Is L-Theanine + Caffeine worth it?

[Vali2003]

I want to improve my productivity and have read that L-Theanine works well with caffeine to induce a calm state of focused concentration. 

I’m gonna try it out in the next days. Have any of you here made experiences with that before and has suggestions on dosage? 

Also, I’d be interested in knowing what you guys and gals think of nootropics to improve productivity in general. It’s a topic I’m quite ignorant on. Is there genuine potential, or is it more of a gimmick? 

[integration journey]

Yes 

[Joshe]

A few years back, a company called Kitu or something like that made these caffeine + L-Theanine drinks. I would mix one of those with some modafinil and consciousness opened up like crazy. I wouldn't consider this a productivity boost though. Just a boost in consciousness. 

Aside from that, I haven't noticed any benefit of just L-Theanine and coffee.

[Rigel]

Cardio makes caffeine way better than L-theanine ever could. It requires effort though, I get it. We loose 99% of people right there.

I don’t think it’s worth it. Just another bill. What does L-theanine cost where you live? Maybe you rich & don’t care to pay for placebo every month.

Try it out. Your experience may differ.

[Recursoinominado]

Yes, it works to take the edge off the caffeine, creating a good synergy. 

I would suggest starting with 100mg of caffeine + 200mg of theanine. 

Both are pretty cheap, but if you want to try a more expensive option, i like to mix caffeine with CBD (from cannabis). 

A good CBD oil will take most of the anxiety away and improve your mood and the caffeine will keep you alert and focused. 

[Vali2003]

@integration journey yes, what? 

[Vali2003]

@Joshe I don’t know what modafinil is, but that sounds interesting. 

I definitely notice a productivity/concentration boost from caffeine but since I react quite strongly to it, I also get jittery and a bit ungrounded. I tried finding L-Theanine in my city, but no store had it, so I’ll probably order it online.

[Vali2003]

On 02/09/2025 at 4:29 PM, Recursoinominado said:

Yes, it works to take the edge off the caffeine, creating a good synergy. 

I would suggest starting with 100mg of caffeine + 200mg of theanine. 

Both are pretty cheap, but if you want to try a more expensive option, i like to mix caffeine with CBD (from cannabis). 

A good CBD oil will take most of the anxiety away and improve your mood and the caffeine will keep you alert and focused. 

That’s what I thought as well, although 100mg caffeine may be a bit too strong for me. It’s crazy. If I drink a small coffee (~60mg caffeine) in the morning, I’ll still clearly feel the effects of it 4-5 hours after the intake. And some of my friends and my siblings say they don’t notice anything from coffee. 

I make sure never to consume caffeine after noon, so it’s completely out of my system when I go to sleep. 

I’ve never tried CBD oil, but I’m interested in trying it with caffeine. The anxiety really is annoying. Only thing is, like you say, that it’s a bit pricey.

[Vali2003]

@Rigel Please expand on how cardio makes caffeine better. I don’t mind a little bit of cardio, so I’m interested…

I’m not rich. I‘d get 90 capsules each 200mg for 15€ + 5€ shipping costs. You have a point about it just being another bill. Partly, wanting to buy this comes from the urge to just buy something, and engage with the spiral dynamics stage orange fantasy of finding some productivity hack that propels me to the riches. But also, it may not be that deep .

You’re wrong about it just being placebo though. Research shows there are statistically significant effects of L-Theanine on humans.

 

 

Edited Friday at 10:21 PM by Vali2003

[Alfonsoo]

I’ve never had L-theanine but in some Mark Manson video i hear him talk about large doses of coffee being like a low dose of prescription amphetamines. Personally, the usual cup or two of coffee does nothing to me. 
 

However, for work I have to wake up at 3am, and and it’s hard to kickstart your brain on 4 hours sleep. So I decided to slowly sip on 2-3 cups cold brew (medium to light roast) who should maximize the caffeine available and extracted. I would not say it “ energizes” but it definetly slides you in this concentrated slightly flowy state. Many people get the jitters but I don’t

[Geki]

Why using caffeine and L-theanine separately if you could just drink matcha? About 2g of matcha contains the amount of caffeine you are looking for. It doesn't spike like coffee because of the L-theanine and is very healthy in general.

Once in a while I also use caffeine pills after I noticed how much better RedBull works on my system than coffee. I'm not as nervous as with coffee but have a very high energy boost (perfect for cleaning the whole apartment ). I make my own pills with 80mg caffeine and 1000mg taurin (RedBull formula) because I want to avoid the sugar/sweeteners. It works very well. 

I just bought L-theanine but to take it for calming down in general.