Nutrition: Time for a coffee break

19 comments
By Cycling Plus | Monday, Oct 25, 2010 5.00pm

A caffeine and cake stop is a cycling tradition. But with so many coffee options available, which offer the most benefit?  

Caffeine is a recognised trade tool of the cyclist. “It’s a mild central nervous system stimulant that prompts the release of adrenaline for energy,” says Euan Paul, the executive director of the British Coffee Association. This makes it perfect for endurance sports.

Sports nutritionist Tim Lawson, of Science in Sport, says that “caffeine by itself can promote fat metabolism and retain muscle glycogen”, so a black coffee before a fasted ride in the morning may increase the amount of fat you burn.

However, an over-reliance on caffeine can compromise your sleep quality, “which will alter hormone levels and reduce your ability to process carbohydrates, possibly sending you on a downward spiral”. “Instead, go carefully with caffeine to really get the benefit when you need it,” he advises.

But which coffee type is best and when? Competitive cyclist and owner of 53x11 Coffee Evan Lawrence suggests a double espresso for a pre-ride energy shot. “This gives the boost of caffeine to stimulate the system and misses out the milk, which can have a negative effect on your stomach,” he says.

During a ride, Lawrence would again opt for less milk: “An Americano with sugar and a splash of milk is best.” This heightens energy without causing any gastric discomfort from too much heavy liquid.

After a ride, he'd change tactics and choose milk for recovery. “Go for a latte or a coffee mocha with full fat milk because of the extra calories," says Lawrence. "You’ll be getting some essential protein, calcium and fat, all needed for recovery.”

Put a brew on

“Different types of coffee beans have more or less acidity,” says Lawrence. “If you have a sensitive stomach, as can happen during sports participation, you should look for coffees with low acidity.”

Generally, beans grown on higher ground, such as those from Kenya, tend to be more acidic than ones from flat plantations such as those in Mexico. However, acidity is lessened through roasting so the darker the better. 

According to the Food Standards Agency there are approximately 100mg of caffeine in your standard cup of brewed coffee (70mg for instant), and 400mg a day is a perfectly safe amount to ingest.

The two main types of coffee are Arabica, which contains 0.8 to 1.4 percent caffeine, and Robusta, which offers 1.7 to 4 percent caffeine. Arabica beans are favoured because of their smoother, less bitter taste. They account for about 80 percent of all coffee produced.

Coffee selection

Caffeine levels can vary considerably between coffee types. Here are values for some of the favourites at Costa:

Best pre-ride: Double Espresso; 90mg caffeine, 5cal, 0.3g protein, 0.4g carbohydrate, 0.1g fat.

Best mid-ride: Medium Americano (with a splash of semi skimmed milk); 135mg caffeine, 20cal, 1.2g protein, 2.4g carbohydrate, 0.8g fat.

Best for recovery: Medium Coffee Mocha Frescato (with full fat milk); 75mg caffeine, 540cal, 7.5g protein, 109.1g carbohydrate, 8.3g fat.

And to go with your drink...

A coffee is best with something sweet, but when you make a cake stop, remember that the nutritional information can be vastly different to that in a supermarket. So approximately what do you get in your coffee shop stodge?

Carrot cake: 491cal, 59g carbohydrate, 7g protein, 25g fat.

Victoria sandwich: 501cal, 64g carbohydrate, 4.1g protein, 25g fat.

Blueberry muffin: 475cal, 66g carbohydrate, 5.3g protein, 21g fat.

Butter croissant: 276cal, 26g carbohydrate, 5.3g protein, 16.7g fat.

Flapjack: 374cal, 60g carbohydrate, 7.4g protein, 21g fat.

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User Comments

There are 19 comments on this post

Showing 1 - 19 of 19 comments

  • Quote:

    "an over-reliance on caffeine can compromise your sleep quality"

    yet the article reads like an advert for coffee and then virtually recommends 3 cups (one being super strong) per ride! and coffee for recovery? please..

    not one mention of it being a diuretic and leading to dehydration.

    I like a coffee as much as the next man, but thats a rubbish article. I'll stick to good old water, as nature intended.

  • This article was brought to you by the British Coffee Association. Hang on, no mention of tea..?? how odd.....

    Shameful load of old blather, masquerading as journalism.....

  • Daver - 3 cups of coffee is not an over-reliance on caffeine! It's talking about what, 4 shots of espresso? Hardly excessive...

  • So where's our free coffee then? Cycling Plus can't have drunk all 20 pallets...

  • Given the ever increasing cost of shop-bought coffee's, a can of Red Bull (yuck!) is likely to be cheaper!!

  • 'not one mention of it being a diuretic and leading to dehydration.'

    dear god, what decade are you living in?

    it *is* a mild diuretic but drinking coffee will not lead to dehydration. Guess what one of the major components of a cup of coffee is?

  • Caffeine is certainly very useful for people who practice sports, lots of energetic drinks do contain caffeine, someone ironically mentioned tea, there is also caffeine in tea.

    For me a good cup of nespresso with 2 or 3 small spoons of sugar is a great booster. Caffeine and sugar and I'm ready to go. Then during the exercise I always carry a bottle of spring water, someone mentioned that caffeine has a diuretic effect and thats true for me. I also carry Nestle cereal bars, they are easy to carry, low on calories and fiber rich.

  • Caffeine is not a diuretic. This is an Urban myth. Otherwise I would be prescribing it for high blood pressure and heart failure

  • I never really understand why people seem to get so angry about articles like this (see Softlad/Daver27 in particular).

    Does caffeine aid performance? - yes, clinically proven - although you need rather a lot of it to experience the increased time to exhaustion that clinical trials demonstrate.

    Does coffee contain caffeine? - yes.

    Do lots of people therefore use coffee to aid performance? - yes.

    Do some people erroneously thiink that a latte is a good pre-ride option? - probably, so the above actually helps them.

    Calm down.

    PS - 3 cups a day isn't that much, and there are conflicting opinions on whether coffee has a particularly strong diuretic effect.

  • Robrun - the subtitle for this piece is 'caffeine & cakestop options' - in other words the sort of stuff you might tuck into at a cafe stop. Yet, most people I know drink tea at cake stops, not coffee. I'm not even a tea drinker, but either the writer has never heard of 'tea' as a hot drink, or has been asked to avoid referring to it by the article's principal sponsor. Either way, it sucks.

  • Lol - Can you buy bottle cages that'll hold a Thermos?

  • Yes

  • fun article but some inaccuracies.

    Caffeine may increase fat metabolism but there is some debate in this area and its not proven! Caffeine is not metabolised to produce energy per se.....but it may have some neural impact leading to improved performance. Part of that is placebo tho!

    Also, a lighter roast will reduce the bitterness of coffee and retain quality! Darker roast tastes stronger but has less caffeine. Dont pretend that costa is proper coffee... Beans are low quality, may be over tamped and under dosed for profit.....to produce great coffee.

    If you're looking for an ergogenic effect swallow about 5 pro plus (3-7mg per kilo of body mass with 50mg of caffeine per pro-plus) !

  • Hey just thought I would throw some petrol on the fire.

    I like coffee but it is worth noting that coffee production requires some of the largest levels of water consumption of any crop.

    "1 cup of coffee needs 140 litres of water" http://www.gdrc.org/uem/footprints/water-footprint.html

    It also has a relationship with deforestation and organic coffee requires even more acres of clearance to produce the same yeild.

    And lets not forget all the paper cups, napkins etc.

    It is a cash crop and something which serves no real function.

    Something to mull over a coffee when we have done our bit for the planet by commuting in.

  • @ RobRun1

    not angry! i love coffee, its just this article is totally biased and reads like the author has a mate who has just started a coffee company no one has heard of and is in need of some marketing!

  • ""1 cup of coffee needs 140 litres of water" http://www.gdrc.org/uem/footprints/water-footprint.html"

    What is this comment implying????

    Water is wasted?

    Thought the rain in these particular areas sorted that out.

    Deforrestation - ok, on board with that - same is true for that rubbish stuff called soya - acres and acres of forrest cleared out to grow this stuff too.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5HapSv1ngc

    Worth a look... Where is your coffee from ?

  • I love coffee.

    I love cycling.

    This article has persuaded me love of coffee and cycling are not incompatible.

    Hooray!

  • Coffee many times gives me that second wind I need when cycling.

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