Ahh coffee, let me count the ways…
- You warm me through and through
- You wake me up
- You bring together friends
- You are there for the good conversations
- You helped me meet that deadline
- You got me though that meeting
- We celebrate holidays together
- You greet me first thing in the morning
- You have endless variety and can suit my every whim
You also…
- Kept me up when I just wanted to sleep
- Raised my blood pressure
- Increased anxiety
- Created acidity
- Had me all jittery
- And when I tried to quit you, you gave me a headache that had me back in your arms
I discovered the bliss that is coffee when I lived in Portland, OR. It’s almost impossible to live there without becoming a coffee lover and subsequent addict. I willingly joined in. I loved lounging over my mornings with coffee. Coffee isn’t bad until, well, it’s bad.
A cup of coffee each day is no biggie; I ask my doctors every time I see them. Coffee only becomes an issue when it begins to impact things that performed better without coffee. Things like sleep and not being overcome by crankiness. If you feel like it is time to give caffeine a rest here’s my plan for getting over your coffee love affair.
Step-Down
- Go from multi-cups to a single cup a day.
- Go from a single cup to half-caf or only ½ a cup.
- From there, switch to black tea. (about ½ caffeine compared to coffee)
- From there, switch to green tea. (1/3 the caffeine compared to coffee)
- From there, switch to white tea. (1/10 to ¼ the caffeine compared to coffee)
- Finally, go for decaf tea such as herbal or red tea or another morning drink.
If you’ve only been having 1 cup of coffee a day, you can probably go straight from black to green tea without withdrawal.
Stay at each step to give your body time to adjust to the decrease in caffeine, basically to avoid a headache. A week should do.
Here’s the kicker. To a coffee drinker, tea just isn’t the same. Chai tea lattes come close since that has a hint of spice, sweet and luxury. You’ll have to play with each drink to create something that is to your liking. Here are a few things I’ve tried:
- Adding rice or soy milk to tea.
- Sweeten it with agave nectar or other sweetener.
- Brew stronger tea — let the bag steep for at least 10 minutes and leave it in while you enjoy the beverage.
- Get specialty teas that are exotic and blended with flavors like coconut or vanilla.
Once you’re off caffeine, do a self-check to see how you feel. How is your energy? Sleep? Emotions? Focus?
Seeing positive benefits will keep you motivation high for not getting re-addicted to caffeine.
I have found that once I really and truly let coffee go, I can indulge every few weeks without becoming re-addicted. This means enjoying an impromptu Starbucks after a medical test or during a loungie weekend morning. Coffee becomes the treat it should be.
It really does feel empowering to not “have” to have a cup of coffee to start you day.
If you’d like to eventually replace your morning brew with an energy packed green drink or smoothie, I highly recommend the advice and recipes of Kris Carr.
What are you favorite morning coffee replacements?
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New Nostalgia