Coffee According to Ayurveda
Is It Medicine or Mayhem for Your Body? I recently read in a study that women in their 70s who had consumed the most caffeine (mostly from coffee) between the ages of 45 and 70 had a 13% greater chance of meeting the study’s criteria for “healthy ageing.”
In Ayurveda, we look beyond the surface effect of a substance and ask: What qualities does this bring into the body? How does it affect agni (digestive fire), apana vayu (downward-moving energy), and the subtle balance of the doshas?
Coffee is a potent plant teacher. But like all medicines, it has to be met with awareness, especially as we age and the body becomes more sensitive to dryness, heat, and stimulation.
Coffee’s Energetic Blueprint (Ayurvedic View)
Rasa (Taste): Bitter and astringent
Stimulates bile flow, supports detoxification and moves energy downward.
Virya (Potency): Ushna = Heating Ignites agni, increases circulation, and mobilises energy.
Gunas (Qualities): Light, dry, sharp, rough, penetrating
Stimulates elimination and mental clarity, but can disturb the nervous system and inflame Pitta if unbalanced.
Vata (Air + Ether): Vata types are mobile, light, dry, and sensitive. Coffee can exacerbate these qualities, leading to anxiety, jitteriness, scattered thoughts, and dryness in the colon. It may stimulate elimination initially, but it can worsen long-term constipation.
Pitta (Fire + Water): Pitta types are sharp and hot, often with fast digestion. Coffee’s heat can push them toward acidity, inflammation, skin issues, and loose stools. Many Pittas already tend toward diarrhoea, so too much coffee can tip them over into imbalance quickly.
Kapha (Earth + Water): Kapha is slow, cool, and heavy by nature. Coffee’s stimulating and drying properties can benefit Kapha by boosting digestion, clearing brain fog, and encouraging regular elimination.
Vata increases naturally with age. Digestion slows, elimination becomes less regular, and the body holds on to more than it should. Coffee, in this light, can help support apana vayu and daily detoxification. But Ayurveda reminds us: nothing is one-size-fits-all.
The question isn't really about whether coffee is good or bad, but whether it’s right for you, right now, in this season of your body and life.
If coffee gives you the jitters (+Vata) or diarrhoea (+Pitta) you can try the following;
Triphala: To tone and nourish the colon
Psyllium husks: To bulk and moisten the stool
Daily Abhyanga with Coconut oil (in clockwise circular movements around the abdomen)
If you need any help with digestive/ elimination issues, please get in contact. I’m currently offering 20% off my Ayurvedic consultations until the end of August. We can meet in-person spaces at my practice in Fordingbridge or connect online.