Ask HN: What do you drink?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=726969

by breck • 17 years ago

23 81 17 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I find I code better with a drink nearby. I can't have snacks or food near me but having a soda or something is great.

Right now I drink 2-4 coke zeros per day, which is better than my former habit of a couple cokes a day, which was better than the even earlier habit of a couple of Rockstars per day.

What do you drink?

Just looking for some (hopefully healthier) ideas.

sound2man• 17 years ago

Iced peppermint Tea. The most refreshing drink in the galaxy. Much easier on the head than the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster too.

mrduncan2• 17 years ago

My usual daily routine consists the following: 1-2 cups of coffee in the morning and lots of water and orange juice the rest of the day. I quit drinking soda years ago for the most part (still drink it occasionally but rarely) in college when it was just a lot cheaper to drink water instead and have never really had the urge to pick it up again.

If you're looking to kick the soda, I'd suggest switching over to something else other only water initially since I can almost guarantee you'll get sick of it having no flavor (maybe orange juice, apple juice, or tea).

skushch• 17 years ago

Personally I like mineral water, something about the carbonation which made it easier to drop soda.

aristoxenus• 17 years ago

Easy on those juices -- that much simple sugar can lead to a metabolic/alertness roller coaster, if not weight problems.

mrduncan2• 17 years ago

Probably good advice, I'm not a doctor nor do I play one on the internet. For myself though, I stick mainly to water throughout the day.

Femur• 17 years ago

My daily fluid intake:

1-2 cups of coffee in the morning.

2-3 cups of Lipton green tea throughout the day.

1 litre of bottled carbonated mineral water at home in the evening.

1 glass of red wine with supper.

I also drink the odd cup/glass of tap water here and there.

Edit: I also never drink soda.

splat2• 17 years ago

Just water throughout the day. I'll have a beer or a cocktail in the evening. On rare occasions, if I'm feeling particularly tired and need to be alert I'll have a soda or coffee.

DanielBMarkham• 17 years ago

I mostly go with water throughout the day.

With meals I usually have a Isopure zero carb drink, which tastes great and lets me load up on protein without all the fat or carbs.

I had stopped caffeine completely, but now that I'm off the caffeine wagon again, once a week (usually Friday) I'll load up on 2 or 3 cups of strong tea -- either Earl Grey or Chai, with cream and Splenda.

And then Friday evening it's usually a couple glasses of wine with supper as an extra treat.

Then back to water again. Repeat and rinse.

omarchowdhury• 17 years ago

Water.

effektz• 17 years ago

mixed with a little bit of 100% fruit juice

skoob• 17 years ago

But, then it's no longer 100% fruit juice!

pasbesoin• 17 years ago

I do this, as well. And during/after exercise, I'll drink a 50/50 mix. I don't know whether it's the "proper" approach, but it keeps my stomach settled whereas a lot of plain water can start to feel "heavy" particularly in the stomach. I'm thinking particularly of long (outdoor) cycle rides, back when I did that.

jackchristopher• 17 years ago

And it kills foggy brain.

But the best effect is you know it's healthy, so you don't feel bad. Tea too. Green and white tea are high in antioxidants. Drink up.

HalcyonMuse4• 17 years ago

Well, depends where you live... I spent a summer in Santa Clara in a really crappy apartment and the water always developed this weird white film (or was it a precipitate? I forget) if you let it sit. I considered it very suspicious and did not drink water from the tap at home - I got my fill at work.

oldgregg2• 17 years ago

Wow. Water is #1 -- and not a single mention of jolt or mountain dew. What a weak generation of hackers -- you know where the term "flow state" came from? David Lightman used to drink his own urine during long coding sessions. That's a scientific fact.

old-gregg• 17 years ago

Ha. Old Greggs think alike. Old school programmers, those who created web servers, compilers and the universe, used to drink coffee, smoke pot and read man pages. Today's generation drinks water, smokes ground PG essays and watches screencasts instead of reading proper documentation.

splat2• 17 years ago

At over 7:1 (at last check), I think this comment wins the award for "Highest Karma to Character Ratio"!

rms2• 17 years ago

I'm sure there is a "yes" or "no" out there that wins.

rs• 17 years ago

True true

2 weeks ago I would have said "coffee" - used to drink about 6-8 cups a day between 3 am and 7 pm (working hours). Over the past 2 weeks I've switched over to mostly water and 2 cups of coffee per day at most and its unbelievably fantastic.

Water for me has to be room temperature though. Not sure why.

CyberFonic2• 17 years ago

H20 ... chilled. Used to be Coke (2-4 cans a day) then coffee (3-5 mugs a day). These days an afternoon coffee and snack bar is a once or at most twice a week treat. Typically after eradicating some extra perfidious bug!

sgoraya• 17 years ago

Ten Ren Green Tea Powder.

Its good, healthy and easy. A small spoon of it in my water bottle, a good shake and its done. Its good hot too.

As an aside, my wife noticed how my fingernails started growing faster after my green tea habit - really! ;) It prompted a google search several months back and indeed, it does help with nail growth among its many other healthy benefits.

SwellJoe• 17 years ago

3-4 cups of Yamamoto jasmine green tea during the early part of the day (waking until 6 or so hours before sleeping).

Water the rest of the time.

I occasionally drink orange juice, when eating chocolate or when having a hot breakfast like grits and eggs.

About once every two or three weeks, I'll have a Pepsi when eating pizza.

anulman• 17 years ago

I used to rarely drink soda (only when I went out), but now that they give it to me at the office, it's a bit tougher to avoid.

What I've found helps me avoid the temptation is really good green tea -- I keep a tin of it on my desk at all times. It's ultra-natural, both in how it feels/tastes and in reality; it's got a bit of caffeine, but nothing that'll end in a crash; and it tastes good whether it's hot or cold!

agotterer• 17 years ago

I drink 90% water. At work I get up at least once every hour to refill the glass. Gives me a reason to take a break and stretch my legs. I will occasionally have a soda with lunch. I have never had a cup of coffee before and I stopped drinking energy drinks.

brooksbp• 17 years ago

3-4 cups green tea a day (good to mix creatine with). You're drinking water and sometimes good anti-oxidants (great for cleansing your body after exercising, or during hangovers).

I try to stay away from coffee; it doesn't take me long to acquire a tolerance for caffeine. I just don't see the benefits of coffee.

I'm a huge fan of grapefruit juice and V8 too.

_cbsz• 17 years ago

I usually had success with an "addiction reset" by going cold turkey after every semester as an undergrad. As a grad student, I've found that even though I drink 3 cups of green or white tea per day, which is supposed to have relatively minimal caffeine, I get headaches on the weekends when I don't have tea. Do you notice withdrawal headaches with that level of consumption?

lucumo• 17 years ago

When I'm at home (where I work most of the time) I drink water, sometimes mixed with (orange) cordial. I found a light version of it, making me feel less guilty about drinking it. :-)

vaksel• 17 years ago

water or orange juice

Zak• 17 years ago

It depends on what sort of coding I'm doing. It's usually water or herbal tea. If I need extra energy, black tea, but I try not to do that more than a couple times a week since I broke my addiction to caffeine.

When I have to deal with new and interesting bugs that only occur with Internet Explorer, I drink whiskey.

ashleyw3• 17 years ago

On the average day:

• 2x extra strong coffees with sugar (still dislike it really, too sour, but it wakes me up.)

• ~1-2 litres of Coke and/or other fizzy drinks (my addiction)

• 1-2 Hot chocolate (at night)

• ~4x litres of water, sometimes with flavouring

smokinn• 17 years ago

No offense intended but are you overweight? If not, how do you keep the weight off with that much consumption? Daily gym?

ashleyw3• 17 years ago

The coke is diet, and the hot chocolate is only 30 kcals/mug, so I don't drink many kcals, easily less than 200kcals/day.

But yes I used to be pretty overweight, but I've lost a hell of a lot in the last year. That's one of the reasons I started drinking so much water, it helps tremendously!

jlees2• 17 years ago

My 'no offence intended' reply would be - does the poster have any trouble sleeping?

I used to drink a ton of fizzy drinks - all diet, but I noticed a significant correlation between insomnia and pop. Drank nothing but water (literally) for 6 months and suddenly could fall asleep before midnight...

jrockway• 17 years ago

too sour, but it wakes me up

You might try cold-press coffee, which is much less acidic.

michaelfairley• 17 years ago

V8 Fusion. Absolutely delicious, and (according to the marketing on the label) contains a full serving of fruit and vegetables in every 8oz.

That, and water.

thunk• 17 years ago

Lots of tea (camellia sinensis: green, Earl Grey, Oolong, Lipton, whatever). Water. No soda.

3dFlatLander• 17 years ago

I used to drink a few sodas a day, and I switched to tea about five years ago. I lost some weight during the first year, but I've found I have more energy with tea and no crash. I get most of my tea from Adagio (I'm not affiliated).

dmharrison• 17 years ago

I'm a sucker for Irish or Scottish breakfast. Generally I like the black teas which have higher caffeine. Tea to me seems to be less abrasive than the sugary high caffeine drinks but just as effective ;)

dtf• 17 years ago

I've got quite into Rooibos tea over the last few months. Very drinkable with a pleasant aroma and no caffeine. I still love coffee, but save it for the weekends.

lallysingh• 17 years ago

Always double-fist with ice water. Most of the time we're drinking b/c we want water. Expect to pee a lot.

On most days, regular coffee is fine. Stage 2 is a tall americano (you know from where). Stage 3 is a chai with two shots of espresso. Stage 4 need not be named, but it gives me wings. I usually save those for mondays or all-nighters.

abyssknight• 17 years ago

See, funny thing about that, I hate drinking water because it makes me have to leave my desk a lot. I still do it because I know I need the water intake. Usually my day is 50/50 between Coke Zero (or Mountain Dew on a bad day) and Water. Sometimes it slides to 30/70, but I do my best.

Edit: And by 50/50 I meant one or two cups of water and one can of soda (or on bad days, a 20oz).

rms2• 17 years ago

I'll agree with the consensus: water is the best, but if you want caffeine, freshly brewed tea is by far the healthiest source of caffeine. The theanine is also a nice bonus.

CyberFonic2• 17 years ago

Instant coffee causes greater dehydration due to the chemicals used in the manufacturing processes. So you should be drinking extra water to make up for its diuretic effects. So if it's coffee it has to be freshly brewed - the aroma is a bonus treat.

clemesha• 17 years ago

Monsters, mountain dew, iced coffee. Anything with caffeine when hacking. Not a healthful response, but an honest one.

nanexcool• 17 years ago

I drink mate 2 or 3 times a day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mate_(beverage)

teeja• 17 years ago

Black tea, in mass quantities.

zzzmarcus• 17 years ago

I recently found Viso Vigor which is pretty good for a quick, intense (300mg) dose of caffeine. It also has tons of vitamin B (6, 12 etc.), and feels less to me like drinking death than Red Bull and the other canned energy drinks do. I don't drink it often, but if I need a boost that tastes good and isn't soda it works.

I also enjoy yerba mate. It's very popular in Uruguay where I started drinking it. Especially so among students as an (ostensibly) healthy herbal tea with a good dose of caffeine to keep them awake for studying. My favorite part is the slow, calming ritual around drinking it in the traditional way.

Those two exceptions aside, generally I prefer water.

pmichaud• 17 years ago

No soda! Yuck!

I drink water mostly, but I also drink some Twinnings Breakfast tea in the afternoon usually.

J_McQuade• 17 years ago

Buying a tea infuser is one of the best things I've ever done - real leaf tea by the cup! Moroccan mint is my favourite at the moment, but I like to experiment, and can't help but think that in tea I've just found one more thing to be geeky about.

I also find that the regular ritual of making tea helps to stop my thought processes from falling down rabbit holes, so to speak. It's sometimes good to step back and wait for kettles to boil and leaves to steep.

HalcyonMuse4• 17 years ago

I have discovered the same thing - giving my brain time in modes other than problem-solving, like wait-for-kettle mode, seems to augment my problem-solving mode endurance.

lyime• 17 years ago

Ice Tea (16 - 32oz daily) and water

I find that ice tea keeps my hydrated and keeps me focused. It's perfect for coding and it's also healthy.

My recipe

- Leaf Tea (not the boxed kind) usually fruity ones. (peach and cinnamon rooibos is my favorite)

- Boil 2-3 cups of water

- 2 spoons of tea in a container and pour water. (sit for 2 mins)

- Take a jar and fill it with ice, strain the tea over ice.

Bonus + Lemon + Fruits

philwelch• 17 years ago

Mostly water, though a fruit smoothie in the morning makes breakfast compatible with working, and a 7UP every so often adds some of the soda flavor without being too sickeningly sweet (like Sprite), caffeinated (Coke), or having a heavy, sticky aftertaste (Coke again). Mix in some orange juice to perk you up and you're golden. Alcohol is strictly reserved for off-duty hours.

mmphosis• 17 years ago

One cup of espresso in the morning.

Freshly ground, tamped, and run through a home espresso machine. Add a bit of cream. The beans are: Café Awasa direct fair trade organic Ethiopian

herval2• 17 years ago

Water or green tea!

Beware the Coke Zero, its sweeteners are quite harmful, according to some physicists I consulted (and to what happened to myself: got very strong stomach pain for months, and the reason was that I got a reaction to Coke Zero! Switched to Coke Light and it's all gone...)

ams6110• 17 years ago

Did you mean physicians? If not, I would not put much more stock in a physicist's opinion about sweeteners than any other random person's.

herval2• 17 years ago

yes, I meant doctor, medic... guess it was kinda obvious, no?

CaptainMorgan• 17 years ago

Upon waking up I have 1-2 cups of coffee, minus the sugar.

Throughout the day I have close to a gallon of water. Also, I drink Weight Watchers soda: contains no sodium, no sugar, no calories, etc... Coke zeros contain sodium, no? If a drink contains sodium I always thought it defeated the purpose of drinking it - which in my case has always been to quench thirst... sodium acts as an agent to make you drink more never actually quenching my thirst - in my experience.

As far as alcoholic beverages, my handle speaks for itself. :)

HalcyonMuse4• 17 years ago

I was under the vague impression that a little bit of sodium was necessary for keeping the proper h2o equilibrium in the bloodstream.

I don't go out of my way to ingest sodium (I probably get plenty in my diet) and I don't know whether sodium helps or hinders hydration.

Leon• 17 years ago

Tea, Earl Grey, Hot

jsz0• 17 years ago

When I was in Europe a few years ago I picked up a seltzer habit. Nothing is as refreshing as an ice cold seltzer. To me it rivals the effects of a coffee in the morning. It's a good alternative if you like fizzy drinks. You can mix some fruit juice in if you want something sweeter. Besides that I drink lots of ice black coffee in the summer -- homemade though because coffee shops use disgusting stale/burnt coffee for iced and it tastes really bad black. If you get some good beans, grind them yourself, and get the coffee off the burner quickly after brewing you'll get an ice coffee that isn't too bitter.

mannicken• 17 years ago

Coffee (French pressed, buy pre-grinded) with splenda.

Tea (black mostly like Red Rose, Earl Grey, English Breakfast with honey/sugar).

Water (after a run and before).

Perrier bubbly water.

Buttermilk.

Milk.

Diet coke, sprite zero, and other junk less often.

Sugarfree red bull.

Devils-Avacado• 17 years ago

Coffee from 9AM to 6PM.

Beer from 6PM until 2AM.

MikeMacMan• 17 years ago

That's what I'm talking about!

zackola• 17 years ago

water. iced coffee

jamesbritt• 17 years ago

Water, mostly.

Black coffer (French pressed for creamy goodness) in the morning, and sometimes late afternoon.

Iced tea with lunch, unless I'm eating raw veggies, then only water seems to taste good.

Black tea with fruit, or muffins if we've made some, in the afternoon.

Some caffeine-free diet Pepsi with dinner.

But mostly water, all day long.

JeremyChase• 17 years ago

I have a small bottle that I refill several times a day with water. If I am drinking soda I prefer Pepsi Max (similar to Coke Zero)

chaosmachine• 17 years ago

Mill Street Coffee Porter after dinner, and Rockstar™ for late night coding.

jlees2• 17 years ago

Water usually, occasionally with Berocca tablets (not sure I've noticed any energy benefits, but they taste nice).

A nice hot cup of tea with milk and sweetener at around 3 or 4pm every day - and no caffeine any later.

Diet Coke or Dr Pepper zero when I need to get some serious work done.

Starbucks skinny caramel macchiato when I want a treat, or their latte to wake up first thing. Occasionally Innocent smoothies as well, or homemade blends.

I only drink alcohol if it's free. This rule has kept me sober for months, but lets me get away with a glass or two when it's a networking event or dinner ;)

sherl0ck• 17 years ago

2 big glass of iced coffee, and the rest is water.

safetytrick• 17 years ago

Zip Fizz and Mountain Dew

sutro• 17 years ago

Bum wines. Usually Cisco RED. http://www.bumwine.com/

iterationx• 17 years ago

try iced coffee, also called coldpress in some places

chaosprophet• 17 years ago

I always have a bottle of Minute Maid Pulpy Orange near my computer. And I also drink about 5 cups of authentic Madras Filter Coffee [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_filter_coffee] a day.

neuromanta• 17 years ago

I drink water, cuz it's healthy (everyona should drink 1,5-2l water a day), and black tea, to help me focus.

d_c• 17 years ago

water, green darjeeling, coffee, black tea (in order of approaching deadlines ;) )

EvanK• 17 years ago

Orange juice with breakfast. Water, all day long. Usually a soda with lunch or dinner. I used to drink sodas all day, but I'm getting a bit more health conscious (only a bit though).

brandon272• 17 years ago

Coffee and water. I generally try not to have more than 2 cups of coffee a day if possible.

anibal• 17 years ago

Here in Uruguay many of us drink "MATE" mate++ :)

Ask HN: What do you drink?

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