Caffeine vs Caffeine Anhydrous - Which Should You Choose?

All caffeine is not created equal.

When we talk about caffeine in the real world, we need to draw up a comparison between the two major forms: caffeine and caffeine anhydrous.

These are two separate forms that come with their own characteristics. Getting familiar with the difference and looking at where you get your caffeine from can help improve use habits and make sure you’re getting what you want from the world’s favorite stimulant.

Caffeine

Caffeine—with no other descriptors—is the normal, natural form.

It’s the kind of thing you get from coffee or tea, occurring naturally at the levels and concentrations that we’re used to.

Normal caffeine is bound to water, often found in the extracts of plants, and is naturally evolved as a pesticide. Small bugs that eat the leaves, roots, and beans of coffee plants—for example—will die from the stimulant effects.

Caffeine is primarily found in tea and coffee but also cacao. It’s especially useful in metabolism, where it increases overall output but specifically improves anaerobic capacity and produces energy under fatigue.

Traditional forms of caffeine tend to be slower absorbing and have a slightly more sustainable effect over time.

There’s a significant non-active weight to naturally occurring caffeine and its sources. The binding to water helps support healthy digestion while it also exists in the context of a natural nutrient matrix—such as in tea where it is combined with theanine, a powerful synergist.

These reduce the risk of side effects, especially theanine, and especially the digestive effects. Natural caffeine can obviously cause acid reflux and other concerns, but risks are lower, and the overall experience is gentler than the anhydrous counterpart.

Caffeine Anhydrous

Caffeine anhydrous, on the other hand, is not naturally occurring—at least not in the format we take it in.

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Anhydrous caffeine is—as the name implies—dehydrated and has the water removed through processing. This makes for a crystalline form of caffeine that you can turn into a powder—which has made it a popular form of caffeine for the fitness supplement industry and caffeine pills.

This processing and removal of non-active weight in the product leads to a much more concentrated and potent form of caffeine. It is faster absorbing, it is more potent per gram, and it can be more easily standardized by dose.

The speed of absorption also includes the opportunity to use more caffeine and a faster wash-out. These both contribute to the main use of caffeine anhydrous as a form of sports performance supplement, where it can provide the larger doses required for clinically significant improvements to power and strength.

Instead of relying on the consistency of a plant extract, anhydrous can be carefully controlled. It’s processed from the leaves and stem of coffee plants, most often, and is heavily processed before being sold.

The removal of water and increased potency does also come with the additional risk of side effects. These are most pronounced in the digestive system, where caffeine pills and powders are more likely to cause cramping, indigestion, and diarrhetic effects.

You may also be more at risk of headaches and jitters with anhydrous, both due to the reduced water intake and increased potency.

It’s also relevant that anhydrous occurs with none of the other nutrients that we may get from things like coffee and tea.

The powerful benefits of caffeine from green coffee bean extract, for example, include secondary antioxidants like caffeic and chlorinergic acid. Without these compounds, the overall health effects of a caffeinated beverage are far narrower and only have stimulant properties.

This is more pronounced in comparison with tea, which includes a wide range of secondary health-promoting compounds. These include metabolic support in EGCG, potential for improving relaxation and exercise recovery in GABA, and theanine—which is the perfect pair with caffeine.

Anhydrous caffeine should be included in a supplement or beverage that takes care to provide other benefits. The potency of caffeine alone is not always enough to account for the severe reduction in benefits that come with natural forms of caffeine.

In Summary…

Treating caffeine and caffeine anhydrous as directly comparable is part of the mistake.

Understand that caffeine—as it occurs naturally—is part of a wider nutrient context. Coffee has a different overall effect on the body than caffeine powder stirred into a cup of water. Tea is even further from this anhydrous solution, with a broader range of benefits.

These are different animals. Caffeine can be worked into a healthy habit for lifestyle, while anhydrous forms should be reserved for very purposeful use—like in a pre-workout supplement, for example. They have a similar effect on performance but different side-effects and half-lives.

The applications of these two types of caffeine shouldn’t conflict in your life. Coffee and tea are regular beverages, while anhydrous shouldn’t be a regular part of your life without connecting it to something particularly demanding—such as exercise or even emergency late-night work or study.