Why did I do it?
.jpg)
Today I had my first sip of coffee in about 4 months.
Believe it or not, I have endured all that I know of the real working world without coffee, until today. And now, I don’t know why but I feel like I’ve failed some sort of sober mission, as if I swore off coffee at the end of May, when in actuality this coffee drought was just a fluke and result of circumstance.
Once I noticed my lack of coffee consumption, I decided to observe how I felt each day while not drinking coffee. Provided the experiment has no accuracy whatsoever (as the variable was nowhere near isolated), I found that coffee has no bearing on how I ultimately feel, rather it’s the adjustment to and from drinking coffee regularly that seems have a noticeable effect.
The reason I gave in today was a result of both an exhausted start to my day and the recent cravings I’ve had. I’ve been yearning for some freshly brewed coffee, and really needed a morning pick-me-up so I just dove right in and poured myself a half a cup. To my dismay, I was completely unsatisfied (was this coffee sitting out from days before?) and I wound up with a headache.
Maybe it’s a Vanilla Latte I’m craving, or a Cappuccino on Ice but yea, this stuff didn’t really cut it. So now I felt like a bigger failure for ruining my 4 month streak with a mediocre sip of coffee. I was almost proud of myself that I was running without coffee, when so many American office employees need it to get through their day.
So readers, look a little bit closer at your coffee cup. I have a question for you (and I mean really look closely):
If your screen is too dark, or my attempt to be cool WITHOUT using Photoshop isn’t working, my question was “What does Coffee do to you?” I know, that just ruined it. Oh well.
-Hillary, wondering if the lack of coffee is the reason she has been sick for 4 months (I know, that’d just be silly…)
Editor, Recipe4Living
Popularity: 5% [?]
Tags: coffee
Send to a friend:
Why did you give up coffee? I often remind my husband, who’s trying to switch from afternoon coffee to tea, that tea also has caffeine. But a cup of coffee in the morning is for me not an addiction, but a pure pleasure!
Posted by Lydia at October 2nd, 2007, 6:21 pmI applaud you for attempting to give up something that is not only like a drug but the only thing that makes me kind of excited to wake up early in order to go work a 10 hour day. I love coffee so much, but really I just absolutely LOVE the taste. Ok, I also like the fact that it does wake me up a bit, but I really love the taste of it. Not to knock your coffee, but maybe drinking it in a small styrofome cup is what’s taking away from the pleasure of a nice, hot cup of coffee? Maybe it’s office coffee… now THAT’S not worth the caffine! Check out my husband’s post on coffee (if you’d like!). http://neverfull.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/european-roast/
Posted by amy at October 2nd, 2007, 8:35 pmNice post!! Amy
Dare I start drinking coffee? I’m afraid of starting because I may never be able to live without it again! Any advice?
Posted by JDebs at October 2nd, 2007, 11:08 pmI never drank coffee but I used to drink 4 to 5 cans of caffeinated soda a day. I switched to diet to lower the calories, but I was still dependent on the caffeine to keep me awake through the day. The first week without caffeine was hellish, but then things got much better.
These days I will occasionally indulge and you know what? It feels great. Before, I was compulsively drinking caffeine just to keep awake and not feel bad. Now I can drink it on occasion and actually get a rush from it. In other words, I enjoy it now more than I did before.
Gal
Posted by 60 in 3 at October 3rd, 2007, 9:53 amUnknowingly, I can’t live without coffee too. I’m not a heavy drinker - just one cup a day….
I have not tried one week without coffee before :O
Thanks for visiting my blog. You have a interesting blog :)
Posted by tigerfish at October 3rd, 2007, 10:41 amI am very disappointed! But you coo.
Posted by Josh at October 3rd, 2007, 10:51 amWe must be on the same wavelength - I also had my first cup of coffee in a long time this morning and now my hands are shaking. It’s too bad that you didn’t have a great cup of coffee - the taste could have outweighed the awfulness of the headache. Are you off the stuff for good now?
Posted by Anna at October 3rd, 2007, 11:23 amLydia - It really wasn’t intentional. I think I just didn’t think I needed it. I know tea has plenty of caffeine :)
Amy - Thanks for the comment! It’s quite possible the coffee experience was ruined by the styrofoam cup! Good observation…I’ll try a mug next time ;)
Jdeb - It depends how much you start drinking! If you drink it more than once a day, you may be on the path to addiction, just be careful! Thanks for the comment :)
60 in 3 - I agree! It’s much better to drink coffee for indulgence than out of necessity.
Tigerfish, Why don’t you try to go a week without coffee? I challenge you! Thanks for stopping by my blog too :)
Josh - Haha, thanks, you coo too.
Anna - Weird! Are we the same person? I’m still jealous of you meeting Michael Ruhlman..
Posted by Hillary at October 3rd, 2007, 12:28 pmAh Hillary,
First off if you are craving coffee and wanted to try some, I should of warned you not to try the coffee at work, it is disgusting! I learned that a while back on my first day here. So…maybe it isn’t your disappointment in trying a sip but it is the lack of brand we have here at work!
I have been trying to ween off coffee myself and switch to Green Tea in the mornings but every once in a while I have to have my Dunkin Donuts coffee or White Hen to get me through the day.
Posted by Sarah at October 3rd, 2007, 2:52 pmI just plain love the flavor of coffee. I know my daily limit because I do feel the caffeine rush. To me, coffee is “liquid gold”.
Posted by JEP at October 4th, 2007, 5:22 pm[...] very well may be that the reason I haven’t been drinking coffee these days is because I’m at a loss for a local coffee shop that I enjoy. When I lived in [...]
Posted by Chew On That » Blog Archive » Missing my coffeehouses at October 8th, 2007, 7:45 pm