I was never much of a coffee drinker besides the typical iced coffee with cream and sugar from Dunkin Doughnuts or Starbucks every so often. As I approached senior year of high school the caffeination was extremely helpful and it became habit forming to the point where I became a typical “daily coffee drinker”. As many coffee drinkers do know after a while we get immune to the amount we drink a day to the point where it does nothing and you need more. This began happening to me so I tried other things like drinking it black and soon was introduced to espresso shots! At the place I worked at over the summer there was an espresso machine, so this is where I would always drink them. They are extremely bitter and hard to get used to but once you do it is great because you get the energy of drinking coffee in just one sip, which is really convenient. I often wonder why they are so much stronger than a cup of coffee and what would happen if I put them in coffee, so of course, I tried it. It was very strong and gave me almost instant energy. I researched the difference and why one is stronger than the other and it is due to the amount of caffeine in both. As many of you know, caffeine is a compound that activates the central nervous system in the body. High levels will stimulate it more than lower levels, which is why espresso is stronger because there are more milligrams of caffeine in it than in regular coffee.
Coffee itself is not bad for you, although many beg to differ. What is bad for your health is if you have to much because high caffeine levels can cause lots of temporary problems with your body. If you consume more than 250-500 milligrams of caffeine it could lead to symptoms such as restlessness, increase in heartbeat, anxiety, and more depending on how much you have.
Caffeine is not too harmful as long as it is not abused or over used. It is important to realize that the caffeine in coffee and espresso is considered a drug and will give side effects to those who over dose on it. People have different tolerances and it can be built up by having it every day.
Overall, drinking coffee or espresso shots is not a problem and can actually be good for your health for multiple reasons. Caffeine can be dangerous on certain levels but also can be good because it does block Adenosine, a neurotransmitter, allowing the brain to release other neurotransmitters. Here is a link that explains the process of how caffeine helps the body release these neurotransmitters. It also increases a persons metabolism, which is good to stay away from getting sick easily.
It is easy to get hooked on caffeine because it is much easier to get things done with full energy, and there is nothing wrong with it as long as it is not abused. After every energy high, there will be a crash and its so easy to just get more coffee but important to stay in the recommended daily caffeine level.