Caffeine is an addictive substance and IMHO being addicted to anything is not healthy. I think there will be lots of miserable people if there is ever a time when caffeine, chocolate, lots of sugar, cigarettes etc. are unavailable. It makes sense to me to deal with the addiciton now so you don't have the double whammy of stress and withdrawal when you won't have the luxury of being cranky 🙂

I think caffeine has it's place in food storage just like chocolate does - as a treat - not as a necessity.

Sorry, I don't know the limit per day in milligrams of caffeine, but this topic reminded me of something I found out regarding de-caf coffee.

That there are no regulations/standards, so different brands of de-caf have different levels of caffeine. For instance I know first-hand that Starbucks' de-caf packs quite a punch. I have never had a high tolerance for coffee/caffeine, but in my middle age it is even less. I knew a Food and Beverage Manager once who claimed to drink 16 cups of coffee a day, but I suspect they were small restaurant cups and only half emptied.

I have read that a couple cups of coffee for an asthma attack will help.

I don't know what the limit is for coffee but I drink 2 cups a day and enjoy them immensely! I have put away coffee in my storage ( instant and drip brew) It would be a great comfort item and possibly barter item as well. My world won't end if I don't have coffee but my days will certainly seem a little better if I do! I have also looked up some alternatives that can be done in place of coffee including a home made postum recipe ( Postum was made from roasted grains) Mmmm yes... I like my coffee. And tea!

I enjoy several cups of coffee every morning and also have concerns of caffeine to the health. My solution is to mix one can of regular coffee with one can of decaffe. I can still enjoy a good cup of coffee, but with half the caffeine.

I figure a dozen large cans of each is a healthy amount to have on the shelf. I also don't mind to have several cans of instant coffee as well. Sometimes I'm camping alone or in a hurry, its a waste of coffee, time, and power to make a pot. Hot water in a cup with some instant is good to go.

I think there will be lots of miserable people if there is ever a time when caffeine, chocolate, lots of sugar, cigarettes etc. are unavailable.

TBH I will be one of those people, it is another reason why I prep! 😀

Many of our addictions come from plant sources such as coffee, tobacco, and sugar(I'll stick to the legal addictions).
Although there is no way we could succesfully grow coffee or sugar cane in our back yard gardens, we could always create the proper environment indoors to make a go of it. Is there anyone planning to, or even doing that now?

Don't laugh! - When I lived on the coast I had a banana tree growing in my bedroom because it was young and we had frosts forecast which would have killed it. It had been in the ground, so I lifted it and potted it up into a really large pot and dragged/lifted and strained until I got it inside where it grew quite happily with sunshine coming through the bedroom window. That was about 4 years ago and I'm happy to say it's still going strong (it's outside now in it's own little microclimate) so (after all the rambling) if you can grow plants inside there is no reason why productive plants would be any different.

Is the moral of the story to only have addictions that are suitable to our climate?

No it's not. I'm sorry if I've confused you with my post. My point is: you can create an artificial environment to suit the plants needs. For example Greenhouses change the environment to suit the plants. Also hydroponics. In this way (because you can extend your growing season) you can pack more plants into your "greenhouse" or "hydroponics system" and you include those plants required to feed your "addiction". OK?
Finally found an article on indoor growing (BTW Bananas are tropical plants and I don't live in the tropics)
http://pages.interlog.com/~rainseed/articles.htm

I guess my 2 pots of coffee a day is not a good thing 😆

Do you bounce off the walls? Do your eyes resemble those of an owl? Do you do everything at 200kph? It's possible that it's not such a good thing!

Health Canada recommends no more than 400 mg of caffiene a day for healthy adults, less for children and women of childbearing age.

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/food-aliment/caffeine-eng.php

Some examples of amounts;

7oz drip coffee - 150mg
Can of Coke Classic - 34mg
7oz tea (black or green) - 65mg
7oz decaf coffee - 10mg

Thanks Aphrael - looks like I need to cut down on my tea...drat!

Many of our addictions come from plant sources such as coffee, tobacco, and sugar(I'll stick to the legal addictions).
Although there is no way we could succesfully grow coffee or sugar cane in our back yard gardens, we could always create the proper environment indoors to make a go of it. Is there anyone planning to, or even doing that now?

Richter's Garden Centre carries seeds to grow your own tea. They have sold out already this year, but still it's good to know. They have also developed a stevia plant that doesn't have tha nasty after taste. So there you have it, your caffeine and sweetener. Supposedly tea is easy to grow, and I've grown stevia before. One plant supplied me with enough sweetener for 2 years. Man it's sweet.