When Jeremy Clark entered his 40s, he started to feel anxious in the mornings. Deciding caffeine was the likely culprit, he began weaning himself off his usual multiple cups of coffee by going down to a single cup. He then moved to black tea, then green tea.<\/p>\n
Now most mornings he makes a chicory root latte, or occasionally orders a latte made from hojicha, a roasted Japanese green tea with low caffeine. The anxiety has declined \u201calmost to negligible levels, so I think it was worth it\u201d, says Clark, an engineering professor in Montreal.<\/p>\n
While plenty of Americans are emphatically unready to give up caffeine, many are experimenting with a new range of options beyond the traditional cup of hot java, paying heed to caffeine\u2019s impact on their sleep, mood and energy level.<\/p>\n
Consumers are becoming more cognisant of \u201cenergy management\u201d in their beverage choices, says Daniel Jhung, president of the coffee and beverage division of Nestl\u00e9 USA. For many, this might mean drinking coffee in the morning, but going easy on caffeine in the afternoon.<\/p>\n
Read: Your cup of coffee is already expensive \u2026<\/p>\n
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The average 8-ounce cup of coffee contains 96 milligrams of caffeine, according to the Mayo Clinic. Nestl\u00e9 introduced a half-caffeinated Starbucks Coffee at Home House blend of its K-Cup pods in 2023, and late last year it brought out the retail version of Starbucks Refreshers Concentrates, which have the same amount of caffeine\u00a0as green tea.<\/p>\n
Another option, Peet\u2019s Middle Ground half-caffeine coffee and K-Cup pods, launched\u00a0earlier this year.<\/p>\n
\nFormats are also shifting, as younger consumers embrace cold, canned beverages over hot coffee. That\u2019s visible in the rapid growth of energy drinks, but also in\u00a0less-supercharged options.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Sales of refrigerated, ready-to-drink bottles of uncaffeinated coffee and tea were up almost 15% in the 52 weeks ending 22 March, while sales of coffee beans and cocoa fell nearly 10%, according to data from Spins, a market researcher.<\/p>\n
Caffeine-free sodas were up 4.1% in dollar sales, while beverages labeled \u2018decaf\u2019 grew almost 37%, in the 52 weeks ending 9 May, according to NielsenIQ.<\/p>\n
Read: Coca-Cola posts best sales growth since 2024<\/p>\n
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Here\u2019s a look at some of the forces fueling this minimalist approach to caffeine:<\/strong><\/p>\n
1. Replacing booze<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
With alcohol consumption declining, some people want an evening alternative\u00a0that won\u2019t leave them too buzzed for bed. Communications strategist Michael Ricci, 45, decided to cut down on caffeine for Lent and avoid alcohol on weeknights.<\/p>\n
The Maryland resident couldn\u2019t relinquish his morning coffee, but he gave up energy drinks.\u00a0At the grocery store, he stumbled upon Coca-Cola Zero Zero, which has no sugar or caffeine, and he now buys a couple of cases at a time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea that you could have the signature sweetness of Coke Zero without the caffeine consequences \u2013 it\u2019s the perfect suburban nightcap,\u201d he says. Coca-Cola unveiled a redesigned Coca-Cola Zero Zero can in Europe, after the company\u2019s research found that roughly 60% of adults there watch their caffeine intake at night.<\/p>\n
Read: Why these are sobering times for alcohol companies<\/p>\n
2. Clean-label living<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
Recent health and wellness trends have persuaded many consumers to scrutinise ingredients more closely, with many trying to cut back on artificial dyes, added sugar, processed food and, in some cases, caffeine.<\/p>\n
Tiffany Henriques, a lifestyle and wellness content creator in South Florida, stopped drinking coffee after a long bout with strep throat, replacing it with iced matcha lattes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I love about matcha is, if I don\u2019t have it, I\u2019m totally fine,\u201d says Henriques, 27. The switch felt\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cless about the caffeine and more about a wellness ritual I was adding to my morning\u201d.<\/p>\n
Adriana Gindlesperger, a 38-year-old resident of Malvern, Pennsylvania, found she felt less anxious when she drank decaf coffee during her pregnancy, and decided not to return to the regular version.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just not the right energy that I\u2019m looking for,\u201d\u00a0she says. But, having\u00a0trouble finding anything she thought tasted good, she decided to make her own. This year she and her husband, Christopher, launched\u00a0Lowkey Coffee, which offers two canned decaf cold brews.<\/p>\n
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Read: How to transform your coffee into a wonder drug<\/p>\n
3. Wearable technology<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
Newer personal health-monitoring technologies, including the Oura Ring, Apple Watch and Whoop, let people track how changes to their routines affect their sleep. These devices also tell people when they consume caffeine\u00a0and how much.<\/p>\n
Lakeisha Allen, who left the corporate world to become a longevity coach, helps clients improve their health and nutrition. She realised that caffeine was cutting into her deep sleep after she started wearing an Oura Ring.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI was basically tired but wired, because I would have the typical afternoon slump,\u201d says Allen, 39, who now lives in Portugal.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
She cut out caffeine in the afternoon, making a small matcha in the morning. The change has given her more deep sleep and left her more energised, she says.<\/p>\n
4. Energy moderation<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
Many consumers just want to cut back on caffeine, not eliminate it, and a slew of new options tout energy in moderation. There\u2019s\u00a0Pure Leaf Mental Focus, a sparkling iced tea PepsiCo introduced in April that has\u00a0L-theanine, an amino acid found in tea leaves, and 69mg\u00a0of caffeine from black tea.<\/p>\n
Tamar Date Coffee offers blends that dial down the caffeine by cutting the coffee beans with roasted dates.<\/p>\n
A new Liquid Death energy drink has 100mg\u00a0of caffeine. That\u2019s about the same as a cup of coffee, but roughly a third as much as energy drinks like Reign Total Body Fuel and Bang Energy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just knew that the category had gone a bit caffeine-crazy,\u201d Liquid Death CEO Mike Cessario says. \u201cWe think about ourselves as the light beer of energy drinks.\u201d<\/p>\n
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CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Nick Bergantine, a substitute teacher in Portland, Oregon, decided to swap out a higher-caffeine energy drink for one with lower caffeine\u00a0<\/strong>after efforts fell short to eliminate\u00a0<\/strong>it entirely. Bergantine, 34, says he used to drink Reign energy drinks, but experienced so much anxiety that it convinced him he needed to change his routine.<\/p>\n
Read: US to urge Americans to cut down on added sugars in new diet guidelines<\/p>\n
5. Novel formats<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
Many forms of caffeine don\u2019t arrive in a cup at all. In recent years, consumers have been able to choose from\u00a0caffeine gummies, lollipops, mints, gum, pouches and\u00a0trail mix with caffeine-infused chocolate, among others.<\/p>\n
All of these products quantify how much caffeine each serving delivers \u2013 35mg in an espresso-flavored Alert Pop lollipop, for instance.<\/p>\n
Friss Labs began selling\u00a0a line of caffeinated pouches this year that come in doses of 75mg and 100mg.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of a kick in the face, the energy ramps up gradually and fades over two hours,\u201d says Abel Santa, the company\u2019s founder.<\/p>\n
The choice to give up caffeine can still seem baffling to those not making the switch. Jack Reeves, a 37-year-old speechwriter based in Austin,\u00a0says no one blinked when he tapped the brakes on alcohol.<\/p>\n
His switch from coffee to bone broth in the morning has given him more consistent energy, but it\u2019s drawn more quizzical looks from friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like saying I\u2019ve stopped drinking water,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople are like, \u2018Why?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Read: The boom in beer that\u2019s being driven by health-conscious drinkers<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2026 Bloomberg<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
#Caffeine #minimalists #rewrite #routines #battle #coffee #jitters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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