Is Coffee Dehydrating?

It is no secret that there are pros and cons to your morning cup of coffee, but is Coffee dehydrating you one of its negatives? Maintaining a healthy amount of water intake is not always easy, after all, so you might be wondering whether these beans complicate matters further.

This is what we’ll explore in the following article. Please keep reading to determine the true correlation between Coffee and dehydration.

No matter the answer, the chances are you’ll still want a brew to start your day the right way. Look no further than The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company. Since its establishment some 40 years ago, our family-run business has taken pride in packing its products fresh to order.

Expect, in other words, the finest quality Loose Leaf Tea and Coffee Beans when you buy online or in-store.

The Importance of Hydration in Daily Life

Our bodies are made up of a significant amount of water. Take our heart and brain, both of which are 73% water. Our lungs, too, are 83% water, our skin is 64%, while our muscles and kidneys are 79%.

Even our bones consist of 31% water. That’s a lot of H20. It is crucial because it carries nutrients to the body’s cells, transports oxygen to the brain, and allows us to absorb and assimilate vitamins, minerals and more.

But that’s not all. Water flushes out waste and toxins. Water regulates body temperatures. Water, put simply, is one of the most vital things needed for humans to survive.

The question then is how much you should drink. The consensus is eight 240mg (8-oz) glasses daily, totally just under two litres alongside other refreshments. However, there is still the question of is Coffee dehydrating?

Is Coffee Dehydrating for your Body

The internet is a hub for misinformation, forever contradicting itself and leaving you with doubts about what’s true or fake. Nuance has fallen by the wayside - despite its essential role when attempting to ascertain, “Does Coffee dehydrate you?”

The reason it is critical is that the Coffea (Coffee) plant is one of sixty plans to contain caffeine. This stimulating compound, when consumed, provides an energy boost.

Yet there is a catch: Caffeine in Coffee also acts as a diuretic, which promotes the formation of urine. The simple fact here is that the more you urinate, the more you lose water.

With water loss, of course, comes the increased risk of becoming dehydrated. Now for the nuanced part of the discussion because, as it turns out, even though it has diuretic activity, its influence is minimal.

Coffee dehydration research indicates that you’d need to consume a caffeine amount greater than 500mg - roughly the equivalent of 5-6 cups - for it to have a considerable impact.

Therefore, it becomes less about “Is Coffee dehydrating” and more about “Does too much Coffee dehydrate you?” The answer to the latter is yes; it does, but it can, for the most, be avoided with moderation.

Does Decaf Coffee Dehydrate You?

To say that a Coffee dehydration myth has permeated the industry would be somewhat extreme. To say that the notion that Coffee dehydrates the body has been exaggerated would, perhaps, be more fitting.

The next question in need of addressing is, “Does Coffee cause dehydration when it has undergone decaffeination?” Based on what you’ve learned so far, you might not be surprised by the answer. 

Decaffeination is a process where caffeine in Coffee is, quite literally, extracted from the substances. It stands to reason, then, that their lack of the stimulant ensures they’re even less likely to dehydrate you than ‘regular’ caffeinated infusions.

More common, in reality, is for them to count towards water intake, as is indeed the case with almost all non-alcoholic fluids.

Summary To Is Coffee Dehydrating?

Drinking Coffee dehydrates you in large quantities, meaning probably more than six cups in a single sitting. So long as you moderate your consumption, though, there is very little to worry about as its diuretic activity has only a limited impact on hydration.

The same goes for Decaf Coffee, which, like its caffeinated counterpart, has a better chance of counting towards water intake rather than diminishing it. 

Since we’ve cleared up “Does Tea and Coffee dehydrate you?” once and for all, the only thing left is for you to buy from us. The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company stocks around 1,000 types of Loose Tea and 70 Coffee varieties, each boasting extraordinary flavour and character.

Be sure to start your fun and palate-pleasing journey today by browsing our expansive selection.

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.