Coffee and I: a commensalism tale
My current morning coffee thing is much more a ritual than an early day meal type. My preferences went through significant changes as would have been expected in a person who grew up on commercials of Nescafe, Tchibo etc. and then moved to the region that actually grew it’s own coffee.
Little by little I’ve turned into kind of a coffee snob or at least moved towards it on “relationship with the drink” spectrum. You can judge for yourself how far I’ve gone. My current favourite type of arrangements consists of buying locally grown moderately roasted berries, grinding them as needed in an old-school handheld grinder (burr type) and infusing the resulting powder in an Aeropress using the reverse method (you just put the contraption upside down) for a few minutes , finishing it off with about a tablespoon of half cream into a still warm cup and plunging the drink from the cylinder into the cream. Obviously all this takes a bit of time, plus if you want to have it with someone you might have to go through the process repeatedly.
By this time I’ve drank some version of caffeine-containing liquid for over 25 years on daily basis as tea is as much or even bigger source, depending on volume and type of tea; also they started giving us tea or cocoa in kindergarten. This suggests that I am rather used to the stimulating effects it all in the dosage I am currently on (~2 cups per day). It means that I am used to the diuretic effects of it as well — when you take caffeine for so long it won’t have any significant increase in your lavatory visits. When I go over 2 cups for some reason or another, it just gives me jitteriness and finishes off that already minuscule ability to concentrate and sit still.
I’ve tried to go caffeine free a few times successfully — after a few days of mild withdrawal symptoms I was completely alright and feeling fully functional as doing some exercises in the morning is my “wake up and start the day” booster anyway. So the only thing I missed was the ritualistic signaling with all the steps and sensory components of it. I missed my official, grown-up routine. Thus in at maximum three months of caffeine-free time I’ve came back to it. So now I think that coffee for me is like the New Year or Christmas of the day: the thing has a very special meaning only because I assigned it to it. However I am looking forward to it nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoy prepping for it and the “madeness” of it all does not detract from the pleasure I get from it.
Oh, and lastly here is a thorough but succinct read by Dr. Harriet Hall on how coffee is not addictive and good for you.
