Another question for coffee drinkers

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I don't drink coffee but my current internship at Citibank is from 8:30am-5:30pm and sometimes it gets boring as hell. Doesn't help that I have to wakeup at 6am and that I have insomnia and always sleep late.

Anyway, I was close to passing out several times this lunch and I bought myself a double shot of espresso and it worked and kept me awake for the latter half of my workday.

Here's my question: What coffee can I drink (something that I can buy in the supermarket perhaps, it's too expensive to keep buying from the coffee shops) at breakfast but has enough of a kick to keep me awake? Bear in mind that I'll be taking the coffee at 8am. If no coffee will last until 5:30pm, I could take a 2nd dose of it midway through the day, around lunchtime (another reason for it to be something I can get at the supermarket). What are the more wide-spread brands anyway? The only one I'm aware of is Nescafe as they're the only coffee commercials I've ever seen.

 

Tchibo, Jacobs and Maxwell come to mind, as the widely available ones (and Nescafe would be the fourth). I go with Tchibo out of the three and before Nescafe, too. However, it would be better if you were able to find the Italian Lavazza (still a mass commercial product, but less so; Italian (?) Kimbo is also good) or Belgian Douwe Egberts, if you don't mind the somewhat increased cost, compared to the previous ones. You might be able to get something from smaller companies, perhaps the exact power and flavour you like, if you look around. If you're bored, you can do one of those "what coffee is good for you" kind of quizzes on the internet.

 

IMO, instant coffee isn't worth drinking. Also, I've found that I always need a pick-me-up of some sort (caffeine, chocolate, exercise...) around 2 pm. - I wouldn't count on anything you drink at 8 am carrying you through the whole day.

Does your office not have a break room with a coffeepot? I guess that's becoming more prevalent in the Starbucks Era. If not, and all you have is a microwave, I'd recommend a small French Press coffee maker. You can get them pretty much anywhere, and they'll brew one cup at a time. If that's more cleanup that you care to deal with, there's any number of 4-cup coffee makers that use the new coffee-pods available. They coast around $30.

 

Alternatively, if you really don't like coffee, Redbull (Cafeine and Taurine Fizzy Drink), Mountain Dew (Irridescent Yellow lemonade high cafeine fizzy drink) or Pro-plus (cafeine tablets) are good pick-me-ups.

My best suggestion is just get used to getting up early - do it at weekends as well. I'm now regularly awake by 5:30am, compared to not being able to get out of bed before 9 as a student (midday at weekends)
Also, try and get outside at lunch time, your circadian rhythms (i.e. your body clock) respond to light and just getting a burst of sunlight at lunch should help the afternoon.

 

I tend to find the bags of coffee (very much like tea bags) are much better than the normal instant coffee. However, if you haven't drank much coffee the taste may be a little potent. You may want to try the International Instant Coffee's -- they come in a variety of flavors that are quite good.

Carc is really dead on here. Get up a little earlier and exercise, have a good breakfast, and try to get out during lunch (for a least a short walk). This is especially important as your body acclimates itself to a new schedule.

 

He Chev, I know a lot of good stuff comes from Belgium , but afaik, Douwe Egberts is Dutch, unless something has happened that I didn't know of.

But I agree that DE is good coffee.

[ September 27, 2006, 20:24: Message edited by: Master of Nuhn ]

 

I don't like the taste of Red Bull. My personal recommendation would be Monster - one 8 ounces can will kick for a couple of hours. I usually drink one on mornings which I happen to have AutoCAD or some other boring class, and I make it through to lunch just fine.

Monster is available either regular, low-carb, orange juice infused (Khaos), or cranberry juice infused (Assault). Regular Monster has the best taste, IMO. Low-carb maintains the taste of regular Monster accuratly, and contains WAY less sugar. Khaos and Assault pack the same punch as regular Monster, if orange or cranberry juice tickles your fancy.

 

Just go check your local supermarket Enagonious. You should be able to find a lot of brands on the shelf. Just wait until someone else comes to check out the coffee and ask them what brands are popular. (Or you could just as a store clerk - they should know.

If you don't want to spend so much on premade coffee just buy yourself a coffee maker and a thermos. They will probably pay for themselves very quickly if you are not buying from a coffee shop.

 

No coffee will last you all day. I would go with some of the other suggestions here for upping energy levels, and reserve coffee for the times in your day when you're at your lowest point in your cycle.

Nothing beats freshly roasted beans (which is why we have a machine at home, and we've just managed to get one installed at work) but if you can't get that, there ARE some varieties of freeze dried instant coffee that are drinkable.

 

Correction, Harbs, if you don't mind. Some coffee will last you all day, if you're not a five-coffee-needing junkie. It's just you really don't want to drink that stuff if you aren't one. If you brew strong cinnamon coffee and leave it under some cover for a couple of minutes, it's going to whack you seriously if you're a coffee newbie. I've seen people freak out before drinking it.