in excess.
If you like the taste and health benefits of coffee, but don’t care for how caffeine affects you, it could be worth adding some decaf to your next order with Armstrong Coffee Service!