Is caffeine considered one of the intoxicants?

Question:
Another person says: We have heard that caffeine, which is found in tea, coffee, and cocoa, is a substance that is harmful to the health of any person, and that addiction to drinking these beverages causes many diseases for the human being. Is this substance among the harmful ones, or is it among the harmful substances from which one must stay away?

Answer:
We know of nothing regarding coffee and tea, except that it is said that they have a stimulating effect if one consumes them in excess. We do not know of anything in them that would make them forbidden, for they are stimulants and beneficial. Coffee may cause some harm due to its bitterness, the excessive bitterness, but this is balanced out by sugar, dates, and the like. There is no clear harm in it that would make it forbidden and prohibited. The scholars before us have studied it, looked into it, and explained that any slight harm that may occur is compensated for by dates, sugar, and the like, and thus it disappears. It is only when one consumes it in excess that one may experience excessive stimulation, and if the excess prevents one from some sleep or the like, this does not make it prohibited or forbidden. However, it indicates that one should reduce the amount consumed so that it does not prevent one from getting sufficient sleep. Yes.