When is too much of a good thing, a bad thing?

For some people, a cup of coffee is essential to function in the morning. For others, it’s a midday pick me up or a prerequisite before an all-nighter. It is estimated that 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed globally every single day. It is the fourth most consumed beverage in the world after tea, water and fruit juice. According to the 2023 statistics, two thirds or 21.7 million of South Africa’s population start their day with a cup of coffee. Of that 21.7 million people, approximately 19.8 million South Africans consume a cup or more of instant coffee daily.

“More than half of coffee drinkers consume Ricoffy, a clear South African favourite that is drunk by more people than the next two top brands combined (Frisco and Jacobs Kronung),” says Andrew Fulton, Director at Eighty20. “In terms of other caffeinated drinks, tea is consumed on a daily basis by 18.6-million people, with only 2-million drinking coffee or tea capsules, and closer to 1.4-million enjoying ground coffee on a daily basis. Rooibos is also worth noting, as it’s enjoyed by nearly 14-million South Africans.”

The big question when it comes to coffee’s main ingredient – caffeine though is, how much is too much, and what does it do to the human body? Firstly, we need to understand exactly how caffeine affects the body. Adenosine is a chemical that helps our bodies to feel tired, with its core function to “quieten the activity of the organs in the body”. When we consume anything that contains caffeine in it, it goes head to head with the adenosine in our bodies and does the opposite. The effect is that we start to feel more awake, alert, it sometimes causes an increased heart rate and anxiety due to its ability to stimulate our adrenalin and in turn, cortisol production too.

Caffeine is also known to have certain health benefits too, including marginally improve physical activity performances. This is particularly true of the caffeine found specifically in coffee, which is the most widely consumed caffeine-based beverage. The caffeine in coffee has also been shown to have protective effects against depression. Coffee can have anti-inflammatory effects too as well as positively impacting gut health too. That being said, too much of a good thing can become a bad thing, also not all caffeine is the same. Caffeine in coffee can take twenty minutes to build up in the bloodstream and peaks at around an hour. Like everything, caffeine should be consumed in moderation. It is recommended that people should not consume more than 400mg of caffeine on a daily basis. From a coffee perspective, the amount of caffeine varies based on the coffee grounds and formulation. Everybody is different, and therefore the ability to process caffeine is too. That being said, the recommended limits should be used as a guideline, especially when pregnant or with compromised health. Like anything, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.