Creatine in coffee: does it survive?

The concern, stated fairly

Creatine isn't indestructible. In liquid it slowly turns into creatinine, which your body simply gets rid of. Heat and acidity both speed that up. Coffee is hot and mildly acidic, at around pH 5, so on paper it's a poor place to keep creatine.

Why it's fine in practice

The word that matters is keep. At room temperature, researchers measured losses of roughly 4% to 12% over three days in solutions between pH 5.5 and pH 4.5.1 Heat speeds that up, but a coffee drunk within about fifteen minutes gives creatine very little time. Dry creatine powder keeps for years; the clock only starts when the water goes in.

• A powder you mix and drink: the creatine is dry until moments before you drink it. Fine.
• A ready-to-drink can: the creatine sits in liquid for weeks or months before you open it. That's where the real losses happen, and why a creatine coffee makes more sense as a powder.
• Iced coffee: colder, so slower still.

HEFT's draft recipe adds about 10% extra creatine, so at least 3g should reach your mug if you drink it while it's hot rather than sipping it all morning.

Does caffeine cancel creatine out?

Possibly, at high doses, and the evidence is mixed. A 1996 study gave people creatine plus about 5mg of caffeine per kg of body weight a day, roughly 350mg for a 70kg adult, and reported that adding the caffeine changed the result on one exercise test.2 Later studies haven't shown a consistent problem at everyday intakes, and a 2015 review concluded more research is needed.3 One scoop of HEFT has about 120mg of caffeine.

How much, and when?

3g a day is the amount the UK's authorised creatine claims are built on.4 The exact wording is in our claims register. Many studies start with a loading phase of about 20g a day for five to seven days, then 3g to 5g a day. Others use 3g a day from the start, with no loading phase.5 Timing matters less than taking it every day, which is the part most people find hard.

Is it safe?

Creatine monohydrate is one of the most studied sports supplements, with a long safety record at normal doses in healthy adults.6 If you're pregnant, breastfeeding, have kidney problems or another medical condition, or take medication, talk to your GP first. A creatine coffee is still a coffee, so the caffeine advice applies too.

The short version, again

Creatine keeps well enough in coffee if you mix it fresh from a powder and drink it while it's hot. That's why HEFT is a powder, with about 3.3g planned for each scoop. It isn't on sale yet.