Ever wondered if that 93 octane you're paying two arms and a leg for is really 93 octane? Pondered the legitimacy of that "homogenized and pasteurized" claim on your most recent milk purchase? If so, congratulations. You're the target market for the D+caf
caffeine test strip. Reportedly, these strips keep the paranoid abreast of the truth whenever they venture out for a decaf drink; java sippers simply insert a tester into their beverage, wait for it to grow intolerably cold (or 30 seconds, whichever comes first) and then view the findings. The creator proclaims that they're 98% accurate for detecting greater than 20-milligrams of caffeine per 6-ounce serving, but we're not willing to pay $9.95 for a 20-pack in order to find out.
[Via
medGadget]
posted Dec 31st 2008 10:02AM
Cool creation. I have a friend thats hyper sensitive to caffeine, this could be useful for her.
Ever wonder if the test, itself, is correct?
I have a couple of friends who are hyper sensitive to caffeine. If anything, it's kind of entertaining to see them go beresque.
beresque?
Bezerk, for everyone else. That was what I asked when one of my friends said it.
I don't believe "beresque" is a word.
"Bezerk"
Bzzt. Wrong again. Try Berserk, and get yourself a browser/OS with a built-in spellcheck.
Beresque. I think that's like a stripper on a rampage.
Because of you grammar nazis, I looked it up on Wiktionary. All three spellings are technically correct. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/berserk
@Fred
Well, if you put it that way, all of my caffeine-hyper-sensitive friends are girls so....
Gosh noyp, I checked the wikitionary, too. It looks like someone changed it back after you left.
Copy/Pasted from Wikitionary. I hate you people.
Alternative spellings
beserk
berzerk
beresque - humorous misspelling now accepted (Australia)
Etymology
From a recurring joke in the 1970s Australian television series Number 96; a misspelling of berserk
[edit]Adjective
beresque (comparative more beresque, superlative most beresque)
(Australia) Injuriously, maniacally, or furiously violent or out of control.
[edit]References
http://www.abc.net.au/wordmap
Alternative spellings
berserk
[edit]Usage notes
This spelling is considered a misspelling of the word berserk in some English speaking countries such as the UK.
[edit]Etymology
Old Norse berserkr (Icelandic berserkur), probably from bjǫrn ‘bear’ + serkr ‘coat’.
[edit]Pronunciation
IPA: /bə'zɜ:k/
[edit]Noun
beserk (plural beserks)
A crazed Norse warrior who fought in a frenzy.
[edit]Translations
[show ▼]beserk
[edit]Adjective
beserk (comparative more beserk, superlative most beserk)
Injuriously, maniacally, or furiously violent or out of control.
Noun
berzerk (plural berzerks)
Alternative spelling of berserk.
IIRC, there is no way to fully decaffeinate coffee.
Huh, all this time I thought people were idiots for thinking berserk is spelled berzerk or beserk.
Anyways, I bet OCD people will get a boner for this product.
I'm beresque of the situation, and I'll report my findings shortly.
noyp, a joke man! a joke. Happy New Year!
I've come by enough 'tards on the internet to never tell the difference between sarcasm and pure ignorance here. :-)
I've ordered some of these because I'm pretty sensitive to caffeine and there have been a few times at night where I would like an after dinner decaf coffee but if they mix it up I wind up staying up all night.
There's an easy solution: Alcohol
@Karl
Alcohol may pose as a good sleep aid, however it actually really bAlcohol itself has already been tested and causes irregular brain activity while the user is resting, resulting in a very poor sleep. Mixing alcohol and caffeine is only asking for a very light sleep, even if you sleep a full 8 hours....
Let's fix that.. I drag and dropped part of my post somewhere..
@Karl
Alcohol may pose as a good sleep aid, however it actually really bad. Alcohol itself has already been tested and causes irregular brain activity while the user is resting, resulting in a very poor sleep. Mixing alcohol and caffeine is only asking for a very light sleep, even if you sleep a full 8 hours....
weed.
Yes, weed is the ULTIMATE sleep aid. No chance in hell of overdosing, and you will get the deepest, most confortable sleep of your life.
This makes me want to go into a store and swap the labels of all the caffeine test strips and the decaffeinated test strips.
Do they have the caffeine test strips? I am caffeine insensitive.. if i don't get large amounts of caffeine everyday i might die...
I heartily endorse this event or product.
Hahaha... I'd like a regulated DOSAGE more than a test strip!
Wow...had no idea there was a site called MedGadget...add that to the huge list of things I didn't know...
Can I get one of these to tell me if my urine is yellow?
Maybe. But it doesn't raise the question of how many engadget readers could trigger the caffeine strip with their pee. Doesn't.
My grandma almost had a heart attack because the lady from Dunkin Donuts gave her regular not decaf. I think these strips are useful.
The economy is in the crapper, the world is freaking out. I am so glad that someone has devoted all this time and effort to this. Devote that brain power to something useful f-tards. I mean is there really that much decaf skullduggery going on that you need to check it with a strip? And if you do then maybe it's time to pick a new coffee shop?
I know, right? Why doesn't someone make a machine the prints money or something, then we could give that to the poor people, and BAM! the economy would be fixed.
Wow, your poignant and timely retort has completely negated what I said! You are awesome!
My point is that if you are clever enough to make a caffeine detector why not put that brain power to some better use. I think the product is ridiculous and I failed to see the need. That said another commenter mentioned heart patients, etc. That is valid, but for normal folks to pay 10 bucks to find out if there's caffeine in something you ordered as decaf so the your poor widdow sewf isn't jumpy later is stupid. It's $10 you could save for a rainy day (or give to poor people), hell, brew your own decaf, be certain you got what you wanted and save even more!
Just kidding. I know what you mean, though. People spend a lot of time coming up with things like this that have really limited uses, when they could be doing something a lot more useful. Looking at what I've done today(basically nothing), I shouldn't say much, though.
This would be nice if you're afraid the Barista "decaf'd" you for not tipping!
Yeah, they do that if you're rude or they don't like you.
Fake a seizure one time and that'll put a top to that.
or stop, whatever.
Hah, I used to decaf everyone. I used to work weddings, and when it came time to pour the coffee, I always brewed 2 giant pots of decaf. It's evil I know, but I did it anyway. No one ever asked 'are you sure this has caffeine?' it's always the annoying decaf drinkers that ruined everything for everyone else.
'Are you sure this is decaf?' Yes, I am absolutely sure...
Coffee is meant to be caffeinated, it shouldn't be consumed any other way.
But it will it blend? Nescafe blend...
What if these test strips aren't what they are claimed to be.
Perhaps we need a test strip to test these test strips...
I'm waiting for one that tests if your booze is really alcoholic. If there isn't one already, that is.
As the proud father of a 7mo old son, I can tell you (I kid you not) that there are test strips to check expressed milk for alcohol. So, if you are ok walking through the nursing section of your local Babies R Us, you can pick up a couple of packs.
You can never talk to your kids about drugs and alcohol soon enough...
WHY???? why would anybody in their right mind want to drink decaf coffee? XD
On that elegant new year's dinner table, this goes well with my aerosol inhaler, my lactose intolerance tablets and my decongestant nasal spray.
Jokes aside, I think this is quite a valid product with a target market that is not to be underestimated. Sure, ten bucks for a 20-pack is a rip-off, but then again, you're not likely to use them everyday but rather on rare, possibly singular occasions at unfamiliar placs like dinner at friends, busines lunch, etc. where you can't be sure (at your everday lunch caffee, they should really know by now).
Looks like someone was bored at the pregnancy test factory.
I need a test to determine if chemical testing strips have been dipped into my coffee.
Eww.
Places should do what we do at our restaurant. Just MAKE decaf.
We only make regular for ourselves. All the customers are offered either but only served decaf.
DIE!
So you're saying all restaurants should be lying ass-holes?
Nice, I just posted above, I used to do the same thing. Mostly I would just do it with large functions. It just makes things so much more difficult when 1 freaking annoying person says 'can I have decaf?'. Plus, people are less likely to sit around when they're getting tired from lack of caffeine. heheheh
Yeah, I just piss in the Lobster Bisque, I mean it's sterile right? It's not hurting anybody. I don't want my customers sticking around and enjoying their food or anything.
Relax guys, consider the source and you'll understand that these arent as useless as they seem
for people with a caffeine allergy these could be very useful. in a worst case scenerio, someone with such an allergy can actually lapse into a seizure if given a moderate amount of caffeine.
People with a caffeine allergy outta be avoiding coffee whether or not they think it's decaf. It's like lighting a fire in a fireworks warehouse hoping that most of them are duds.
There are a variety of psychiatric issues triggered by caffeine and caffeine can interfere with a variety of psychiatric drugs. And yeah, it sometimes just takes the one accidental mispoured soda or non-decaf.
Wow, this is the restaurant's industry worst nightmare. I remember when I used to work at Red Lobster and it was very rare that both, caffeinated and decaf coffees were made. So we simply would pour the same coffee in both cases and the hell with it. This could be a huge pain in the butt!
lol this is great. And i used to think I was a genius for doing this. I will never, ever order a coffee at a restaurant again.
Does anyone know if strips like these are made to test if alcohol is present in a drink?
Yes, you'd look absolutely normal when your co-worker / girlfriend brings you some coffee:
Co-worker: Hey, John, just got you some decaf from the machine over there.
You: Sweet, thanks. If you don't mind.
[dips testing strip into it]
Three seconds later....
Co-worker: I was actually starting to like you...
Co-worker: Hey, John, just got you some decaf from the machine over there.
You: Sweet, thanks. If you don't mind.
[dips testing strip into it]
Thirty seconds later....
You: I was actually starting to like you...I thought you were an honest person...
Co-worker: Blast! I've been found out!
Co-worker: Hey, John, just got you some decaf from the machine over there.
You: Sweet, thanks. If you don't mind.
[dips testing strip into it]
Thirty seconds later....
You: The testing strip says you are pregnant!
Co-worker: But I'm a guy! ... I think....
This would be a great thing for heart patients. If someone has an issue with cardiac arrhythmia, caffeine can make things a LOT worse, including triggering rhythms that can cause fibrillation, which can result in stoke or death.
But yea, if you have cardiac arrhythmia you should stay away from all coffee, anyway.
I'd rather use litmus paper. At least then I'd know bad the Starbucks tapwater is that they're using in the coffee.
I've never understood the allure of Decaf coffee. All coffee tastes like ass, and the only reason anyone I've ever met drinks it is to perk you up or keep you awake. Why take away the only positive aspect of it? (Besides the smell while it's brewing, of course.)
LOL, touche.
This makes me happy. I cannot tolerate caffiene, but love coffee. If I get a caffienated coffee, My heart races, I sweat like I'm in a sauna, and can't sleep at all that night. Then 48 hours later I get a splitting headache for two days. It's not a pleasant experience. And Caffiene is in most drinks. Try ordering a drink in a restaurant that doesn't have caffiene, it's hard. You pretty much have to stick to Sprite. About half the orange sodas and root beers have caffiene in them too.
There is a cafe that makes great coffee near me (Phils!) and they like one of their decaf blends, but everytime I've had it its hyped me up real bad. I'm going to get these strips and test it.
I worked as a Barista to put myself through college and you can usually tell if coffee is decaf by smelling it. There are two common techniques to remove caffeine from coffee: chemical and water-press. Unless the coffee is extremely high-end, it's probably done by the chemical method. When the chemical is removed it leaves the scent behind--think new-car smell--and is completely harmless. You don't need a strip, but use your nose.