allergy vs intolerance
 

I think the word allergy is being misapplied here.

Intolerance is a more accurate term.

That could start a whole debate...

The treatment ends up the same. Though, many people choose to live with the consequences of an intolerance and can't with an allergy ;)

I don't think so in my case. I think I am truly allergic to coffee and would find high IgE antibodies if I were to be tested, which I am still strongly considering. I believe the depression/foggy head, heart burn (H2 receptors), gas, headaches (delayed food allergy) and stuffy nose are histamine related, for which I would use the term allergic. The client I mentioned whose results gave me the idea that I was affected was determined to be allergic to coffee by the Sage Tests ( www.foodallergytest.com ).

Anyone can put "coffee allergy" in their search and read about the symptoms. If coffee were to only cause intestinal upset without systemic signs, then I would certainly agree with the word "intolerance" being correct.

polyphenols...
 

Coffee and tea contain polyphenols which cause headache in some people.
(Also in red wine). They dilate blood vessels and some are sensitive to this and develop headache.

I have met many people who get headaches from tea. Far more than complain about coffee. I have this problem
from time to time myself. I only get the headache when I consume large amounts however. I also get headaches from red wine-- I gave up all wine
years ago.

People with headache histories often develop caffeine withdrawal headaches
very quickly--sometimes within hours of drinking the caffeine (or eating it in candies)..leading to escalation of consumption of caffeinated drinks.
These folks may be latent migraneurs.

People come to me with every complaint imaginable..I have seen multitudes of things and over the years hundreds of thousands. (40yrs).
I have never seen a true coffee allergy-- but lots of intolerances.
Tea has been far more common as a headache trigger in my opinion. With the surge in interest for high dose antioxidant supplements, keep in mind that these too, contain polyphenols and can dilate cerebral blood vessels. People may not
think of that, and blame something else they had that day for any headache that arises.

People with ragweed allergies can cross over to foods. There are several fruits that will cross react in those patients. Also nut allergies can cross react with pollens from some trees.

A true food allergy should be tested for...because they can be life threatening.

I'll add myself as another data point in the mix.

I encounter very noticeable reactions to coffee consumption in the way of acne modules and cysts that are very deep and long-lived (i.e. weeks). It seems that some varieties of coffee are worse (i.e. Starbucks), while tea and other forms of caffeine do not cause a problem at all.

I discovered this because I've been fairly deliberate about what I eat for the past 5 years. Gluten was the first thing to go about 4 years ago. I stopped eating legumes shortly after that and dairy about 2 years ago. I never eat legumes anymore and expose myself to gluten or dairy at most every 3-4 months. I noticed a huge improvement in lifelong acne problems (I'm 34 now) from these changes. However, the problems persisted until I tried cutting out coffee and sticking with tea.

Coffee allergy
 

I had an allergy panel done when I was younger, and coffee was one of the things they tested which I was positive for as an allergy. I can drink it, but I have to be in "good shape" when I do. If I'm stressed, tired, sick or even a little down it causes various symptoms. Usually I get severe stomach cramps, but I also get headaches which are more like the ones I get when I'm sick. I also usually feel like I'm getting a sinus infection when I drink it (ears hurt, throat and tonsils too), and even a small cup will make me shake. The reason I was tested was because my dad has a coffee allergy, and it caused some damage as far as his intestinal wall. I know this also sounds odd, but coffee can sometimes (rarely) put me into a depression (it happens usually when I've drank coffee for a few days in a row), which usually lasts only a 12-24 hrs. Also my allergies to cats/dogs becomes severely worsened.

Welcome oOobers. :Wave-Hello: