A caffeine taper schedule, week by week.
The schedule Curb builds from three starting points, at the steady pace, to zero: cups a day each week, and the weeks it moves to a lighter drink, so the caffeine falls faster than the routine changes. Yours is built from your own numbers.
From 2 cups a day of coffee
9 weeks to zero, with the first of 2 switches to a lighter strength in week 6. The first week only watches.
| Week | Allowance | Strength | mg a day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 2 cups a day | Coffee, 95 mg | 190 mg |
| Week 2 | 2 cups a day | Coffee, 95 mg | 190 mg |
| Week 3 | 2 cups a day | Coffee, 95 mg | 190 mg |
| Week 4 | 1 cup a day | Coffee, 95 mg | 95 mg |
| Week 5 | 1 cup a day | Coffee, 95 mg | 95 mg |
| Week 6 | 1 shot a day | Espresso, 65 mg | 65 mg |
| Week 7 | 2 cups a day | Tea, 30 mg | 60 mg |
| Week 8 | 1 cup a day | Tea, 30 mg | 30 mg |
| Week 9 | 0 cups a day | Tea, 30 mg | 0 mg |
From 3 cups a day of coffee
9 weeks to zero, with the first of 2 switches to a lighter strength in week 6. The first week only watches.
| Week | Allowance | Strength | mg a day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 3 cups a day | Coffee, 95 mg | 285 mg |
| Week 2 | 3 cups a day | Coffee, 95 mg | 285 mg |
| Week 3 | 2 cups a day | Coffee, 95 mg | 190 mg |
| Week 4 | 2 cups a day | Coffee, 95 mg | 190 mg |
| Week 5 | 2 cups a day | Coffee, 95 mg | 190 mg |
| Week 6 | 2 shots a day | Espresso, 65 mg | 130 mg |
| Week 7 | 2 cups a day | Tea, 30 mg | 60 mg |
| Week 8 | 1 cup a day | Tea, 30 mg | 30 mg |
| Week 9 | 0 cups a day | Tea, 30 mg | 0 mg |
From 6 cups a day of coffee
9 weeks to zero, with the first of 2 switches to a lighter strength in week 6. The first week only watches.
| Week | Allowance | Strength | mg a day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 6 cups a day | Coffee, 95 mg | 570 mg |
| Week 2 | 5 cups a day | Coffee, 95 mg | 475 mg |
| Week 3 | 4 cups a day | Coffee, 95 mg | 380 mg |
| Week 4 | 4 cups a day | Coffee, 95 mg | 380 mg |
| Week 5 | 3 cups a day | Coffee, 95 mg | 285 mg |
| Week 6 | 3 shots a day | Espresso, 65 mg | 195 mg |
| Week 7 | 5 cups a day | Tea, 30 mg | 150 mg |
| Week 8 | 2 cups a day | Tea, 30 mg | 60 mg |
| Week 9 | 0 cups a day | Tea, 30 mg | 0 mg |
When the strength switches
The schedule takes an equal share off the dose each week. When the count at the current strength would fall below 40% of where it started, the next week moves to a lighter strength and gives some of the count back, so the routine keeps its shape while the dose keeps falling. A strength switch is a week like any other: the allowance for that week is the lighter one's count.
Other paces
These are the steady pace. The app also offers a gentler and a faster one, and a number to hold at instead of zero; the calculator builds a schedule from your own count, strength and target.
Start with the number you use now.
The first week only watches. The first step down lands on a Monday.