Tea, Alcohol, and Coffee Guide

Problem Addressed

Daily choices about coffee, tea, energy drinks, and alcohol often lack a clear rule. This skill frames the decision around source, timing, dose, metabolism, and risk boundary, rather than treating all stimulants as interchangeable.

Core Approach

It provides a practical decision framework:
- Source comparison: distinguishes caffeine content, onset, duration, and side effects across drip coffee, green tea, matcha, cocoa, and energy drinks.
- Timing rules: explains the 90-minute rule, daily cutoff times, and why early-morning coffee or late-afternoon intake can disrupt sleep.
- Individual fit: accounts for CYP1A2 fast and slow metabolizers, where the same 200mg dose can produce very different effects.
- Alcohol boundary: treats ethanol separately, referencing WHO and IARC “no safe level” guidance and flagging risks such as ALDH2*2 variants and disulfiram reactions with cephalosporins.
- Decision paths: uses if-then tables and scenario examples for insomnia, afternoon fatigue, social drinking, and senior-friendly alternatives.

Scope and Limits

This is a practical reference, not medical advice. People with slow caffeine metabolism, pregnancy or lactation, older age, chronic conditions, anxiety, or palpitations should consult a clinician before changing caffeine or alcohol intake. It also notes that energy drinks are mainly caffeine and sugar, “moderate drinking for health” is not a safe strategy, and adverse caffeine reactions are not necessarily allergies.