Why can I smell coffee in my urine?

Factual Questions
1

Well, I guess it doesn’t really smell like coffee. But it smells like something.

I don’t drink coffee every day. I tend to go through phases, where after weeks of not drinking a cup, I’ll drink some every morning for a week or so. Then I get tired of it. For the first couple days of coffee drinking after one of these hiatuses my pee has a noticeably different, somewhat strong aroma. If I keep drinking coffee, it isn’t noticeable after a day or two. And if I quit drinking, of course, it goes away.

Also, I’m a heavy and frequent drinker of tea, cola, and beer. Yet none of these beverages seems to alter my urine.

A couple people I’ve asked about this think it’s odd, so I seem to be the only one so far. It kind of reminds me of the SD article on asparagus pee. Maybe I’m just rare in being able to smell a chemical that everyone is producing, too. Anyone have any ideas?

2

As a serious question, do you eat asparagus? When you pee after eating it, can you smell that unique pungent odor?

3

“Wake up and smell the urine!”
Nope. Doesn’t have the same ring to it, somehow.

4

I know the smell you’re talking about. I get it too, but only when I drink real strong stuff… I guess some coffee aroma substance makes it through the kidneys.

5

You know, it seems like you could probably get Starbuck’s interested in this phenomenon… I’m sure they’d want to capitalize on it.

6

My urine usually smells like fresh espresso.

Coffee gets its characteristic odour from caffeol, which is water soluble and passes through the human body rapidly without being metabolized.

7

Bill: It smells like an ashtray when I pee. Is there anything you can do to help with that?
Dave: Gosh, I hope not.
-Newsradio

The first thing I thought when I opened this thread.

Sometimes my pee smells like ham. Maybe nitrates (or is it nitrites?) are making it through my kidneys?

8

Unfortunately, no, I don’t eat asparagus. I have no idea what it does to my pee.

But at least I feel better knowing I’m not alone on this coffee thing. :wink:

9

Oh Goodness, I can definatly smell that coffee aroma when going to the bathroom. I drink alot of strong coffee, and the odor is the strongest after consuming 100% Colombian.

10

Without trying to sound pedantic, can you give a cite for this?

11

I can just see “Juan Valdez”* leaning over your shoulder as you type, giggling. :stuck_out_tongue:
Peace,
mangeorge
*Of Folger’s coffee fame.

12

I can’t add anything to the discussion except to agree, especially when I drink a lot of coffee.

My first pee break in the morning at work always has me feeling a little self-conscious. I hope there’s no one else in the bathroom, because my pee is gonna smell funny.

The weird part is that it’s not a coffeeish aroma. It smells, if anything, a little bit like tuna. Not fishy, but like some other component of the scent of tuna.

13

I don’t get the coffee smell, however much coffee I drink. But if I have even one cappucino flavored Slimfast, my pee smells funny. A little like coffee, a little like SugarSmacks. It’s quite disconcerting.

14

Just to add to the variety, my pee sometimes smells like fresh baked bread.

15

Are you sure no-one is peeing in your coffee?

16

I can smell a difference when I drink coffee.

Definitely when I eat asparagus.

And I can smell a difference after eating hot wings.

17

I don’t smell anything different when I go to the bathroom after eating hot wings. But I definitely* feel * something different. And it’s not the pee.

:frowning:

18

Pssst… in this case try washing your hands before you go to the bathroom. :wink:

I too get the Urethra o’Fire if I eat too many spicy wings as well. It’s not nearly as common as the Ring o’Fire though.

19

Should Customs officials be on the lookout for contraband in large shipments of your urine?

20

And I was going to say that my pee smells just like Sugar Smacks soon after eating a bowl of Sugar Smacks. Wanna smell?

Coffee smell for coffee too.