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Caffeine is an ergogenic drug, but it's probably the only one that's legal under IAAF rules. Many endurance athletes use it to boost performance during races. I myself used it to post my PB (= PR in USA) in the London Marathon, in my fourth marathon - it works best if you haven't used it for a few days (i.e. have a washout period, just like carbo-loading).

Caffeine is also recommended to help keep you alert during long drives (to avoid causing pile-ups on the M6) - I routinely stop at a service station and make myself (or buy) a mug of strong caffeinated beverage during the 600 mile drive towards my namesake, Ben Nevis . You can go online to check to see which coffeehouse chain dispense the strongest coffee, if that's what you're looking for, or you could just get one of those 'energy drinks' in a can, which often contain more caffeine than coffee.

As for its use for piano, I can imagine a bored teacher using it profitably so that he doesn't nod off in front of a student (he might dent the fallboard), or a tired student needing a last-minute burning of the midnight oil to memorise German terms like Leicht und zart (it's in Schumann's Arabeske, since you didn't ask) for the Grade 5 ABRSM Theory exam. I myself used it to help pass my school & university exams . It will help to increase your concentration when you're learning the notes on an intractable score like Ravel's Gaspard. But it will increase your anxiety level during performances - trembling, shaking etc - so I wouldn't recommend it for piano exams or recitals, especially if you already suffer from performance anxiety (like me).

So, coffee is (or rather, contains) a strong drug (or not, as the case may be). Use it with discretion........

Me, I just drink it.

I have drunk four Americano cups of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe or Colombian Bucaramanga every day for the past seven years.

I play piano much better than I did seven years ago



Ian

Nice setup. I have a Nespresso machine which I absolutely love. Makes great coffee, although I wonder sometimes what exactly is in those pods.

I hate that word Americano and refuse to use it. If I order coffee I expect just that, not a cup of hot water with an espresso thrown in!

Hmm, I wonder if there is something to that…
Maybe pre-caffeinated early-morning practice sessions might go a little better for me...
Guess there is a line between the stimulation of caffeine, and a counterproductive scattering effect.

Can't say coffee is the only solution for everybody. It is the caffeine that keeps people awake so tea and energy drinks with caffeine probably has similar effects. When we were younger, coffee wasn't consumed regularly and we got by just the same. Didn't get to play Bach Minuets & Beethoven Sonatas in my childhood so can't say if coffee would have made a difference.

I went to a talk once by Frank Shorter who explained that until the '70s marathon runners were not allowed to take any fluids at all during a race because it was "cheating". After the IAAF backed away from that idea runners were allowed to take water or a sports drink at certain points during the race. Except at the time there weren't any sports drinks yet, so the marathoner's drink of choice was flat coke, which had sugar and caffeine. It's all different now.

There is a correlation (not to be confused with causation) between coffee intake and mortality and it follows an upside-down U-shaped curve. Too much or too little coffee correlated with higher mortality. The sweet spot was roughly between 3-5 cups a day.

Coffe Intake and Mortality

Not all sports drinks contain caffeine - the London Marathon uses one that doesn't (Lucozade Sport, which contains unnecessary vitamins instead). But it's better to ingest the caffeine about one hour before the race, rather than during it. I use caffeine tablets for my races - four tablets of 50mg each - rather than a caffeinated drink, because I don't want to risk a stomach upset while running. Apparently, 3mg of caffeine per kg bodyweight is the sweet spot.

For those who need an immediate caffeine boost, caffeine chewing gum delivers the goods (because it's absorbed straight into the bloodstream via your mouth) within 5 minutes. That's what soccer clubs give their players during half-time, to reduce the risk of them collapsing from exhaustion before the final whistle......

There's also a direct correlation between fatalities/serious bodily injury and people interfering with my acquisition of coffee. That curve looks more like " / "

A day without coffee is "sleep".

I think the 'ritual' of coffee is just as important to me as the caffeine boost.* I like my coffee hot. No cream and no sugar. Preferably drunk from my favorite coffee mug. I don't try to drink coffee during my piano practice time, though. The coffee just gets cold.


*I tried switching to tea once or twice and it just wasn't the same. My guesstimate was that I was getting about the same amount of caffeine.

I am told tea gives a different kind of caffeine.

So, what do I know? Am I a caffeinologist>?

Caffeine from tea vs. coffee: the caffeine is the same (by definition or else it would have a different name and chemical formula) and its receptors would not be able to distinguish the source (coffee, tea, cola, chocolate, pills, etc). There could, theoretically, be some difference in absorption/bioavailability based on the source, though.

No coffee - tea, which I brew and then drink iced - sweet southern iced tea.

Sam

I definitely feel more sensitive to coffee than tea. I drink quite a lot of tea (4-5 cups a day), and 1 or max 2 cups of coffee. My body really notices the cup of coffee!
So I think that (as I take them) I must be getting quite a bit more caffeine from a cup of coffee.

There have been plenty of studies showing health benefits associated with moderate caffeine intake, so this isn't something that I bother worrying about or feeling guilty about.
I do stop my caffeine intake fairly early in the day to avoid impacting sleep quality (which I'd certainly consider a negative from a health and quality of life point of view).

+1

I'm a programmer in my day job, so caffeine consumption is practically in the job description. I usually average about 3 cups per weekday (less on weekends), but I stick to decaffeinated drinks after 7:30pm.

I used to be a really heavy booze drinker until quitting 7 yrs ago. I confess that I now have the same “taste” or desire, if you will, for coffee and diet sodas. Maybe it’s addictive personality but I’m also hooked on music so it’s not all bad. I’m with Sam on the iced tea as well.

I got temporarily hooked on brewed coffee, after a friend returned from Costa Rica bearing gifts of bags of coffee. When she found out that I was an "instant coffee" person, and had no way of using the Costa Rican coffee… she thoughtfully provided me with a coffee machine as well!

I found out that the stuff is a lot more addictive than instant. A cup of brewed seemed in some weird way, to be alive or have a personality of its own. And flavor! It didn't help that I always, accidentally/deliberately, made it way too strong, black as black. (Whoops, guess I'll just add more cream.) I added a second cup to breakfast... then at lunchtime as well, then mid-afternoon, and then suppertime.

I looked at the coffee machine one day and thought, This coffee craze is going nowhere but around in circles. So I washed it out one final time and set it in a corner of my kitchen. Back to my utilitarian instant granules… One ordinary, unassuming cup is all I need at breakfast time, and it doesn't ask any more of me than that, or try to go beyond its bounds…

(I am feeling headachy and lethargic, and a small cup of weak instant helps with the worst of that, but that shouldn't last long.)