Reducing my Coffee Consumption
I like giving things up on my birthday. This year it will be caffeine.
I used to be addicted to caffeine. If you're old enough to remember, Pret had a £20 subscription service. Five cups of coffee a day, for 67p a day. Even as a single coffee-a-day person, the maths and value were incredible. You may even remember that they offered a month's trial, which got taken advantage of by those with multiple phone numbers.
Just outside the law school, a Pret existed. Many hours of my life were spent there, waiting in line, barcode in hand. I'd get to the till and order: 'Soya flat white please'. Eventually the baristas would recognise me. 'Soya flat white?' they would say. I felt I had a special bond with this place.
Eventually I'd come in twice. Then thrice. Three flat whites are probably not good for you. Even two is probably pushing it. But what about four? What about five?! I eventually began drinking five soya flat whites a day. A concerned barista once asked whether I was worried about the oestrogen in soy. This kicked off my first ever interaction with dependency on a substance. At some point I discovered that Pret also had an extra strong option: essentially more shots of espresso. I think that meant every flat white I had contained four shots of espresso.
The effects of this were headaches. Lots of headaches. I would wake up most mornings with a headache, and crave caffeine to get rid of the headaches. The other effect was a lot of time spent sat on the toilet.
Caffeine had become equated in my head as a productivity drug. The more you ingest, the more productive you are. (This is of course, not true).
I have now mellowed out. I've got to one cup a day, but I am ready to mostly phase this drug out of my life.
The plan is:
Reduce gradually over the month (2 tbsps → 1 tbsps → 0 tbsps of coffee beans)
Only utilise coffee when going to the gym.
Wish me luck!
