I love coffee, but coffee no longer loves me.
When I started drinking coffee in high school I thought it was a casual affair. A cup once in a while to help me write an essay, and maybe one in the morning when getting up was more torture than usual. Eventually, I was drinking one to two cups per day to feel like a normal person.
Like most young flirtations, this one ended in heartache — or in this case: stomach aches and constant dehydration. In order to prevent future pains, I have given up caffeine.
The first few weeks were exhausting. Besides constantly craving coffee, I realized how dependent I was on it: the smell, the flavor, even the slight feeling of authority I had from carrying around a coffee-filled travel mug.
I quit drinking fully caffeinated beverages in November because I could not stand the burning sensations I would get in my stomach after a latte and my wallet couldn’t adequately fund my addiction anyway. My initial transition from “caffeinated” to “almost caffeine-free” relied heavily on my “one cup of caffeine a day” rule. After that one cup I would have water. Even when I really wanted that second cup? More water. After two weeks I reduced it to one caffeinated drink every three days. By the start of 2015, I was drinking decaf with ease.
There are so many options besides coffee that I would not have considered before: green tea, white tea, herbal tea, fresh druit juice, infused water. All the flavors and recipes are available at your fingertips with a little help from the internet.
My only real complaint with giving up coffee is that there is only one flavor of decaf, and it’s called decaf. Switching from coffee to decaf to no caffeinated beverages is a big change, but so is college life.
I’m not going to lie — I’m still pretty tired every morning. I would love that little boost from my cup of coffee when I’m studying for my midterms, but what I like more is not crashing a few hours after my latte-induced caffeine buzz wears off. And saving around $21 weekly isn’t so bad either!