[Erowid Note: The dose described in this report is very high, potentially beyond Erowid's 'heavy' range, and could pose serious health risks or result in unwanted, extreme effects.
Caffeine
Well-documented
Well-documented
Multiple authoritative sources agree on dosing and effects.
- 5 corroborating sources
- 3 ROAs with full dose ladders
- duration data present
- 26 combo interactions documented
- PubChem toxicity data
Well-documented
Multiple authoritative sources agree on dosing and effects.
- 5 corroborating sources
- 3 ROAs with full dose ladders
- duration data present
- 26 combo interactions documented
- PubChem toxicity data
Aliases: Tea, Many, Theine, Coffee, Mateine
Summary
Caffeine is a a CNS stimulant, and also the most widely used psychoactive substance in the world. It is legal and unregulated in most parts of the world, and is found in many commonly sold products. It has a good safety profile, though regular heavy use can cause physical dependence and contribute to certain medical conditions.
Dose Information
| ROA | Light | Common | Strong | Heavy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral | 20-50mg | 50-150mg | 150-500mg | 500mg+ |
| Insufflated | 10-25mg | 25-40mg | 40-80mg | 80mg+ |
| Smoked | 25-75mg | 75-125mg | 125-175mg | 175mg+ |
Light
Common
Strong
Heavy
Onset, Duration & After-effects
| ROA | Onset | Comeup | Peak | Offset | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral | 5-45 min | 10-60 min | 0.5-2 hrs | 2-10 hrs | 1.5-5 hrs |
| Insufflated | - | - | 30-60 min | 6-10 hrs | 1.5-5 hrs |
| Smoked | 0-6 min | - | 12-18 min | 30-48 min | 1.5-5 hrs |
Effect Profile
402 reportsScores (1–10) curated from multiple sources:
- Effect keyword matching from PsychonautWiki catalog
- Validated against 402 Erowid trip reports
- Weighted by importance: core (×3), major (×2), minor (×1)
Stimulant
8.8
Intense+
9/10
Strong stimulation, euphoria, focus, and anxiety/jitters
Stimulation / Energy
×3
10
stimulation
wakefulness
Euphoria / Mood Lift
×2
10
physical euphoria
cognitive euphoria
motivation enhancement
Focus / Productivity
×2
10
focus enhancement
analysis enhancement
memory enhancement
motivation enhancement
thought acceleration
Anxiety / Jitters
×1
10
anxiety
jitteriness
increased heart rate
teeth grinding
vasoconstriction
Based on reports from:
Tolerance
Build-up
develops over 1–2 weeks of daily use
Reset
7–12 days of abstinence
Tolerance Decay
Full tolerance
3d
Half tolerance
7d
Baseline
~10d
Acute tolerance: develops within a single session — the reset numbers above apply after sustained heavy use, not after one binge. Within-session tachyphylaxis usually resets largely overnight.
Tolerance to many subjective and cardiovascular effects develops with daily use over days to weeks and decays over about 1–2 weeks of abstinence; withdrawal (headache, sleepiness, irritability) usually peaks within 24–48 hours and resolves within several days. Data are mixed and interindividual variability is high; figures above synthesize experimental and observational reports.
Cross-Tolerances
Theophylline
40%
Theobromine
30%
Effects
Aggregated from 402 Erowid experience reports
Positive Effects 11
Stimulation
62.7%
70%
Euphoria
30.3%
70%
Music Enhancement
22.9%
70%
Focus Enhancement
22.1%
70%
Tactile Enhancement
17.4%
70%
Color Enhancement
16.7%
70%
Empathy
16.2%
70%
Body High
9.5%
70%
Creativity Enhancement
5.2%
70%
Introspection
4.7%
70%
Pain Relief
2.2%
70%
Adverse Effects 13
Anxiety
37.8%
70%
Nausea
24.9%
70%
Confusion
18.9%
70%
Headache
13.2%
70%
Increased Heart Rate
9.7%
70%
Memory Suppression
9.5%
70%
Sweating
8.2%
70%
Muscle Tension
6.0%
70%
Motor Impairment
5.0%
70%
Pupil Dilation
4.7%
70%
Psychosis
3.5%
70%
Appetite Suppression
3.0%
70%
Seizure
2.0%
70%
Combinations
Cross-Check Caffeine with another substanceCommunity Trip Reports
Anecdotal first-person accounts from Reddit, Erowid, and Bluelight. Click a source to expand. Reports are harm-reduction context, not medical guidance.
Erowid 8 reports 3 positive 3 neutral 2 cautionary visit
Where do I start? I'm no writer or english professor. However since I'm making the first tea report here, its important that I write well and neat in an effort to portray my strange tea experience as best I can. Part 1: Magic Some background info. Me and tea go back far.
Caffeine is a drug I have a love/hate relationship with. If I haven't had any in a few days and have a moderate dose of 150-200mg, it can be great for a few hours. I get a wonderful manic energy, some euphoria, and the ability to devote myself to a task.
Coffee Jittery Pooping This report is part of an eight-report collection. The collection consists of a summary report that is retrospective and generalized in nature as well as seven [of which this is one] more detailed chronicles of my experiences with various chemicals used intentionally for work or study enhanceme...
Im writing this at the age of 17, a year after my experience, the reason, I dont know, maybe because I feel so alone, theres no one to talk too. also, to say that you can get #$*ked up off caffeine despite all these storys of people that seem to recover For a few mornings at my school someone took caffeine pills to gi...
I've used psychedelics a bit in the past 5 years of my life. I would estimate I have had about 20 experiences in that time. I have had some mild flashbacks, usually involving an extreme feeling of déjà vu (much more intense than usual déjà vu) that feels like some psychedelic experience I've had before.
Note: I do not know what effects are typical, or unique to me, I really wish there was more information on similar caffeine intoxications. I'm a 24 year old male with Lupus for 2 years now.
Although I have a soda or two a day, I have ADHD, so low doses of caffeine calm me, if anything. The past couple of days I have been eating very little and sleeping horribly and for short amounts of time, which probably had a bit to do with the agony of my experience, especially since I normally have extremely healthy...
Bluelight 7 threads 5 neutral 2 cautionary visit
Drugs - Subutex (24mg), valium (400mg+), 6-APB (2.5g), unknown RC (5g+), Haliperidol (unknown dose) Experience - VERY Experienced Hi all, This is the first time I have ever attempted or dared to write up the following.
This is a story, from several months ago, when I attempted to opt-out, by taking 16-24g of caffeine anhydrous (160-240 redbull equivalent) I should start this report with a little bit of background on my situation. This was a low point in my life.
Although I've been using drugs regularly for the last 6 years, I've never really dabbled in opiates. I've had meperidine, codeine, and oxy for medical reasons, but I can't say I ever really enjoyed them on a recreational level.
poppy seed tea - first time - underwhelming I'm highly experienced with psychedelics, pot, dissociatives, and some stimulants (in extreme moderation), but have never had much luck with opiates.
I admit it, I regularly abuse opiate drugs. I've done just about everything, but heroin and morphine were my drugs of choice (until I got a problem and then cut my contacts off). After February I was mostly doing tramadol and some occasional vicodin/percocet/codeine pills...
A slight bit of background information: I've been addicted to opiates for five years (this month, actually). I use oxycontin, opana, and methadone regularly. If I don't have opiates I get sick, so I'm not just a casual user, or exaggerating when I say "addicted." I took ten days off of opiates about two weeks ago to A)...
Around 2 weeks ago, I was out of my Adderall prescription and WAY behind on my work schedule. I didn't know what to do, and I didn't feel motivated at all. So I made myself a cup of coffee and sat down on my laptop. I just sorta dicked around for a bit and didn't really do anything so I made myself another coffee.
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