Scientists Work Towards Naturally Caffeine-Free Coffee

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Scientists Work Towards Naturally Caffeine-Free Coffee

Posted by timothy on Thursday March 15, 2012 @02:29AM from the preemptive-buzzkill dept.

First time accepted submitter eternaldoctorwho writes "Research has been underway to produce a coffee bean plant that naturally has no or little caffeine content. Now, it looks like that might become a reality in the near future: Paulo Mazzafera of the University of Campinas in Brazil has come closer than ever with a strain containing 'only 2% of normal caffeine levels.' Coffee, anyone?"

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Caffeine-free coffee by Z00L00K · 2012-03-15 02:30 · Score: 5, Insightful

It's like a car without wheels or a computer without a CPU.

--
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
1. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Idbar · 2012-03-15 02:36 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Agree. Like I care to get coffee for the taste. If I want something tasty, very likely it will be a smoothie or plain juice. I wonder if Starbucks has statistics about the consumption of decaf?
2. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-15 02:37 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  It's like taking the cocaine out of Coca-Cola.
3. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-15 02:37 · Score: 1
  
  Or like cannabis without THC.
4. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Pascal+Sartoretti · 2012-03-15 02:45 · Score: 2
  
  It's like a car without wheels or a computer without a CPU.
  Yeah, this was also my first reaction.
  
  But some people (like me) have trouble sleeping if they have coffee after 4-5 PM; so it would be nice to be able to have a real coffee (not a decaf) after dinner.
5. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Jeremiah+Cornelius · 2012-03-15 02:45 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  STOP THESE PEOPLE!
  Decaffeinated, Sugar Free, Low Fat Guardians to the GAtes of Hell!
  Those things are not a problem.
  
  --
  "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
  Never been known to fail..."
6. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by mcgrew · 2012-03-15 02:47 · Score: 1
  
  That was my first thought. The only reasons I drink coffee is it makes my mind sharper, wakes me up in the morning, and I'm addicted to it. Without caffiene, coffee is worthless. I never could understand why anyone drank decaf.
  
  --
  Free Martian Whores!
7. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-15 02:52 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  Then stop taking aspartame or you'll also get type 2.
8. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-15 02:53 · Score: 1
  
  Some of us do like the taste and decaf doesn't provide the same rich flavor (if that's because caffeine tastes good or decaf destroys other tastes I can't say).
  Hint: Try using some fine ground coffee as spice in e.g chili or stew.
9. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by the_other_one · 2012-03-15 02:57 · Score: 1
  
  I can understand Industrial hemp. I do not understand caffeine free coffee.
  
  --
  134340: I am not a number. I am a free planet!
10. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-15 02:57 · Score: 1
  
  or sex without partner...
11. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by CosaNostra+Pizza+Inc · 2012-03-15 02:59 · Score: 1
  
  Agreed. What good is non-caffeine coffee? I know of no one who actually drinks coffee just for the taste of it...even gourmet and flavored coffees. Maybe de-caff coffee is for people who can't drink coffee (due to religion or medical reasons) but want to "fit in" to crowds that do break-room or hallway gossip...I'm conjecturing.
12. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by NicknameAvailable · 2012-03-15 03:07 · Score: 1
  
  I love the taste of freshly made coffee, unfortunately I became intolerant to caffeine so I can no longer have it. Caffeine free coffee would be awesome for me.
  You are a freak of nature and we really shouldn't be wasting resources on your desires.
13. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-15 03:09 · Score: 1
  
  It's like beer without the alcohol. What's the point?
14. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by InlawBiker · 2012-03-15 03:11 · Score: 1
  
  The idiots! What's next, a rose without a scent? Sex without babies? Hey, wait a second....
15. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by oldmac31310 · 2012-03-15 03:12 · Score: 2
  
  I drink coffee mainly for the taste. But you don't know me so you are still correct.
  
  --
  http://www.acetonestudio.com
16. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by cayenne8 · 2012-03-15 03:13 · Score: 1
  
  So, you're saying you actually like the taste of coffee?
  
  --
  Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
17. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Pascal+Sartoretti · 2012-03-15 03:17 · Score: 2
  
  So, you're saying you actually like the taste of coffee?
  Like ? No, love !
18. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by neurophil12 · 2012-03-15 03:19 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  I would love such a drink. I'm extremely sensitive to caffeine, but I enjoy coffee quite a bit. In fact, the stuff is more likely to put me to sleep than keep me awake, so I tend to enjoy coffee after some dinners rather than early or during the day. Occasionally I have a cup of decaf during the day. If this coffee becomes available I'd drink it much more frequently than I drink coffee now.
  
  I've heard of others like myself, though I doubt we're a particularly large portion of the population, so we are probably not a major reason for this research. Still, why are you so against people having a less processed low-caffeine option? And how is railing against such a possibility with zero facts or specific arguments in any way insightful?
19. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by hawguy · 2012-03-15 03:20 · Score: 1
  
  If you don't care about the taste, why not try sleeping?
  Because not all of us have jobs where we're allowed to come to work late because we are "sleepy" (wait 'till you have kids - going to bed early doesn't guarantee a good night's sleep), and many of us have found that executives don't like it when we fall asleep in their early morning meetings... plus some of us have jobs were occasional late-night work is neccessary to do system maintenance - give me a cup of coffee in the late afternoon and I'm good to go 'till 2am.
  I'm definitely one of those that doesn't drink coffee for the taste - I cover up the coffee taste with lots of cream and sugar.
20. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by CannonballHead · 2012-03-15 03:20 · Score: 2
  
  Some people like the taste of coffee, cream, and sugar, but can't have caffeine. Like my wife.
21. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by L4t3r4lu5 · 2012-03-15 03:20 · Score: 1
  
  That excludes flying cars, and flying cars would be AWESOME.
  
  How they currently make decaf
  
  --
  Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
22. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by hawguy · 2012-03-15 03:21 · Score: 1
  
  Agreed. What good is non-caffeine coffee? I know of no one who actually drinks coffee just for the taste of it...even gourmet and flavored coffees. Maybe de-caff coffee is for people who can't drink coffee (due to religion or medical reasons) but want to "fit in" to crowds that do break-room or hallway gossip...I'm conjecturing.
  No one that drinks coffee for the taste drinks "flavored coffee". They'd rather drink coffee that was pooped out of a monkey than drink vanilla flavored coffee.
23. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by CannonballHead · 2012-03-15 03:21 · Score: 1
  
  IMO, flavored (as in when the bean is somehow flavored, not a syrup) coffees taste worse. :P
24. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by JustOK · 2012-03-15 03:29 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Like my wife.
  Sure, what's her facebook id?
  
  --
  rewriting history since 2109
25. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by sadness203 · 2012-03-15 03:30 · Score: 2
  
  I'm diabetic type 1 myself, and I do put sugar in my coffee. You just have to take that into account when you give yourself insulin and that's ok. Type 1 should never be afraid of sugar, they just need to adjust there daily insulin needs.
26. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by locallyunscene · 2012-03-15 03:33 · Score: 2
  
  Because it's /. and most of this is tongue-in-cheek anyway.
  
  Personally, I would love to have non-processed coffee after dinner and not be up the rest of the night.
27. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Malties · 2012-03-15 03:35 · Score: 1
  
  Actually I think the chemicals that are used to decaffinate it is what causes the bad taste.
28. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Malties · 2012-03-15 03:36 · Score: 2
  
  I drink coffee all day long because I have found that not only do executives not like it when we fall asleep in thier early morning meetings, they don't like it in the late afternoon meetings either... or any other meetings as far as I can tell.
29. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by stjobe · 2012-03-15 03:38 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Aye.
  It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
  It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed,
  The hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning.
  It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
  
  --
  "Total destruction the only solution" - Bob Marley
30. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Fnord666 · 2012-03-15 03:42 · Score: 2
  
  I wonder if Starbucks has statistics about the consumption of decaf?
  I would expect so since some time ago they stopped brewing pots of decaf coffee after noon local time. I would hole that this decision was based on some hard data. It didn't make sense to me though. I prefer decaf later in the day so I can hopefully get to sleep at night.
  
  --
  'The tyrant will always find pretext for his tyranny.' - Aesop's Fables
31. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-15 03:49 · Score: 1
  
  The caffeine-free is for me. I become ill when I consume caffeine, but I love coffee. So what's the problem?
32. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by arth1 · 2012-03-15 03:51 · Score: 2
  
  So, you're saying you actually like the taste of coffee?
  Coffee made the European way tastes very nice to my palate.
  Coffee made the American way, not so much. It is generally lighter roasted (first crack) and brewed much slower (slow-drip), which brings out a lot of acidity and caffeine. Add that Central American beans are generally higher in organic acids than African grown beans. So to compensate, it's often made much weaker, generally using about half the amount of coffee grounds.
  And yes, coffee brewed the American way includes Starbucks - it's just stronger American coffee.
33. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by TheRaven64 · 2012-03-15 04:00 · Score: 1
  
  Same here. I enjoy a large cup of freshly ground coffee in the mornings. Caffeine has very little effect on me after I've been drinking coffee regularly for a few days, but the withdrawal headaches if I don't have any for a couple of days are incapacitating. I'd love to drink caffeine free coffee with the same taste.
  
  --
  I am TheRaven on Soylent News
34. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by lightknight · 2012-03-15 04:03 · Score: 1
  
  Hmm. Wonder if they'll ever do something about the pain diabetic peoples' pancreas are in.
  
  --
  I am John Hurt.
35. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by TheRaven64 · 2012-03-15 04:05 · Score: 1
  
  It's partly that, it's also that people try to sell decaffeinated coffee for the same price as normal coffee. Because the decaffeination process is expensive, they achieve this by buying the cheapest beans possible. If you buy really cheap coffee beans, it tastes about the same as decaf.
  
  --
  I am TheRaven on Soylent News
36. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by TheRaven64 · 2012-03-15 04:06 · Score: 1
  
  Why not just take caffeine pills instead then? That said, caffeine is a terrible stimulant to use if you actually need to wake up: most people build up a tolerance for it over a few weeks, a few months at most, and after that it's not waking you up at all, it's just removing the lethargy caused by withdrawal.
  
  --
  I am TheRaven on Soylent News
37. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by jimbolauski · 2012-03-15 04:07 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  I would love such a drink. I'm extremely sensitive to caffeine, but I enjoy coffee quite a bit. In fact, the stuff is more likely to put me to sleep than keep me awake, so I tend to enjoy coffee after some dinners rather than early or during the day. Occasionally I have a cup of decaf during the day. If this coffee becomes available I'd drink it much more frequently than I drink coffee now. I've heard of others like myself, though I doubt we're a particularly large portion of the population, so we are probably not a major reason for this research. Still, why are you so against people having a less processed low-caffeine option? And how is railing against such a possibility with zero facts or specific arguments in any way insightful?
  You might have ADHD, caffeine has been shown to treat the effects of ADHD, many people with ADHD claim that drinking coffee before bead calms them down and they fall asleep much easier.
  
  --
  Knowledge = Power
  P= W/t
  t=Money
  Money = Work/Knowledge so the less you know the more you make
38. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by jimbolauski · 2012-03-15 04:11 · Score: 1
  
  I drink coffee all day long because I have found that not only do executives not like it when we fall asleep in thier early morning meetings, they don't like it in the late afternoon meetings either... or any other meetings as far as I can tell.
  That's why you need to have a desk bed.
  
  --
  Knowledge = Power
  P= W/t
  t=Money
  Money = Work/Knowledge so the less you know the more you make
39. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by HornWumpus · 2012-03-15 04:13 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Couldn't these scientists build better weapons or something else useful?
  
  --
  John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
40. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by plopez · 2012-03-15 04:19 · Score: 1
  
  She an AI entity, you insensitive clod! :)
  
  --
  putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
41. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by arth1 · 2012-03-15 04:20 · Score: 1
  
  I think you missed the word "way".
  Sure you can use the American way of making coffee in Europe too, or other ways to produce coffee that doesn't taste good. In England and Wales, for example, it's hard to find good coffee - it's certainly not the default.
  And sure, Americans can import a fast-dripping coffee maker or brew in a kettle, with a higher amount of longer-roasted beans. Few will - they're accustomed to their coffee and the lower cost.
42. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by BoRegardless · 2012-03-15 04:23 · Score: 1
  
  Absolutely true.
  If you worry about caffeine, then you have to avoid other vegetables that have small amounts of caffeine in them, but most of all you have to avoid Red Bull.
43. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by arth1 · 2012-03-15 04:23 · Score: 1
  
  That excludes flying cars, and flying cars would be AWESOME.
  Not over my house.
44. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Creepy · 2012-03-15 04:24 · Score: 1
  
  Well, de-caf coffee is not entirely caffeine free, so if I were a religious zealot averse to caffeine, I'd avoid it. On that note, fruit is not alcohol free (nearly all fruit contains some natural fermentation) and fruit is almost essential for human survival without artificial supplements (for its vitamin C content ya scurvy dogs!), so I guess there is a fine line to be drawn...
45. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by whargoul · 2012-03-15 04:25 · Score: 1
  
  It's more like having sex without busting a nut.
46. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Belial6 · 2012-03-15 04:37 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  I only drink coffee for the taste. Caffeine has very little effect on me, so drinking it for the drug would be a waste of time. The thing is, coffee is kind of like salt. I love the taste, but I don't want to drink coffee straight any more than I want to eat a bowl of salt straight. Some salt on my steak, and some coffee in my sugared cream.. Now that is tasty.
47. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by CastrTroy · 2012-03-15 04:38 · Score: 2
  
  According to this article, coffee falls into the "acquired tastes" category. Almost nobody likes it at first, but eventually your brain starts to associate the taste with receiving a drug (caffeine) and starts to interpret the taste of coffee as pleasurable. I think very few people would "like" (black) coffee if they only ever tasted decaffeinated coffee. Just as nobody would smoke if there was no drug involved. Also, even most coffee drinkers I know don't actually like coffee. Being in Canada, I know plenty of people who like their double-doubles (or triple-triples, or even quad...) , but I know very few people who like their coffee black. I've met almost nobody who likes Tim Hortons who also drinks their coffee black. Most people don't like coffee, but enjoy milky, sugary drinks which happen to contain some coffee, as long as they don't taste too much like coffee.
  
  --
  
  Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
48. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Belial6 · 2012-03-15 04:41 · Score: 2
  
  More likely the exact opposite.
49. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by moco · 2012-03-15 04:42 · Score: 1
  
  Or orgasm-less sex
  
  --
  moi
50. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by bill_mcgonigle · 2012-03-15 04:51 · Score: 2
  
  Exactly right. Not by coincidence, I have 17lbs of various single-source green decafs coming on Friday. The beans run about $7/lb, and that's for the more expensive beans that aren't decaffeinated with methylene chloride.
  I wind up figuring out a blend that's as good as the $32/lb fancy decaf from Italy.
  My 'fancy' coffee roasting gear consists of a dutch oven on a gas grill.
  
  --
  My God, it's Full of Source!
  OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
51. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by rubycodez · 2012-03-15 05:11 · Score: 1
  
  leave my left hand out of this discussion
52. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by hawguy · 2012-03-15 05:25 · Score: 1
  
  Agree. Like I care to get coffee for the taste. If I want something tasty, very likely it will be a smoothie or plain juice.K I wonder if Starbucks has statistics about the consumption of decaf?
  
  Yes they do - like any large retailer, they have a very sophisticated business intelligence system that gives them a great deal of detailed information about the buying habits of its customers, possibly in real-time fed from the cash registers. They love when people use Starbucks cards since it lets them track behavior of individuals across multiple stores instead of just aggregate statistics customers (plus they save a bundle in credit card transaction fees).
  But they may not be willing to share the information.
53. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by ekimminau · 2012-03-15 05:30 · Score: 1
  
  Its like sex without touching or sports without cheerleaders!
  
  --
  Armaments, 2-9-21 And Saint Attila raised the hand grenade up on high, saying, 'O Lord, bless this Thy hand grenade' N
54. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by David_Hart · 2012-03-15 05:36 · Score: 1
  
  It's why we need nap breaks at work... (grin)
  I always feel sleepy between 3:00pm and 4:00pm. I used to keep this time open at University to go to the Library and take a nap at one of the desks. On the weekends, during the summer, I just put a ball game or a Nascar/Indy race on TV and take a 15 to 20 minute nap. The white noise, crowd sounds form the ball game or engine purr from the car racing events, puts me right to sleep.
55. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by CityZen · 2012-03-15 05:53 · Score: 1
  
  Same here. I don't care for plain coffee, but I like it very much once it's loaded with milk and sugar. I'm sensitive to caffeine (I sleep poorly if I have it post-noon), and I also have bad headaches if I discontinue it. I haven't found a substitute morning beverage that's quite as good, though. Tea is just too watery, although I admit I haven't tried every possible recipe. Hot chocolate seems to bother my stomach a bit. And anything else, I wouldn't get "for free" at work.
56. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by rocket+rancher · 2012-03-15 05:55 · Score: 1
  
  Exactly right. Not by coincidence, I have 17lbs of various single-source green decafs coming on Friday. The beans run about $7/lb, and that's for the more expensive beans that aren't decaffeinated with methylene chloride.
  I wind up figuring out a blend that's as good as the $32/lb fancy decaf from Italy.
  My 'fancy' coffee roasting gear consists of a dutch oven on a gas grill.
  Indeed. We did the dutch oven thing, and then tried a hot-air popcorn popper. We buy premium fair trade decaf beans from our local organic market ($8/lb for the really good stuff) and roast them ourselves in a (very slightly) modified hot-air popcorn popper that cost us $19 to buy and $3 to modify (added a thermometer.) It takes me about an hour to roast a month's supply, but it costs us less (not to mention tasting *much* better) than a week's supply of the least expensive decaf beans from the Wal-Mart down the street, whose beans are neither fair trade nor organic. We drink caf and decaf in my house; the savings on the caf by roasting them ourselves are similarly stunning.)
57. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by mapkinase · 2012-03-15 06:04 · Score: 1
  
  >I would love such a drink.
  I do not believe you. The only reason people like coffee, is because they like it after positive feed back loop developed taste->arousal->taste.
  Most people did not like coffee first time they tried it, like most people did not like smoking and drinking. I surely remember my first impression.
  
  --
  I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
58. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by rocket+rancher · 2012-03-15 06:10 · Score: 1
  
  No one that drinks coffee for the taste drinks "flavored coffee". They'd rather drink coffee that was pooped out of a monkey than drink vanilla flavored coffee.
  Kopi Luwak is the world's most expensive coffee, and it is indeed "pooped out of" an animal. Try not to let your cultural biases cloud your thinking.
59. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Prune · 2012-03-15 06:11 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  And yet, some of the top baristas in the world, as shown by international competitions, are to be found in North America (for example, the founder of Vancouver's Caffe Artigiano was in the top three in the World Barista Championships multiple years). The west coast is particularly good for this. Seattle in the US and Vancouver in Canada have several small chains with extremely well trained staff and who commonly purchase their coffees from auctions offering selections of best-of crops for a given growing season. In other places in North America, however, it can be a bit harder to find good coffee, let alone a barista that can pull a proper espresso show by knowing how to properly adjust his tamping technique and tweak the grinder setting each day as a batch of roasted coffee ages and requires these adjustments daily. The reverse side of this coin is that there is a significant community of amateur coffee geeks who can give the pros a run for their money (you can get a pretty good coffee roaster online for little over $100, and a decent burr grinder for about the same)--enthusiasm and experimentation can go a long way.
  
  --
  "Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason."
60. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by hawguy · 2012-03-15 06:38 · Score: 1
  
  No one that drinks coffee for the taste drinks "flavored coffee". They'd rather drink coffee that was pooped out of a monkey than drink vanilla flavored coffee.
  Kopi Luwak is the world's most expensive coffee, and it is indeed "pooped out of" an animal. Try not to let your cultural biases cloud your thinking.
  So I say that coffee connoisseurs would enjoy a cup of coffee pooped out of a monkey, and you point out the actual coffee I was referring to (ok, it's a civet, not a monkey), and you accuse me of culturally clouded thinking?
  It's not like the pooped out coffee is that obscure, even Dave Barry mentioned it:
  http://www.davebarry.com/misccol/decaf.htm
  
  Then I thought: What kind of world is this when you worry that people might be ripping you off by selling you coffee that was NOT pooped out by a weasel?
61. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Forbman · 2012-03-15 06:45 · Score: 1
  
  ironically, there is case study info out there that fetuses have a sense of taste.
  Measure fetal heart rates after mother drinks regular coffee. It goes up as expected.
  Measure fetal heart rates after same mother then drinks decaf. Fetal heart rate still goes up...
62. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by b4dc0d3r · 2012-03-15 06:51 · Score: 1
  
  While you are correct about "caffeine has been shown to treat the effects of ADHD", you missed the part about "I'm extremely sensitive to caffeine..."
  Caffeine does wake me up, but on a cold day the heat of coffee will make me want to take a nap. One of the more effective ways of napping is to drink coffee and then nap. Set your alarm for +15 minutes. A power nap will recharge you, and that's about the time the caffeine will kick in. And if you're really tired, and don't set an alarm, you may get deep enough into sleep that caffeine doesn't wake you immediately.
  I won't beat you over the head with the reading comprehension and e-diagnosis bits this time.
63. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by neurophil12 · 2012-03-15 06:53 · Score: 1
  
  You might have ADHD, caffeine has been shown to treat the effects of ADHD, many people with ADHD claim that drinking coffee before bead calms them down and they fall asleep much easier.
  That is an interesting theory. I'm certain I'm not full blown ADHD as I know I can focus better than some people who I know have ADD of one form or another. However I do sometimes show some symptoms in terms of difficulty focusing, and sometimes I get antsy. I figure I'd be somewhere on the spectrum, maybe with some shared genes specifically responsible for the different caffeine effect.
  I do have a theory about how caffeine affects me the way it does, though I'm sure it's only partly correct at best, and I doubt I'll ever know for sure. When I have caffeine in really small doses and have a particularly clear task to focus on it can work really well. Give me just a bit more caffeine or a less well defined task and I struggle. More than that, with even half of a cup of regular coffee my head feels noisy, like the firing in my brain got turned up but it's all heat and no light. This then causes me to feel sleepy (and I have a fatigue problem as it is, with an inability to stay awake during afternoon seminars if I haven't gotten a nap first). Since I tend to have a pretty good memory and adaptability to various things (like food preference, which might partially explain why I like coffee), I figure maybe my set point for neuron excitability is higher than average, which makes my synapses a bit more plastic on average. One of caffeine's effects is to increase neuron excitability by blocking an adenosine receptor responsible for regulating excitability. My theory is that for most people that puts their neurons, and in effect their brains, in a sweet spot of excitability, but for me to puts me above that sweet spot and puts my networks out of balance.
64. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Dave114 · 2012-03-15 07:34 · Score: 1
  
  Agreed. It's really hard to find a Starbucks (or pretty much any other coffee shop with decaf). Some will brew on request, others you might be stuck with a decaf americano, and the local Starbucks seems to be using these (presumably a different brand though) to brew single cups upon request.... if you call that last option brewing.
65. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by StikyPad · 2012-03-15 07:45 · Score: 1
  
  My 'fancy' coffee roasting gear consists of a dutch oven on a gas grill.
  If this is a common practice, it explains a lot about the aroma of coffee.
  
  --
  https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
66. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Larryish · 2012-03-15 07:46 · Score: 1
  
  In related news, bitter wives are working toward orgasm-free sex.
67. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by hawkinspeter · 2012-03-15 07:56 · Score: 1
  
  Jacu Bird coffee is similar, but the birds are a lot more discerning than the civets and they live around some of the best Brazilian farms.
  
  --
  You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
68. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by hazah · 2012-03-15 07:57 · Score: 1
  
  The problem is with your bad habits :).
69. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by hazah · 2012-03-15 08:02 · Score: 1
  
  You're over analyzing. From what I understand the cause and effect are a fair bit simpler in nature. ADHD (or ADD), as far as I comprehend it are caused by a supressed function of the brain (as opposed to an overactive one). There is a controlling function that isn't doing the controlling it should. Caffeen "wakes" up that structure, and it starts to exhibit more control over impulses. Net result is that the individual feels *calmer*.
70. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by snowgirl · 2012-03-15 08:13 · Score: 2
  
  In the process of making decaf coffee, they produce raw caffeine, which they can then add to soft drinks, and stay-awake pills.
  Your Mountain Dew comes as a direct result of my decaf coffee!
  This new variant will reduce the amount of raw caffeine available, or they will have to start growing crops just for the caffeine content, but it doesn't make sense to do this at all, when they could just keep making decaf coffee.
  Also, caffeine is an insecticide. These uncaffeinated coffee plants will be more susceptible to pests, and thus be more difficult to raise, or require more pesticides to keep them healthy.
  
  --
  WARNING! This girl exceeds the MAXIMUM SAFE standards established by the FDA for BRATTINESS
71. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by hazah · 2012-03-15 08:15 · Score: 1
  
  I would suggest doing a few more reps flexing your imagination muscle. It seemed to have atrophied.
72. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by nullchar · 2012-03-15 08:16 · Score: 1
  
  I pity your Nascar-influenced dreams. (And aren't the advertisements terrible? Perhaps you have some audio normalization?)
73. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by arth1 · 2012-03-15 08:27 · Score: 1
  
  And yet, some of the top baristas in the world, as shown by international competitions, are to be found in North America
  Oh, absolutely.
  It's just the "regular cup of joe" that's oh so inferior in the US compared to its counterparts in most of Europe and South America.
  And that acidic yet weak coffee is, unfortunately, all that many people know about coffee here in the US.
74. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by neurophil12 · 2012-03-15 08:41 · Score: 1
  
  You're over analyzing. From what I understand the cause and effect are a fair bit simpler in nature. ADHD (or ADD), as far as I comprehend it are caused by a supressed function of the brain (as opposed to an overactive one). There is a controlling function that isn't doing the controlling it should. Caffeen "wakes" up that structure, and it starts to exhibit more control over impulses. Net result is that the individual feels *calmer*.
  Over analyzing is what I do :)
  I don't have a detailed understanding of ADD, but I do recall being told that the increase in brain activity due to medication (amphetamines) is about promoting a proper balance of excitation and inhibition. Promotion of that balance may enable a particular part of the brain responsible for "control" (some part of the prefrontal cortex) to exert itself and reduce the conflict between other brain regions. On the other hand it may just help synchronize brain regions allowing them to be less in conflict. Or it may do both. There are many ways to bring excitation and inhibition into balance, and having experienced a positive effect of Adderal I know that it acts very differently than caffeine, though caffeine may still aid others with slightly different brain chemistry.
  Also, having further considered jimbolauski's idea, I realize this may be the sort of effect he was thinking of. If so, then it doesn't fit for me, as ADD medication calms people by promoting balance and increasing the ability to focus, not by making people sleepy.
  And I should stop now, because once I start analyzing, I may never stop...
75. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Garridan · 2012-03-15 08:50 · Score: 1
  
  Worse, it's a car without wheels that will eventually break the wheels off of every single car. These fucking idiots are going to destroy caffienated coffee plants by cross-pollination.
76. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Jeremiah+Cornelius · 2012-03-15 09:08 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah. I just get my caf via Sumatran French Roast or Ethiopian/Somali Espresso.
  Mt. Dew is corn-poison. I'm a San Pelligrino guy - cos I like the size of the bubbles.
  
  --
  "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
  Never been known to fail..."
77. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by Jeremiah+Cornelius · 2012-03-15 09:11 · Score: 1
  
  Excess causes problems. :-)
  I'm 11 stone and nearly 6'. Don't worry a bat about food. It's the non-food ingredients that I steer well clear of.
  
  --
  "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
  Never been known to fail..."
78. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by snowgirl · 2012-03-15 09:18 · Score: 1
  
  Mt. Dew is corn-poison. I'm a San Pelligrino guy - cos I like the size of the bubbles.
  And what about the throwback Mt. Dew?
  Seriously, high fructose corn syrup isn't "poison"... it's actually in fact the same mix of glucose-fructose as is in honey.
  Even regular sugar is dangerous in large quantities (true, HFCS appears to be worse, but then so would honey).
  
  --
  WARNING! This girl exceeds the MAXIMUM SAFE standards established by the FDA for BRATTINESS
79. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by narcc · 2012-03-15 10:26 · Score: 1
  
  Flawed analogy. Try "sex without orgasms".
  That's the story for many, many women. Sad, isn't it?
  
  --
  Required reading for internet skeptics
80. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by jamstar7 · 2012-03-15 11:36 · Score: 1
  
  More like, masturbation without the payoff.
  
  --
  Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
81. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by drkim · 2012-03-15 11:59 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah. If it doesn't have caffeine in it, what's the point of of loading it into the I.V. drip bag...?
  Sign me: "puzzled"
82. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by sco08y · 2012-03-15 11:59 · Score: 1
  
  I'll have to try that.
83. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by mattack2 · 2012-03-15 13:59 · Score: 1
  
  BTW, coca cola still has coca leaf extract.
84. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by enrgeeman · 2012-03-15 14:08 · Score: 1
  
  I used to do similar, but with no-doze, and it worked well most of the time. The downside was that if I didn't wake up in 15-20 minutes, I had some really freaky dreams.
  
  --
  sent from my slashdot browser.
85. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by enrgeeman · 2012-03-15 14:15 · Score: 2
  
  I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks of the bed-sheet-fart when reading dutch oven. It always takes me a moment to realize that it's just a fancy pot.
  
  --
  sent from my slashdot browser.
86. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by dudpixel · 2012-03-15 14:22 · Score: 1
  
  I used to agree with you, and yes its cool to be caffeine-dependant...
  but the truth is that caffeine actually sort of works in reverse.
  If you are not caffeine dependent (and yet healthy), you can be alert all the time naturally, without drugs.
  Once you start feeding your brain caffeine, suddenly it starts to feel tired unless you give it caffeine. Sure, you may be able to force yourself to be awake/alert longer, or whatever, but certainly there is a point past which you get the "lights are on but nobody's home" thing starting to happen (particularly while driving).
  I've had 1-2 coffees a day probably for about 17 years, but over the past few months I've been going without caffeine (as well as only eating unprocessed food (most of the time)) and I have to say I dont feel any more tired. Actually its the opposite - I still have plenty of energy when I get home from work, and the bonus is I'm able to manage my weight much easier. Just 1 coffee per day affects me in more ways than just feeling more alert for a bit.
  I dont believe caffeine in such low quantities is a killer - but I do believe that I actually feel better without it. YMMV of course.
  
  --
  This seemed like a reasonable sig at the time.
87. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by fifedrum · 2012-03-16 03:38 · Score: 1
  
  Caffeine makes me nuts. It starts out with the nice, jittery, high feeling we all love from the drug, but after ONE cup, I don't sleep well that night, and if I consume more than one cup of regular coffee per day, forget about sleeplessness, after a few days I start to get paranoid, nervous as hell, like there's a train bearing down on me, and then the heart palpitations start. After about a week I get heartburn to beat the band and get grumpy.
  The heartburn stops after one day of ending caffeine intake, and the rest of the symptoms fade after a week or so.
  And I LOVE the flavor of coffee. All kinds from different methods of brewing, I especially love being at a living history event and roasting the beans over an open fire, then grinding beans with a mortar and pestle, and boiling the water in my metal cup over the fire, then pouring the grounds right into the hot water, and after a minute or two of steeping, pouring cold water on top to settle the grains. There's nothing like it, you get the fresh roast, fresh ground coffee, the fresh processing like a french press, the full rich flavor and the background of fire smoke, Oh Dark Thirty, just about to play reveille. hmmmm.
  The sad part is, even with decafe I can only drink one or two cups a day. Perhaps this new strain will help people like me. Incidentally, two of my three sisters also suffer from this, as did my paternal grandmother who was 1/4 American Indian...
88. Re:Caffeine-free coffee by neurophil12 · 2012-03-17 07:35 · Score: 1
  
  This is a drastically different reaction than what I have, but I find it just as intriguing. While we tend to focus on the neural effects, most drugs interact with a variety of receptors in the body. Do you get that sort of response after drinking soda? I know the amount of caffeine in soda is relatively little compared to coffee, but with the severity of reaction you have I'd expect you'd notice something. These sorts of different responses are why I'm excited about the idea of "personalized medicine", though I'm not expecting much anytime soon.
  With luck though we'll have some caffeine free coffee to enjoy sometime in the near future.
Blasphemy! by HeavyDDuty · 2012-03-15 02:31 · Score: 5, Insightful

If it has no caffeine it isn't coffee. Yes, this includes decaf.
1. Re:Blasphemy! by delt0r · 2012-03-15 02:34 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  It is like an energy free Energy drink! Sheesh, if ya don't want caffeine, perhaps coffee is not a good choice of drink? It is like a skier that doesn't like snow. There should be something about the wookie defense in here somewhere too. It does not make sense.
  
  --
  If information wants to be free, why does my internet connection cost so much?
2. Re:Blasphemy! by MisterMidi · 2012-03-15 02:34 · Score: 2
  
  If it tastes just like coffee (unlike the decaf crap) but doesn't keep me awake at night I'm all for it.
3. Re:Blasphemy! by UnknowingFool · 2012-03-15 02:37 · Score: 2
  
  After the late night host David Letterman had bypass surgery, he had to switch to decaf. It was a running joke for weeks:
  "Decaffinated coffee: It's just useless warm, brown water."
  
  He even had a jingle created every time he mentioned it.
  
  Decaffinated coffeeee--it's what they serve in Hell
  
  --
  Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
4. Re:Blasphemy! by CRCulver · 2012-03-15 02:53 · Score: 1
  
  It is like an energy free Energy drink!
  
  There may well be a market for that. I drink Red Bull for the taste, but I don't need the energy effects (and in any event, my body has long since built up a tolerance to the caffeine). Thus I think it would be nice if there were a caffeine-free version of this drink.
5. Re:Blasphemy! by delt0r · 2012-03-15 02:59 · Score: 1
  
  Well there really are "sugar free energy drinks". Hilarity ensued when i saw the billboard a while ago. Don't remember the brand.
  
  --
  If information wants to be free, why does my internet connection cost so much?
6. Re:Blasphemy! by dtmos · 2012-03-15 03:09 · Score: 1
  
  It is like a skier that doesn't like snow.
  Like many semi-tropical regions, Florida is full of skiers that don't like snow. (I was 12 when I first heard of snow skiing. Before then, "skiing" meant what I now know to be "water skiing.")
7. Re:Blasphemy! by mcgrew · 2012-03-15 03:10 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Decaffinated coffeeee--it's what they serve in Hell
  
  A thief dies in a gun battle with police, and when he reaches hell, he's given a tour and told he has a choice of how he spends eternity.
  The first place he is shown has a man with oozing sores all over hime, in agony.
  The next one shown is a man chained to a wall.
  The next room has a bunch of people up to their waists in raw sewage drinking coffee. The murderous thief says "I guess that's my choice." He's given a cup of coffee and wades into the cesspool.
  The next thing he hears is "Ok everybody, coffee break's over. Go back to standing on your heads."
  
  --
  Free Martian Whores!
8. Re:Blasphemy! by 19thNervousBreakdown · 2012-03-15 03:16 · Score: 1
  
  IAWTC, but I'm laughing at all the people saying that the caffeine is the only reason to drink coffee. Some of us drink it black, and we like it that way!
  I don't drink coffee all that much because I can't seem to develop a tolerance that lets me take more than 3-500 mg a day without getting really sick, but when I do it's definitely for the taste. I can get my caffeine in much more measured doses other ways, so when I drink coffee it's despite the caffeine. Decaf can go fuck itself until it tastes good though.
  
  --
  <xml><I><am><so><damn>Web 2.0</damn></so></am></I></xml>
9. Re:Blasphemy! by emilv · 2012-03-15 03:19 · Score: 1
  
  We sell sugar-free energy drinks in the cafeteria at my university, alongside a sugar-filled variant of the same brand. The sugar-free one is pretty popular. One guy even bought some candy at the same time as the sugar-free energy drink!
10. Re:Blasphemy! by arth1 · 2012-03-15 03:22 · Score: 1
  
  Well there really are "sugar free energy drinks". Hilarity ensued when i saw the billboard a while ago. Don't remember the brand.
  Most of them, it seems. Look at the ingredient list the next time, and you'll be surprised how many of them have sucralose (Splenda) as a sweetener.
  I simply can't drink anything with Sucralose - the five minute aftertaste I get is frankly disgusting.
  Is it too much to ask to get an energy drink with water, cane sugar, caffeine, nicotine, tauric acid and phosphoric acid - completely free of artificial sweeteners and vitamins?
11. Re:Blasphemy! by Belial6 · 2012-03-15 04:50 · Score: 1
  
  That always seems funny, but I have been that guy. Soda is my big vice. (I know, pretty tame for a vice.) I switched to diet soda when I changed the rest of my diet for weight lose. It took months for me to teach my taste buds to ignore the diet after taste. Over the years, I have a had periods when I eat well, and periods when I eat badly. Even when I am eating badly, I still drink diet soda because I know that if I switched back to regular soda, it would be hard to go back to diet soda when I wanted to avoid the sugar.
  
  What this means is that I have been that guy buying a chocolate bar and a Diet Coke at the quiky-mart.
12. Re:Blasphemy! by Belial6 · 2012-03-15 04:54 · Score: 1
  
  It always cracked me up as a kid during the height of the "Just Say No" era, to listen to adults decry the evils of drugs in one breath, and then rave about the caffeine they were drinking in the next.
13. Re:Blasphemy! by StikyPad · 2012-03-15 07:53 · Score: 1
  
  Caffeine is bitter on its own, and also reacts with other ingredients/chemicals to produce other flavors, so no, it probably won't taste the same.
  
  --
  https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
14. Re:Blasphemy! by heteromonomer · 2012-03-15 08:33 · Score: 1
  
  No It's Not!! Decaf sells for a reason. People like me. I like coffee. I can drink it all day, any time. For the taste, for the smell. But I can't because of the caffeine. It gives me jitters after one glass. The amount of self-centered 1-dimensional thinking on slashdot is just appalling, and not to mention, ignorance about anything biotech. You are not the only person in this world!! and yours is not the only choice!!! So FFS.. people... please stop thinking that everything that someone with a different opinion does is wrong. Why the hell is the parent modded insightful!!?? I thought this forum is pluralistic and liberal. And that includes research and tastes.
Noooooo by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-15 02:32 · Score: 1

This time science has gone too far!
You RUINS IT! by Warhawke · 2012-03-15 02:34 · Score: 5, Funny

Wicked, tricksy, false! It chokeses, burnses us! Gollum! Gollum!
Why? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-15 02:34 · Score: 4, Insightful

"Scientists Work Towards Naturally Caffeine-Free Coffee"
Why would anyone do such a thing?
1. Re:Why? by ccanucs · 2012-03-15 03:27 · Score: 1
  
  What will follow is caffeine-free Exc*drin, (oh, wait, ....) , tea, chocolate etc. etc. Gives people something to do and get grant mony for. Got to keep research scientists in a job ;-)
2. Re:Why? by heteromonomer · 2012-03-15 08:30 · Score: 2
  
  The amount of self-centered 1-dimensional thinking on slashdot is just appalling, and not to mention, ignorance about anything biotech. You are not the only person in this world, and yours is not the only choice!!! FFS Decaf sells for a reason. People like me. I like coffee. I can drink it all day, any time. For the taste, for the smell. But I can't because of the caffeine. It gives me jitters after one glass. So.. people... please stop thinking that everything that someone with a different opinion does is wrong. Also, I am a biotechnologist.
Coffee = Caffein, Next: Bitter Sugar by Vernes · 2012-03-15 02:34 · Score: 2

So you have a brown bitter liquid which lacks the characteristics of coffee?
We already have that, it's called E150
1. Re:Coffee = Caffein, Next: Bitter Sugar by JCCyC · 2012-03-15 07:24 · Score: 1
  
  And after that -- genetically engineering humans so they can reproduce without having orgasms.
  Wait, I remember reading a book in which the bad guy (some guy named O'Brien) said, referring to that very thing, "Our neurologists are working on that right now."
  What a wonderful world it will be.
This Is Just Wrong by Kozar_The_Malignant · 2012-03-15 02:35 · Score: 4, Insightful

And we wonder why people see scientists as evil, soulless bastards out to destroy the very fabric of society? Doesn't this university have an ethics committee?

--
Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
1. Re:This Is Just Wrong by chthon · 2012-03-15 02:51 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  No, only a faceless auditing committee
2. Re:This Is Just Wrong by SleazyRidr · 2012-03-15 07:19 · Score: 2
  
  Funny doesn't give karma, insightful does, many people will mod a funny post insightful or informative to give the poster karma.
  
  --
  Is 1563649 a prime number?
3. Re:This Is Just Wrong by heteromonomer · 2012-03-15 08:49 · Score: 1
  
  Why is this parent-post modded +5 insightful? Why is this unethical? I like coffee but not caffeine. I can drink decaf all day, any time. For the taste, for the smell. But I can't drink normal coffee because of the caffeine. It gives me jitters after one cup. Also, I am a biotechnologist, and I don't see anything unethical. Decaf is not destroying your choice. It is adding to it. So please STFU.
Good lord! by masteva · 2012-03-15 02:37 · Score: 2

Non caffeinated coffee is like non alcoholic beer! And you can't tell me you drink either for the taste!

--
Practice Static Safety - Hack Naked
1. Re:Good lord! by mvdwege · 2012-03-15 04:50 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  In some countries beer is actually more than just carbonated piss.
  Mart
  
  --
  "I know I will be modded down for this": where's the option '-1, Asking for it'?
What's next? by mordejai · 2012-03-15 02:43 · Score: 4, Insightful

I wonder what other abominations they'll come up with next...
Non-alcoholic beer?
Sugar-free candy?
Fat-free milk?
Oh, wait...
1. Re:What's next? by Applekid · 2012-03-15 04:10 · Score: 1
  
  A nice cup of non-caffeinated coffee with non-nutritive sweetener and non-dairy creamer.
  It's like a little tempestuous cup of paradoxes.
  
  --
  More Twoson than Cupertino
2. Re:What's next? by SleazyRidr · 2012-03-15 07:20 · Score: 1
  
  I've actually gotten quite into non-alcoholic beer. Tastes just as good and I can have one whenever. I also drink a lot of decaf coffee, as long as the stuff they're breeding still tastes good I'd be for it.
  
  --
  Is 1563649 a prime number?
3. Re:What's next? by martin-boundary · 2012-03-15 10:46 · Score: 1
  
  Cocaine-free Coca Cola!
like novacaine before sex by peter303 · 2012-03-15 02:43 · Score: 1

Whats the point of caffeine-free coffee then?
1. Re:like novacaine before sex by Runaway1956 · 2012-03-15 03:24 · Score: 1
  
  What is this "the point" you speak of? Dude - just give it to marketing. The market droids can sell shit sandwiches without any bread, and the consumers go crazy over it. We don't CARE what use it may or may not be - we just want it on the market!
  
  --
  "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
Medical conditions by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-15 02:44 · Score: 1

Some people have medical conditions that make the consumption of caffeine harmful. However, many of these same people enjoy the taste of coffee. The people who are commenting to the effect that this discovery is useless apparently believe that only their own needs matter.
Effort by necro81 · 2012-03-15 02:46 · Score: 1

Research has been underway to produce a coffee bean plant that naturally has no or little caffeine content
What a wasted life!
Heretics! by blackicye · 2012-03-15 02:46 · Score: 3, Funny

We have to stop science!!
Where will soda get its kick? by big_oaf · 2012-03-15 02:48 · Score: 2

I've heard/read that most caffeine that ends up in soda and energy drinks is the caffeine that's pulled out of coffee during the decaffeination process. If all coffee growers switch to naturally caffeine-free coffee, won't that drastically reduce the supply of caffeine as an ingredient, causing its price and therefore Mt. Dew's price to spike? Uh....

... gone to stock up on Mt. Dew ...

--
-- My hovercraft is full of eels.
in other news... by spectrokid · 2012-03-15 02:53 · Score: 4, Funny

scientists are working on orgasm-free sex, first person shooters with blank bullets, and political discussions free of nazi-references. Next up: soccer games where swearing at the referee gets muffled with anti-sound.

--
10 ?"Hello World" life was simple then
1. Re:in other news... by DeadDecoy · 2012-03-15 05:11 · Score: 1
  
  They already exist. They're considered marriage, paintball, and the GOP primaries.
I think I've heard about this before... by Yvan256 · 2012-03-15 02:55 · Score: 3, Insightful

The new strain invariably produces something that is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike coffee.
What's the point? by JustAnotherIdiot · 2012-03-15 02:57 · Score: 1

Coffee tastes like shit, most people i know flood it with milk (or my boss with water) before they can even attempt to drink it.
And too my knowledge, there's 2 (main ones, I guess a third is some people legitimately enjoy it) reasons to drink coffee:

1. For the caffeine, because ya know, they need the energy. Or
2. Because it's socially acceptable, to fit in and what not. My coworkers all think I'm weird because if I need the caffeine in the morning, I drink a coke.

Taking out 1 of the 2 reasons to drink the shit isn't really going to do anyone any favors.

--
What do I know, I'm just an idiot, right?
1. Re:What's the point? by drinkypoo · 2012-03-15 03:07 · Score: 1
  
  How does flooding your boss with water help with the coffee?
  I like coffee. I do put milk in it, because I like coffee with milk, but it brings out some of the flavors and subdues others. Today I had an espresso mocha, which I make with a cheapie machine for which I paid, I believe, $3. Even tastier. Still a coffee drink.
  On the other hand, I'm a lot more sensitive to caffeine than I used to be. If I could buy coffee that was naturally about 1/4 or 1/3 as caffeinated as usual, I would consider that to be a good tradeoff between a slight pick-up and not being jittery and grinding my teeth, which sometimes only takes one cup. And I used to have a fairly serious early morning, post-alcohol coffee habit, and drank a lot of coke at the same time. Led to an ulcer. Don't try this at home.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
2. Re:What's the point? by psychokitten · 2012-03-15 03:16 · Score: 1
  
  Low quality our poorly made coffee tastes like shit, and if its coffee being made at work it's most likely going to be both of those.
  
  Quality, well-made coffee is a completely different story. The current method of making decaf though completely alters and ruins the coffee taste. I'd kill for a decaf that actually tastes like, you know, coffee.
  
  Now Coke, there's something that tastes like shit.
3. Re:What's the point? by CannonballHead · 2012-03-15 03:25 · Score: 1
  
  Quality, well-made coffee is a completely different story. The current method of making decaf though completely alters and ruins the coffee taste. I'd kill for a decaf that actually tastes like, you know, coffee.
  This :) I like coffee. "Folgers" doesn't count, though... it tastes terrible.
4. Re:What's the point? by oGMo · 2012-03-15 03:44 · Score: 2
  
  My coworkers all think I'm weird because if I need the caffeine in the morning, I drink a coke.
  
  That's probably because according to Mayo Clinic at least, a 12oz bottle of coke has 30-35mg of caffeine, and a cup of brewed Starbucks coffee has 330mg. A cup of Starbucks decaf has 25mg, so you're essentially drinking slightly more than what regular coffee drinkers would consider decaf.
  That said, coffee doesn't always taste like crap. I'm pretty picky myself and wouldn't touch the sludge you get at work or restaurants for the most part that's been sitting there all day. However, $25 gets you an Aeropress which makes coffee that tastes excellent, quickly. Of course you'd also want a coffee grinder and ideally 175F water on demand, but hey, you don't need an expensive coffee maker.
  
  --
  Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
5. Re:What's the point? by arth1 · 2012-03-15 04:09 · Score: 1
  
  (it's like saying canned ANYTHING is as good as its fresh counterpart)
  Pickles or baked beans, anyone?
  (I'd say surstrÃmming, but that's an acquired taste)
6. Re:What's the point? by Belial6 · 2012-03-15 05:03 · Score: 2
  
  While there are plenty of people that fit your descriptions of 1 and 2, the idea that coffee tastes bad because some people don't drink it straight is like saying that salt tastes bad because some people don't eat it straight. I like the taste of coffee, just like I like the taste of salt. I don't want to drink coffee straight any more than I want to drink salt water.
7. Re:What's the point? by JustAnotherIdiot · 2012-03-15 05:23 · Score: 1
  
  I like this point, thank you for your comment.
  
  --
  What do I know, I'm just an idiot, right?
8. Re:What's the point? by mcgrew · 2012-03-15 07:04 · Score: 1
  
  How does flooding your boss with water help with the coffee?
  If some dimwit puts five scoops of grounds in it instead of three, it's going to be way too strong and taste like shit. Adding water will make it taste better, but not as good as if it were properly prepared in the first place.
  Coffee made in a dirty pot tastes bad, coffee that's been sitting on the heater boiling down for hours tastes bad, coffee made too weak or too strong tastes bad, coffee that has chicory in it tastes bad (chicory is a cheap filler used in really cheap coffee). Properly brewed coffee is both inexpensive and delicious.
  
  --
  Free Martian Whores!
Re:Awesome!!!! by the_other_one · 2012-03-15 02:59 · Score: 1

You are obviously not Canadian. We can only get caffeine free Mountain Dew.

--
134340: I am not a number. I am a free planet!
obligatory xkcd link by tinkerton · 2012-03-15 02:59 · Score: 2

you know which one I mean, just imagine I put it here.
1. Re:obligatory xkcd link by gregg · 2012-03-15 03:16 · Score: 1
  
  you know which one I mean, just imagine I put it here.
  I couldn't find your obvious xkcd link and there have been car analogies already, so how about a marginally related simpsons video clip.
2. Re:obligatory xkcd link by tinkerton · 2012-03-15 03:25 · Score: 1
  
  I actually didn't know which xkcd link.I was trying to make an odd twist that didn't come off. I'll console myself with the simpsons then :)
3. Re:obligatory xkcd link by Richy_T · 2012-03-15 05:25 · Score: 1
  
  You could also have gone with the obligatory Dilbert link. I haven't seen it yet but I know it will be in here.
STUPID! by sudden.zero · 2012-03-15 03:00 · Score: 1

JUST PLAIN STUPID!
Going for the down mods by overshoot · 2012-03-15 03:03 · Score: 1

About time. The processes used to remove the unwanted chamicals from my coffee (caffeine, in particular) from my coffee so y'all can have the straight drug are nasty and degrade the fine flavor. Since caffeine does absolutely bupkis for me (aside from headaches when I go off of it) I don't see any point in consuming something that does no good and might, maybe, raise my blood pressure and screw with my sleep patterns. Waking up ready to go at 0300 is fine; I don't see any point in getting any less sleep.
So y'all enjoy the extract while I'm still sending it to you, because when they finally get some decent Sumatran with no caffeine to begin with I'll be roasting up a pot of heaven every day.

--
Lacking <sarcasm> tags, /. substitutes moderation as "Troll."
That's like by Titan1080 · 2012-03-15 03:03 · Score: 1

Vodka without the alcohol. What's the point; for the taste??
1. Re:That's like by tabrisnet · 2012-03-15 03:19 · Score: 1
  
  Homeopathic vodka!
On the other hand... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-15 03:03 · Score: 1

Low caffeine coffee sounds like a useless product... but if they can develop low caffeine coffee beans, couldn't they create high caffeine beans? Now that is a product I would buy!
Why, you ask? by overshoot · 2012-03-15 03:05 · Score: 1

I've been drinking coffee for 50 years. No grandchildren yet, and I intend to be around to watch them grow up.
Yeah, yeah -- not a reason most people on /. can identify with.

--
Lacking <sarcasm> tags, /. substitutes moderation as "Troll."
1. Re:Why, you ask? by Bobfrankly1 · 2012-03-15 03:13 · Score: 2
  
  I've been drinking coffee for 50 years. No grandchildren yet, and I intend to be around to watch them grow up.
  Yeah, yeah -- not a reason most people on /. can identify with.
  I on the other hand, intend to be awake *sip*.
2. Re:Why, you ask? by mcgrew · 2012-03-15 06:25 · Score: 2
  
  I've been drinking coffee for 50 years. No grandchildren yet, and I intend to be around to watch them grow up.
  Then you should start drinking coffee. It has a lot of health benefits, including warding off dementia and slowing the brain's aging process. Of course, if you have a medical condition that precludes it, you shouldn't drink it, but barring that, coffee is good for you.
  
  Cancer. Coffee might have anti-cancer properties. Last year, researchers found that coffee drinkers were 50% less likely to get liver cancer than nondrinkers. A few studies have found ties to lower rates of colon, breast, and rectal cancers. Several studies have shown that caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee have different health effects (see chart).
  Cholesterol. Two substances in coffee â" kahweol and cafestol â" raise cholesterol levels. Paper filters capture these substances, but that doesnâ(TM)t help the many people who now drink non-filtered coffee drinks, such as lattes. Researchers have also found a link between cholesterol increases and decaffeinated coffee, possibly because of the type of bean used to make certain decaffeinated coffees.
  Diabetes. Heavy coffee drinkers may be half as likely to get diabetes as light drinkers or nondrinkers. Coffee may contain ingredients that lower blood sugar. A coffee habit may also increase your resting metabolism rate, which could help keep diabetes at bay.
  Gallstones. Coffee drinkers are less likely to suffer symptomatic gallstone disease, possibly because coffee alters the cholesterol content of the bile produced by the liver.
  Parkinsonâ(TM)s disease. Coffee seems to protect men but not women against Parkinsonâ(TM)s disease. One possible explanation for the sex difference may be that estrogen and caffeine need the same enzymes to be metabolized, and estrogen captures those enzymes.
  
  --
  Free Martian Whores!
3. Re:Why, you ask? by StikyPad · 2012-03-15 07:59 · Score: 1
  
  I've been drinking coffee for 50 years.
  
  Then you should start drinking coffee.
  
  I guess you missed the part where he said he drinks coffee.
  
  --
  https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
Bourbon pointu by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-15 03:13 · Score: 1

While certainly not caffeine-free, the Bourbon Pointu variety grown on Reunion Island is a delicious drink without needing the "kick" to justify itself to incults.
It is naturally low in caffeine and bitterness, horrendously expensive, and highly prized in Japan, where it sells for fifty euro per kilo.
http://www.teacoffeeasia.com/section-blog/78-features-q1-11/438-comeback-of-a-mythical-coffee-french-bourbon-pointu-.html
Idiots by StillNeedMoreCoffee · 2012-03-15 03:20 · Score: 1

Pet rocks can be re-tasked to be a coffee subsitute as well. Like sucking on a rock
I've mostly given up coffee by Pope · 2012-03-15 03:22 · Score: 3, Informative

I used to love the stuff, 2 a day on most work days. I stopped cold turkey at the start of February, giving in to a quarter cup after 3 weeks after a big breakfast when up north. Had half Starbucks "short" this morning because I was just too damn tired.
I was partly inspired by this blog article, partly by health concerns that had developed over the previous few months including a feeling of over-sensitivity to the caffeine, and partly just to see if I could do it.
After the first week of withdrawal symptoms, mostly slight headaches in the afternoon, I was pretty much operating as normal. I think it's good to force one's self out of a habit for a while.

--
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
Then they farm it... by brainboyz · 2012-03-15 03:25 · Score: 2

If they farm it and it cross-contaminates the world coffee DNA, there will be an apocalyptic uprising of caffeine deprived people.
1. Re:Then they farm it... by trongey · 2012-03-15 04:01 · Score: 1
  
  If they farm it and it cross-contaminates the world coffee DNA, there will be an apocalyptic uprising of caffeine deprived people.
  OMG! That's the most frightening thing I've read since "With Folded Hands"!
  
  --
  You never really know how close to the edge you can go until you fall off.
2. Re:Then they farm it... by zm · 2012-03-15 04:08 · Score: 1
  
  mistakes like that can never possibly happen, relax... trust them... they know what they are doing.
  
  --
  Sig ?
What's the point? by BigFire · 2012-03-15 03:29 · Score: 1

Like booze without alcohol?
Wrong Direction by ari_j · 2012-03-15 03:30 · Score: 5, Funny

Almost twelve years ago, Slashdot posted an article about the caffeine gene in coffee plants being isolated. At that time, the Futurama references were fresh, but what we all wanted was caffeinated bacon (and baconated grapefruit). Or at least caffeinated apples. An apple with caffeine would solve 100% of the problems in my life. The future was promising. We all believed that genetic engineering would allow this gene to be spliced into other vegetables, animals, and yes, even minerals by now.
Now, over a decade later, the last great promise of the pre-9/11 world has been broken. We are using science not for good, but for evil. Our only hope is that the scientists committing this blasphemy drink their own creation and fall asleep before they can finish their work.
Please by glorybe · 2012-03-15 03:34 · Score: 1

Can they make a coffee with 150% of the usual caffeine just for me. i love that tingle in my dingle.
What is wrong with these people? by NikeHerc · 2012-03-15 03:36 · Score: 1

They must be stopped, and I mean now, otherwise the world's productivity will suffer!

--
Circle the wagons and fire inward. Entropy increases without bounds.
"Worst scientific breakthough EVER!" by Lashat · 2012-03-15 03:36 · Score: 2

- Jeff Albertson

--
For every benefit you receive a tax is levied. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
BM by Iniamyen · 2012-03-15 03:42 · Score: 1

I mainly drink it for the bowel movement, so as long as I still get that, I'm good.
Perfect for addicts by ClayDowling · 2012-03-15 03:46 · Score: 1

If you're like me, and love coffee, but hate the fact that your cat looks at you in disgust because you're awake too late at night, this is perfect. And before you say it doesn't affect you that way, try quitting it cold turkey. Just be prepared to hate everyone, and for everyone to hate you, for about two weeks.
Now I'll just get back to my heathen apostate business.....

--
Easy Online Role Playing Campaign Management
1. Re:Perfect for addicts by ClayDowling · 2012-03-15 06:08 · Score: 1
  
  My habit may have been stronger than yours. It wasn't unusual for me to drink a pot before noon, and then put another on.
  As for the grand infernal machine, mostly I tell it to stuff itself. The work it gets from me when making unreasonable demands is unreasonably poor.
  
  --
  Easy Online Role Playing Campaign Management
Re:Catering to tastebuds is the problem. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-15 03:48 · Score: 1

People spend too much food worrying about how stuff tastes rather than what that stuff does to their body.
Forget about taste. It is fuel.
Your right and that reminds me of another thing. People spend too much time worrying about how sex feels rather than what sex does to their bodies. Forget about pleasure. Its for procreation. Stop worrying about doggie style, 3somes, and oral.
Aw crap, a 3UIDer surfaced! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-15 03:48 · Score: 1

Back! Back into the foul depths with you, eldritch spawn! I don't care if they're about to purge the joy juice out of your java, the stars are not yet right for your emergence! Back unto your deathless slumber!
1. Re:Aw crap, a 3UIDer surfaced! by Jeremiah+Cornelius · 2012-03-15 04:13 · Score: 1
  
  SPA FON!
  SQUA TRONT!!!
  
  --
  "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
  Never been known to fail..."
2. Re:Aw crap, a 3UIDer surfaced! by Ol+Biscuitbarrel · 2012-03-15 07:09 · Score: 1
  
  Be careful what you say AC, or he might shoot you with his needle gun.
3. Re:Aw crap, a 3UIDer surfaced! by Jeremiah+Cornelius · 2012-03-15 09:13 · Score: 1
  
  Tasty.
  
  --
  "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
  Never been known to fail..."
4. Re:Aw crap, a 3UIDer surfaced! by sco08y · 2012-03-15 12:00 · Score: 1
  
  Be careful what you say AC, or he might shoot you with his needle gun.
  Kinda hard to win against the omnipresent 0-UIDer.
Caffeine-free is better than decaffeinated by IGnatius+T+Foobar · 2012-03-15 03:49 · Score: 1

The reason decaf tastes like crap is because of the decaffeination process. It removes most of the caffeine but the side effect is that it also removes some of the flavor compounds. There is good decaf out there, but it's very expensive because you have to start with ultra-premium beans to make up for the flavor lost from decaffeination.

If the beans are grown to not have caffeine in them in the first place, hopefully the flavor is there to begin with, and with no decaffeination process necessary, there will be some flavor.

Let's hope Monsanto doesn't get a hold of this and taint the world's supply of coffee beans with their imaginary intellectual property.

--
Tired of FB/Google censorship? Visit UNCENSORED!
1. Re:Caffeine-free is better than decaffeinated by bill_mcgonigle · 2012-03-15 05:10 · Score: 1
  
  Quite right. But if you roast the decafs yourself, you can get the green beans for about $7/lb. It's hard to buy regular extra-cheap coffee for that in the grocery store these days.
  
  --
  My God, it's Full of Source!
  OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Indeed by lightknight · 2012-03-15 04:04 · Score: 1

Who drinks coffee for the taste?

--
I am John Hurt.
1. Re:Indeed by bill_mcgonigle · 2012-03-15 04:53 · Score: 1
  
  Who drinks coffee for the taste?
  People who buy/roast quality coffee and know how to brew it.
  If your frame of reference is the coffee grounds in the mylar pouches at the office coffee machine, then I agree - it's undrinkable.
  
  --
  My God, it's Full of Source!
  OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
2. Re:Indeed by lightknight · 2012-03-15 05:52 · Score: 1
  
  Sacrilege. Tea tastes much better than coffee.
  
  --
  I am John Hurt.
3. Re:Indeed by lightknight · 2012-03-15 05:53 · Score: 1
  
  Is that quality coffee with or without caffeine?
  
  --
  I am John Hurt.
4. Re:Indeed by bill_mcgonigle · 2012-03-15 06:11 · Score: 1
  
  Is that quality coffee with or without caffeine?
  Both - home roasting decafs will yield a larger quality delta than home roasting regular, but the taste and cost are still better in both cases.
  
  --
  My God, it's Full of Source!
  OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Imagine that by The+Creator · 2012-03-15 04:05 · Score: 1

People in droves in the streets, half dead, slowly, slowly walking towards anyone who seems even slightly alert. Moaning "Kaa-feee... kaaa-feeee...."

--

FRA: STFU GTFO
1. Re:Imagine that by Richy_T · 2012-03-15 05:28 · Score: 1
  
  Haha, no, that wasn't "brains" they were moaning, it was "beans".
we're all preaching to the choir by Eponymous+Hero · 2012-03-15 04:22 · Score: 1

why, god?! why?!?!?!? why coffee without caffeine? is it because you hate us? is it because i got a facebook account? take me, lord, just don't hurt the ones i care about.

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insensitive clod overlords obligatory xkcd car analogy russian reversals whoosh pedant fanbois ftfy in 3...2...1..PROFIT
All those jokes by overshoot · 2012-03-15 04:23 · Score: 1

about the zombie apocalypse. And you laughted! Laughed, I say! Ha!!
You'll see! <laugh="evil">

--
Lacking <sarcasm> tags, /. substitutes moderation as "Troll."
Government mandate? by OldGunner · 2012-03-15 04:36 · Score: 1

I suspect, if this effort is successful, it won't be long after that some misguided government or social entity tries to mandate its use. A pox on their houses!

--
Vietnam Veteran / Former Postal Worker -- Use Caution When Taunting!
Why??? by EMR · 2012-03-15 04:39 · Score: 1

The problem I have with Coffee is the Coffee part :)
(yeah I'm one of the few programmers who does does not turn coffee into code.. I just crank out code.. No coffee nor caffeine! )
1. Re:Why??? by Forbman · 2012-03-15 06:53 · Score: 1
  
  Who's your meth dealer, then?
Re:Very cool. by colinrichardday · 2012-03-15 04:47 · Score: 1

No.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporomandibular_joint
Zombie apocalypse by bunhed · 2012-03-15 04:54 · Score: 1

stage one of the zombie apocalypse... eliminate caffeine
I understand caffeine free coffee by brokeninside · 2012-03-15 04:59 · Score: 1

I quite like coffee. I like the way it tastes. I like the way it smells. It's has more anti-oxidants than tea. It's a lovely drink.
But, the older I get, the less well my body deals with caffeine. It's not that I can't go to sleep if I drink coffee later than around 3pm, but if I do, I will toss and turn and constantly wake up all night. My sleep will be crap.
The other way by Vlaix · 2012-03-15 05:02 · Score: 1

I'd like coffee-free caffeine.
it's official by buddyglass · 2012-03-15 05:11 · Score: 1

I'm now anti-GMO. The danger of cross-contamination of the native coffee stock is just too great.
1. Re:it's official by ChromeAeonium · 2012-03-15 10:15 · Score: 1
  
  These plants aren't actually genetically engineered. They were bred with a traditional breeding technique, specifically, mutant breeding...basically, taking the plants (in this case the seeds) and treating them with some sort of mutagen and seeing if any useful mutants come out. Apparently they tried to use genetic engineering, but since there are multiple pathways that make caffeine in coffee, they couldn't really do it successfully. I guess in theory they could, but between shutting down all the pathways, working with coffee (which I guess is hard to work with), and the idiotic levels of over regulation on genetically engineered crops, they couldn't make it work with GE. I think I once heard of someone trying to use genetic engineering to regulate flowering in coffee before, which is pretty cool. Because the beans on a tree may be at different stages of ripening, this prevents coffee from being mechanically harvested, so this might make coffee cheaper if production can be mechanized.
  I doubt there will be cross pollination problems. Like most tree crops, coffee is not grown from seed, it is asexually reproduced in cultivation. So even if there were cross pollination (and there will be) it won't make the caffeine free genes spread.
2. Re:it's official by buddyglass · 2012-03-15 11:23 · Score: 1
  
  Excellent.
Re:Catering to tastebuds is the problem. by elucido · 2012-03-15 05:34 · Score: 1

People spend too much food worrying about how stuff tastes rather than what that stuff does to their body.
Forget about taste. It is fuel.
Your right and that reminds me of another thing. People spend too much time worrying about how sex feels rather than what sex does to their bodies. Forget about pleasure. Its for procreation. Stop worrying about doggie style, 3somes, and oral.
Not everyone has to or needs to procreate. Everyone has to eat. There is a difference in that with eating you don't get a choice and the consequences for eating incorrectly are an early death.
But... but... WHY? by roc97007 · 2012-03-15 05:54 · Score: 1

What is the PURPOSE of coffee without caffeine? So, you can wait in line for 20 minutes at Starbucks in order to talk to the nice Barista? And that experience is worth seven bucks?
Well, ok fine, it'd be a strange old word if we were all the same. But there's a nightmare in the back of my head that this is the next logical step for the people who want to take away our cheetos.

--
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
I ordered a cup... by roc97007 · 2012-03-15 06:01 · Score: 1

...and got a beverage almost, but not quite, entirely unlike coffee.

--
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Useless by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-15 06:01 · Score: 1

These esteemed researchers spend their time to produce coffee without the caffeine, otherwise known as dirty water. Don't they have anything useful to do? Have all the other problems in the world been solved? Next up: food without any nutritional value that tastes like dirt.
What's with all the coffee haters? by AdamHaun · 2012-03-15 06:12 · Score: 1

Wow, look at all the addicts here. You guys know you can buy caffeine in pill form, right? You don't even need a prescription. Or would that hit a little too close to home? :-p
For those of you who have never tasted good coffee, here's some stuff to try. I'm not a connoisseur or a fanatic, so this is just the easy stuff. First, buy good beans and grind them in the store. (You can roast and grind fresh beans daily but that's a little much for me.) Store the grinds at room temp, not in the freezer. Next, ditch the low-end creamers. Go to the grocery store and get some heavy whipping cream. Once you try it you'll never want to go back. Pour in enough so that the coffee is medium brown (however brown you like it -- experiment!). Finally, sweeten. I like a 50/50 mix of sucrose and sucralose. Sucralose (Splenda) is one of the best artificial sweeteners. You can buy it online in pure liquid form, which is better than the powdered packets. Go 100% if you can; this is an easy place to save calories. Each sweetener has a different onset/aftertaste profile, so experiment to find one you like.
The result of all this is a hot, sweet, creamy drink with the warm comfort of hot cocoa and the delicious aroma of coffee. Give it a try and see if you still think coffee sucks.

--
Visit the
More ineresting by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-15 06:12 · Score: 1

Why not engineer coffee with twice the caffeine? There would be a serious market for coffee with and even stronger punch.
Abomination! by gestalt_n_pepper · 2012-03-15 06:13 · Score: 1

Caffeine free coffee (shudder). The horror..... the horror...

--
Please do not read this sig. Thank you.
Heathens by msobkow · 2012-03-15 06:27 · Score: 1

Beer without alcohol. Coffee without caffeine. Tea without caffeine.
What's next?
Cannabis without the THC?
Oh yeah, we already have that. It's called "hemp". :P

--
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
1. Re:Heathens by SleazyRidr · 2012-03-15 07:26 · Score: 1
  
  I could go for some cigarettes without nicotine (or the other shit that kills you).
  
  --
  Is 1563649 a prime number?
AIIIIIEEE! NO!!!! KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!!!!! by Mike+Van+Pelt · 2012-03-15 06:30 · Score: 1

no text
You hate the taste? by HalAtWork · 2012-03-15 07:20 · Score: 1

If you think the only reason to drink it is to get caffeine, why don't you just take caffeine pills? I like the taste of coffee, but caffeine makes me anxious.

--
Twinstiq, game news
Re:Good news by SkimTony · 2012-03-15 07:32 · Score: 1

Most sodas make me want to puke, too. Not sure it is the caffeine that's the problem, though.
WITCHES! by roman_mir · 2012-03-15 07:45 · Score: 1

WITCHES!!
BURN THEM!

--
You can't handle the truth.
Re:Catering to tastebuds is the problem. by mcgrew · 2012-03-15 08:04 · Score: 1

You sound like a Catholic Spock. "People spend too much sex worrying about how stuff feels rather than what that stuff does to their body. Forget about feelings. It is reproduction."
Man cannot live by bread alone. If you're starving then taste is unimportant, but good food makes for a better life.

--
Free Martian Whores!
Re:Fast-drip by nullchar · 2012-03-15 08:24 · Score: 1

I want to know more about this fast-drip coffee maker! Is it like a french press that presses itself?
Re:Fast-drip by arth1 · 2012-03-15 08:39 · Score: 1

I want to know more about this fast-drip coffee maker! Is it like a french press that presses itself?
No, it's just regular coffee brewer that have a stronger heating element and much wider filter shape - instead of the \./ typical in the US, they're more like a \___/. Combined with the stronger heating element, it allows the hot water to go through the coffee much quicker, bringing out flavour without pulling out all the acids.
Of course, you pay for this by having to use much more coffee, but the taste difference is really huge. Less acidic and more of the taste of what coffee smells like.
Now work on nicotine free tobacco. by AbRASiON · 2012-03-15 09:45 · Score: 1

I would like to see over the course of the next 20 years tobacco decrease in nicotine content by 10% a year, ever so slowly reducing it to nothing. At least smokers then would be addicted to a habit and not a damn chemical.
1. Re:Now work on nicotine free tobacco. by javascriptjunkie · 2012-03-15 14:13 · Score: 1
  
  Sure, why not increase the amount of lung cancer? That is what you're talking about. It's not the nicotine that kills you. It's everything else in the cigarette. It's been proven that all decreasing the amount of nicotine in tobacco does is make people smoke more. Numerous studies have proven this. Sure, the FDA has proposed this very idea, but the FDA hasn't been on the side of human health for a very long time.
2. Re:Now work on nicotine free tobacco. by AbRASiON · 2012-03-15 14:23 · Score: 1
  
  The goal is to remove the chemically addictive drug from the product. I strongly suspect without the nicotine you would see a significant percentage of people give up smoking over the proposed time period, furthermore you would see less people take the habit up.
  Also, yes I know the nicotine isn't the killing part, it's generally smoking burning 'stuff' is pretty dumb in the first place. You're missing the point.
3. Re:Now work on nicotine free tobacco. by javascriptjunkie · 2012-03-15 14:58 · Score: 1
  
  Look man, you can think whatever you want, but the facts on it don't lie. They're very clear. Every time this has ever been studied, the results have been the same. Cutting the nicotine in people's cigarettes will only increase the chances of getting cancer, the same way that people who smoked light cigarettes were three times more likely to get lung cancer when the tobacco companies tried it. Turned out that lowering the amount of nicotine in cigarettes actually increased the amount of tar and nicotine that the user got because they puffed harder on it. What you guys are proposing is absurd on it's face.
  Nicotine is the least dangerous thing in an analog cigarette. Why do we keep pushing for abstinence on these things? It doesn't work, it's never worked, and it never will work. If fewer smokers is the goal, then don't draw attention to it. More regulation is certainly not the answer in this regard. Harm reduction is. It's the only thing that's working with any reasonable percentages. Snoose, e-cigarettes, high potency inhalers, nicotine drops, and others. All of them are being proven to significantly reduce the risks in of nicotine use. Why not mandate for those?
4. Re:Now work on nicotine free tobacco. by AbRASiON · 2012-03-15 21:57 · Score: 1
  
  You're not looking at the long term picture, making the product not addictive could result in millions upon millions less smokers. Frankly I don't give a shit if 10,000 people die a year from smoking out of only 15,000 smokers. I do care about 10,000,000 people dying a year out of 1,500,000,000 smokers,.............. I believe this would be the END result of doing this.
  (Figures exaggerated to get my point across)
5. Re:Now work on nicotine free tobacco. by WormholeFiend · 2012-03-16 01:53 · Score: 1
  
  Nicotine-free, genetically modified tobacco already exists.
  It's grown by the Amish.
6. Re:Now work on nicotine free tobacco. by AbRASiON · 2012-03-16 01:58 · Score: 1
  
  As I originally mentioned though, I'd like to see some kind of genetic manipulation to very very slowly reduce it over the course of X amount of years, whatever seems sensible by smarter men. Furthermore, while the US may not be interested in legally enforcing strict rules and I do tire of Australia doing such things, in this instance it seems logical to me.
  We already ban tabacco advertising (and drug company advertising, thank fuck) - mandating nicotine restricted cigarettes simply seems logical. I suspect we'd reduce cigarette related deaths by 90% within 50 years.
  My speculation, of course.
Who wants it? by woboyle · 2012-03-15 13:32 · Score: 1

To me, decaf coffee is much like alcohol-free tequila - an oxymoron! Yech! In any case, this "product" would not make any $$ from me!

--
Sometimes, real fast is almost as good as real-time.
Nobody really wants caffiene free coffee. by javascriptjunkie · 2012-03-15 13:38 · Score: 1

People that buy it are doing it to punish themselves, our out of some insane religious devotion, or whatever else the diseased mind of a decaffeinated coffee drinker can think up. I think this research is going entirely in the wrong direction. The goal should be, how to create a super hybrid coffee plant that contains more caffeine, with fewer toxic byproducts that a normal cup of coffee would have. Clean, smooth, packed with energy. That's what real coffee drinkers want.
Re:Fast-drip by Mindcontrolled · 2012-03-15 21:00 · Score: 1

Simply get a funnel, a paper filter, put in coffee, pour on the water, let drip into mug. Done. More or less a simple batch extraction compared to the percolation performed by most machines - and that's what keeps the acidity out. I never got the point of coffee makers.

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Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
STOP! by Compulawyer · 2012-03-16 00:25 · Score: 1

This is an abomination of nature. What's next -- beer that is fermented without alcohol production? This madness must end.

--
Laws affecting technology will always be bad until enough techies become lawyers.
This will never actually happen by sita · 2012-03-16 02:39 · Score: 1

The scientists will not be able to finish the project due to caffeine deficiency.
Re:Catering to tastebuds is the problem. by elucido · 2012-03-16 14:29 · Score: 1

You sound like a Catholic Spock. "People spend too much sex worrying about how stuff feels rather than what that stuff does to their body. Forget about feelings. It is reproduction."
Man cannot live by bread alone. If you're starving then taste is unimportant, but good food makes for a better life.
It also makes people fat.
Re:Catering to tastebuds is the problem. by mcgrew · 2012-03-20 01:33 · Score: 1

You have to die from something. Better to live fifty years with a full stomach than seventy years starving.

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Free Martian Whores!