Neti Pot and tasting/smelling coffee

[Aaron Ultimo]

So, I've been a Neti Pot user for a few years now. I tend to use it at least once a week if not more. I have recently been talking with a number of others out there in our little world and have found that I am not the only one doing this. This being the case, I've always questioned how this effects my tasting/smelling abilities when it comes to coffee and I'm curious if any other "users" out there have experience/thoughts on this. For me, I think it helps, but I'm not really sure if I get a benefit right away. It seems that there is a delay of a day or two before I feel like I can fully smell acutely again. However, I'm not totally sure if this is true and would love to hear back from a larger pool of experience. So if you're a Neti "user" and aren't too embarrassed to share, do you have any observations? Do you find that smelling/tasting is better after irrigating? Not at first, but after a certain period of time? Not at all? I would love it if anyone could share thoughts or experiences. Hope this doesn't weird anyone out and if you haven't heard of this you might wanna check it out. Your world could change...

[trish]

Love the Neti lifestyle. Love it!
I only Neti my my nasals every couple of days and haven't noticed a change in that sensory perception. I promise to do a lil bad test.

Lil Bad Test:One such as this, whereby a poster on coffeed can later say, "I tested it, so I know"

[Rich Westerfield]

Love the Neti lifestyle. Love it!
I only Neti my my nasals every couple of days and haven't noticed a change in that sensory perception.

I went with the technology and own a Grossman HydroPlus. Same thing as a neti but with 8.5 bars pressure

Never noted a difference in tasting abilities after using.

[Andy Schecter]

Love the Neti lifestyle. Love it!

Curious about the "lifestyle." Care to share what it involves besides the standard stuff?

[Tim Dominick]

Neti has kept sinus infections and general clogging at bay for me, so in that respect it has prevented me from loosing my sense of smell.

I am not sure if I can say that it enhances my senses on a day to day basis, in fact sometimes it can dull them in the near term (1-3 hours after use.)

The net-i effect has been positive and I am sure it has kept me off antibiotics and decongestants more than once over the past few years.

[trish]

Love the Neti lifestyle. Love it!

Curious about the "lifestyle." Care to share what it involves besides the standard stuff?

I enjoy trail mix, hugging trees (really-ever since I was a kid), and recycling.
Sometimes I scrape my tongue, but not very often. Yoga? Sure.
I wear clogs even if my closest friends can't stand the sight of me in them.
...and I Neti about three times a week.

[Andy Schecter]

I enjoy trail mix, hugging trees (really-ever since I was a kid), and recycling.
Sometimes I scrape my tongue, but not very often. Yoga? Sure.
I wear clogs even if my closest friends can't stand the sight of me in them.
...and I Neti about three times a week.

Hi Trish, thanks for sharing. I, too, am a tree-hugger.

There's a forest preserve in NY called Zoar Valley, which contains some of the oldest and tallest trees in the Northeast. When I hiked in there a few years ago, I took time out to stand and hug a few of the oldest. The deep, quiet energy could not be denied.

I also eat tofu every day!

Never tried the Neti pot, but I will have to -- I've had a cold on and off for over a month.

[trish]

just want to clarify that I DO brush my tongue every time I brush my teeth.
Scraping it like the yogis do always seemed harsh to me.

[barry]

I also eat tofu every day!

Go figure!

Never tried the Neti pot, but I will have to -- I've had a cold on and off for over a month.

Just reading about it made my eyes water. I've never been able to handle that sort of thing... couldn't ever put a contact lens in (not that I've had to, but the idea... <shudder>)... the idea of snorting anything (snuff, coke, what have you)... ugh... nose sprays? gack... So, to willingly pour something UP my nose??? EEEEWWWWWWWWW.... It's bad enough that Caragay almost made me pass root beer through my nose with his Clover "beta-testers for Starbucks" comment.

I'm glad it helps those who use it, but please keep those neti pots pointed away from me!

[Tim Dominick]

Done with the right temperature water and proper amount of salt it is a great feeling, however if the water is too cold or too salty it is like getting tumbled in cold surf and ending up with that stinging sensation that lasts all day.

[Aaron Ultimo]

Any other closet Netis out there? Thanks for weighing in Trish. I didn't want to out you as the one I was conversing with about neti on the off chance you didn't want the entire coffee community picturing you shoving a tea pot up your nose. Thanks for the input everyone.

I actually had a horrible experience with the neti when I first started. I used too hot water (and tap water at that) and too much salt and did it too much with the end result that I sneezed for a day straight (no joke). That includes through the night. What a horrible day... and night.

Andy, I would definitely give the neti a whirl. Just don't do it too much. I think the couple of times a week is a good amount. You may find yourself with a clear head and nose in nose time.

Bad, I know...

[Keith]

I have used the neti for close to 10 years in cases of cold, sinus infections and allergies. Works great, at the very least it makes me feel better. I have used the neti on days when I am stuffed up and need to cup and find that it helps, meaning that its better than cupping with my nose plugged up. I have never used the neti on regular basis if im not already sick...

[trish]

About a year ago, I dropped and broke my Neti pot. Went out into the city to track down another. Now remember, this is Seattle. We're practically all tree-huggers and clog-wearers here. (when I first set foot in the Zoka roastery, I found a couple of the manly roasters clogging it as well. Vindication!)
Point is there are plenty of places around town that should carry an array of Neti pots. But I had picked the wrong day to break my Neti! You see, Oprah's Dr. Oz had spent a good long time on the Neti and its benefits the day before. All the Netis flew off the shelf that day and I could only backorder. My bff got me a new one on my birthday last month. Wow, I'm back to my old self just in time. I was suffering from my second sinus infection of the season.
Now I'm clear as a bell.

Oprah is all-powerful in case anyone out there has forgotten that.

[barry]

Oprah is all-powerful in case anyone out there has forgotten that.

Yep, we sold out of Bodums the day after she featured french presses on the show. People were pissed we were out, so we told 'em, "Oprah didn't let us know ahead of time."

[Keith]

a green tea pot will work in a pinch.

[Jason Haeger]

Note to self: Decline offer of green tea if ever visiting Keith.

[Tim Dominick]

An old friend came to visit and insisted upon cooking us dinner. She was setting the table and as she put the salad dressing out she remarked that our salad dressing dispenser seemed so useful and unlike anything she'd ever seen. She was a little red-faced when I mentioned the general use of the pot, perhaps it was the wine but she didn't bat an eye and poured on her dressing.

At least we're not into leaving enema bags around the kitchen.

[Keith]

enemas--thats a great coffee topic.

Where I live there are alot of "healers" and massage therapists...I always luv when someone asks what roast I would recomend for enemas.

[nick]

What's all this talk of this "Neti Pot" machine?

It's all about the coffee!

(waiting for the press release that Starbucks acquires the Neti Pot Company )

[nick]

enemas--thats a great coffee topic.

Where I live there are alot of "healers" and massage therapists...I always luv when someone asks what roast I would recomend for enemas.

STOP!!!

PLEASE!!!

I hear enough of coffee-enema stories from Inman... I don't need to know that ALL you Californian coffee pros are mixed up in that cra-... I mean, stuff.

[Tim Dominick]

We sell a lot of our New Moon Dark Roast to the colonic crowd, we used to play too cool and say our coffee was only for "front end consumption" but a buck is a buck in this economy and they think that we named the blend for them anyway.

Nick, perhaps your hang-up comes from far too much colonic build-up? Is that the cynical parasitic worm nest talking?

If your ever up this way, there is a place just off the plaza that specializes in high colonics. (right next to the medical ganja dispensary, between the two head shops) You can also stop for a neti pot at the co-op, or elect to have one hand blown by one our many glassblowers. If Inman doesn't have a specialist in mind for you gimme a call, we can set something up.

Syphon bar, clover....pedestrian! Who has the intestinal fortitude put in a neti bar and a colonic bar instead of adding breakfast burritos?

[Rich Westerfield]

We sell a lot of our New Moon Dark Roast to the colonic crowd.

"New Moon" indeed.

[gabelucas]

Aaron,

Neti pots rule. I use mine at least once a week. I was just trying to sell Baca on it the other day because he has issues with his sinuses every now and then.

My wife got me into it, and yeah like Trish, she does Yoga, meditates and when I am out of town, the clogs come out I have heard.

[Phil Proteau]

I can honestly say that after I quit smoking, (13 years ago after 14 years on the burly weed), I noticed almost immediately that food tasted better. I could smell all kinds of thing that had escaped me before. It was like someone with glasses who gets the laser surgery. I felt like a blood hound.

So far I have not heard any definitive statements about the Neti Pot. There are the "I think it helps" and the "I'll have to test it" statements, but none of the practitioners are very clear about whether it helps the tasting sense or not.

If you say it's part of keeping your body clean in general, or it gets the toxins out, or it's all part of a holistic approach then you should continue to wash your nasals with my blessing. However, I'm not going to start irrigating the cavity for esoteric reasons (quit honestly I'm a bit skeeved by it). I would like to know if my sense of taste will clear up. A good thorough dose of pharmaceutical antibiotics will unquestionably and quantifiably clear it up. That would be a drastic measure, but preferable to dabbling in what might be edging close to pseudoscience.

Is there anyone who engages in this ritual who can honestly say that it improves your smelling capacity?

[Rich Westerfield]

A good thorough dose of pharmaceutical antibiotics will unquestionably and quantifiably clear it up. That would be a drastic measure, but preferable to dabbling in what might be edging close to pseudoscience.

Phil,
I can't quantifiably say if it improves taste/smell. As others stated, "I think so." But, after years of taking antibiotics for severe sinus problems, I can say unequivocably that using a sinus cleanser (as stated earlier, I use a Grossman) I have fewer recurrances of infections. And no issues with what I can consume since there are no contraindications as there are for ingesting drugs.