Coffee is Good

I love coffee, don’t get me wrong many of us do.  After all coffee wakes us up, enlivens the mind and sparks the scenes.  But there was a time when I was none too sure about the warm dark elixir of life.  Years ago I wanted to see if there were health benefits to NOT drinking coffee.  This seemed like a natural extension to what I was doing at the time; I was following a strict wheat free vegan diet and had about a year before stopped drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes.  I simply figured what difference  was  one more item thrown on to the ascetic pyre.  At the time it was in vogue among certain parts of the natural health community to discuss the drawbacks of partaking of the juice of the bean, and I dove into the experiment of caffeine denial with fervor.  I went nine months without any caffeine. If I wanted a sugary cola I would drink caffeine free Coke, if I wanted tea it would be herbal, and even chocolate was shunned.

At first I missed it with great longing; after all what would I do with myself each dawn?  Every day I had awoken to  my ritual of walking down to my local café, flirting with my favorite baristas, and walking home with a steaming cup of Joe warming my fingers on a cold morning.  Within days my muscles felt gummy and rough when I moved.  My mind fought me upon waking each day.  But such things began to pass.  With time the withdrawals drifted into a succession of days devoid of my liquid joy.  Before I knew it, I had learned to live each day without it; in fact following a couple of months I had almost forgotten my left behind warm friend.  But after many months I started to wonder where all the supposed benefits of coffee abstinence were; there was no increased energy, greater vitality or limitless health that had been promised.  There was only life without coffee.

And life without coffee could not last forever, especially when it was not replaced by the promised panacea.  So early one morning I had promised a friend that I would help him out downtown.  I was dragging; sluggish to rise and slow to shine.  That morning the bus stop was right in front of my favorite café.  At the time I saw one of my much enjoyed baristas behind the counter.  The allure was too strong.  I trudged in the doors and took in the rich, warm vapors that smoothed over me.  I drifted to the counter and was enveloped by her big smile as she asked where I had been for so long.  Almost before the pleasant reunion was over, my hands were wrapped around a hot paper cup of steaming liquid.  Warm tendrils floated upward to caress my face and fill me with their rich distinctive aroma.  I paused and took in the moment, a little excited and scared that nine months of denial would be over.  I wondered if partaking in this hot liquid would be worth it, or would I simply be dismissing the long months without.  The first sip brought back familiar comfort as it soothed me with its remembered flavors.  Within minutes I could feel the brew working it’s magic as it began to course through me.  The gumminess in my arms and legs was rapidly disappearing, I stood taller and even my bones felt stronger.  By the time the cup was only half enjoyed I felt a strong sensation coil up my spine.  A warm yellow light was traveling up me, giving off a sensation that was like none I had ever known.  It was as if the coffee was hugging me from the inside.  I had found what I had been looking for.  Life again was fully worth living.  At that moment I made a promise to myself; a promise where I knew I would never voluntarily go a day without coffee again.