by Frances Manfrey

Created on: June 10, 2008

As with everything else, moderation is key. The risk & the benefit in this case are married to one another. The reason it is risky is due to the way it makes us feel & the biggest benefit is the way it makes us feel.

It's tricky to moderate something that makes you feel like a better version of yourself. Most coffee drinkers just don't feel right until they've had their first cup. If we could stop there that may be one thing, but for me there was always at least a second cup. The next thing I'd know I'd be heading into the meeting I was trying so hard to prepare for with the jitters.

That feeling of the better than ever you created by coffee is actually changing your brain chemistry. There's a reason we've come to expect coffee by a certain hour and sometimes following a schedule of coffee breaks throughout the day. We've changed our neurochemistry! Caffeine fits snugly into the same space as adenosine which allows us to relax/sleep. That would be fine as long as it would allow adenosine in when we're ready to rest. Caffeine is a selfish inhabitant and does not allow adenosine to return when we so desperately need it. Having lost rest we need to kick our adrenals (with coffee) again and again throughout the day. It's what the hippies would call, "a self fulfilling loop."

So what can we do now? Most of us, myself included, need at least a splash of caffeine to get us through the day. Coffee is far inferior to tea in that the lift is shorter lived. A cup of tea in the morning can last all day long as the caffeine is released more slowly in the blood stream. A cup of coffee in the morning is a quick jolt that leaves us wanting more by noon. Tea may not deliver the same Miss Queen of the Universe all things are doable feeling as coffee but I've learned to settle for Miss Queen of the Cubicle I can sure try.

AFTER THOUGHTS:
If you're actually considering a break from the coffee break; I recommend starting out with something black and heavy, Scottish Breakfast or a hearty Chinese Black. I think most of my friends go to such an extreme either going with some herbal infusion (that's not even tea) or going straight to green. They either end up crazed for caffeine or tired of the taste of vegetable water perfumed or not; and return to the tried and true coffee by the end of the week.

Here are a few of my favorite things (teas): regional teas of Asam (India) & Yunan (China). Smokey tea is fabulous but can go to far fast. Russian teas tend to have just the right amount of smoke. Sometimes a smokey tea is a good first substitute for coffee as it has a roastiness coffee drinkers can appreciate.

If you've decided to take the caffeine out of your coffee you may want to mix decaf in for a few weeks increasing the decaf volume week by week. Quitting coffee cold turkey can make even the cheeriest of people get the blues.

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