For those looking to drink an average cup of coffee, get an average productivity increase, and just generally live average—the grocery store shelf is a great place to snatch your next bag of beans. Unfortunately for those looking to get a strong caffeine boost from their coffee, this category is what the majority of coffees you’ll find on the shelf at your grocery store are. Blah. Specialty Coffees: 50-300 milligrams of Caffeine Cold Brew (cold brewed coffee): Coffee grinds are soaked in cool water for 12 - 24 hours (instead of the grind being diluted by the heat and pressure of the hot water, it soaks up the cold water and draws naturally); this mix is then processed through a filter. The result is usually a stronger and higher caffeine-intense product. To sum up: don't drink strong coffee at night and take melatonin expecting to be able to sleep, unless you're prepared to stay awake all night being productive instead. Or, you know, if you're a rat.

The main reason why caffeine will always win in a battle against melatonin is that caffeine is a natural psychoactive substance, and melatonin is not. Caffeine is capable of boosting your energy, mood, and focus, while melatonin is just a boring hormone that your body boringly produces.

Preparation Method

Keep your coffee game strong and try a cup of Joe at one of these other great Coffee Shops in Cape Town. And then, when you’ve had too much caffeine (if that’s even possible?!) swing past The Tea Bar on Long Street for a smoothing cuppa. While you there, you might also want to try a bit to eat at one of these Top Brunch Spots in Cape Town. The robusta bean and caffeine is not hidden by the other beans but rather complimented resulting in a well-balanced flavour – now that is true craftsmanship”, states Sean referring to Gerald’s expert coffee roasting abilities. “Gerald is cooking with flavours and has to repeat the exact blend with each batch so we have to test every lot for its caffeine content. We have an agreement that if the batch is below 16900mg of caffeine, then we won’t use it, but Gerald has never missed the mark.”

If you need a big, short term energy and productivity boost and aren’t worried about staying energized for a longer period—by all means, slam that coffee down. Naturally, this results in less of an initial jolt, but it also reduces any potential crash later on. Caffeine and melatonin have a minor interaction. Basically, the caffeine in the coffee will handily cancel out the effect of the melatonin, and you'll just end up wide awake, staring at the popcorn texture on the ceiling, 11 cents worth of sleeping aid poorer. Which is fine, really. I don't know what you're supposed to do with 11 cents. Looking for a little extra wakefulness from your cup of joe? You might want to consider switching to a stronger brand of coffee. And in the past, if you owned a single-serve coffee maker, I might have even suggested switching to a more traditional coffee brewer—since these expedited brewing methods have historically made for some pretty weak coffee. Don't combine the two, or it'll be like the time I had a cold and took Nyquil after drinking a Red Bull: An existential waking nightmare full of periodic weird dreams about being chased by a giant cheeseburger.If you drink coffee over a longer time period, the caffeine will be released into your system more slowly. It’ll also make it less likely that you’ll feel an undesirable caffeine “crash.” When it comes to caffeine content, not all coffee is equal. And that includes K-Cups and Nespresso pods . In fact, some of the most popular K-Cup and coffee pod brands have surprisingly low levels of caffeine —so we're here to set the record straight, and help you avoid a disappointing cup of coffee. But still: What if you could combine your two favorite things— caffeine and sleep—by drinking coffee and taking melatonin at the same time? Caffeine content does vary by everything mentioned above, and even by who is doing the testing. We put this together by using, in part, these resources: You should never take caffeine and melatonin at the same time. They work fine on their own—in fact, they work fantastic on their own. Like a nice hot cup off Extreme Caffeine when you need it.