Does Coffee Count as Water Intake?

Your morning cup of Joe is the thing that gets you out of bed in the morning, but does Coffee count as water intake, too? This is what we’ll explore in the following article, so please keep reading to find the answers.

We’ll determine - once and for all - whether your beloved beans keep you hydrated. Your H20 fix, after all, is one of the most vital components of a healthy lifestyle. 

Perhaps best of all, after you’ve discovered the facts, you can buy the finest Coffee beans here at The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company.

Our family-run business takes tremendous pride in packing its products - Loose Tea included - by hand fresh to order at our Kent-based factory. Doing so ensures not only quality but also consistency with every delightful cuppa brewed. 

The Significance of Daily Water Intake

Before we jump into the question, “Does drinking Coffee count as water intake?”, we’ll explore the importance of water overall. Fundamentally, we need water because we are, for the most, water.

Research from the Journal of Biological Chemistry indicates that the heart and brain are 73% water. The lungs, meanwhile, are at 83%, the muscles and kidneys at 79%, the skin at 64%, and the bones at 31%. 

It’s fair to say that’s a lot of H20. And it’s only the beginning of its significance. Water carries nutrients to the cells in the body and oxygen to the brain.

Water allows the body to absorb and assimilate vitamins, minerals, amino acids, glucose and other substances (some of which, it’s worth noting, exist in Loose Tea and Coffee!). It also flushes out toxins and waste while helping to regulate the body’s temperature.

What is the Recommended Daily Intake of Water?

You’re probably keen to know, “Can I count Coffee as water intake?” However, there is still much to say about recommended water intake in daily life. The reality is that mixed messaging exists when it comes to consumption levels.

Evidence from the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine suggests that an adequate amount depends on your assigned sex at birth. 

A man should aim to have about 3.7 litres (15.5 cups) of fluid, while a woman should get 2.7 litres (11.5 cups). Yet, unfortunately, it gets more confusing than that. The unofficial advice, regardless of sex, is the so-called 8x8 rule.

This recommends that people drink eight 240ml (8-oz) glasses of water daily, which totals just under two litres on top of other drinks and liquids. 

Not even the above guidance is backed by concrete scientific findings, though, meaning, in other words, that it is speculative at best. Those still asking, “What is a healthy daily water intake?” will have to settle for the answer, “It depends on whom you ask.”

With that out of the way, we can finally move onto the reason you’re reading our article: “Does Coffee count as water intake?”

Does Coffee Count as Water Intake?

No more preamble - almost all non-alcoholic fluids, not least Coffee and Loose Tea, count towards your fluid intake. But there is an element of nuance involved as well.

This is because brewed Coffee Beans act as a diuretic, a topic we’ve discussed at great length in another article. The gist of it is that a diuretic refers to something that promotes the formation of urine, thereby removing water from your system. 

Caffeine in Coffee is the primary reason for your peeing more. Surely, though, by that rationale, its consumption goes against recommended water intake per day?

It turns out that your morning brew is nevertheless a good choice due to its diuretic activity being relatively minimal. The bottom line is that it isn’t likely going to dehydrate you dramatically just because you make a couple of trips to the bathroom. 

Now to throw the process of decaffeination into the equation. Does Decaf Coffee count as water intake more so than “regular” Coffee? Surprisingly, it matters little as the diuretic effect of Coffee, either brimming with caffeine or void of the stuff, doesn't offset hydration.

Indeed, you’ve chosen exceptionally well regardless, so be sure to make a cuppa with a clear conscience! 

A Summary to Does Coffee Count as Water Intake

We determined why it is paramount to drink water, as well as what the recommended daily intake of water is - give or take! We then moved on to addressing the query, “Does Coffee count as water intake?”, to which we concluded that yes, it does.

While these coffee beans have a diuretic effect, it has little negative influence on hydration. In fact, it is almost all positive, Decaf Coffee or not.

You have the information to hand, so what’s left? Browsing our expansive selection of delicious products, of course! We stock over 1,000 types of Loose Tea and 70 types of Coffee Beans. Buy online or visit us in-store - the choice is yours.

Whatever you decide, you’ll want to count on The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company for your beverage needs. Start your journey today. 

Author: Richard Smith

Partner at The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company

Richard Smith is a Tea expert, entrepreneur, and owner of The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company. Part of a family of renowned Tea planters dating back four generations, he was born in Calcutta (Kolkata), India, where he spent his childhood between Tea Estates in Assam and Darjeeling.

In the late 1970s, having accumulated years of knowledge in the industry, Mr Smith and his mother, Janet Smith, moved to Kent, South East England, to establish a Tea business in the village of Pluckley. Their early days of packing Tea Bags by hand from chests of 10,000 prompted the creation of the company’s flagship infusion known as Pluckley Tea. It remains our most popular product today.

Mr Smith, who studied economics at London Polytechnic, has since specialised in over 1,000 types of Loose Leaf Tea - in addition to around 70 varieties of Roast Coffee - from around the world. These are now available at The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company, where everything is still packed by hand and fresh to order, not only to honour tradition but to ensure the utmost quality and consistency.