Coffee/Tea: A New Perspective

I love coffee/tea. Sometimes I wonder how I got to be so dependent. Back in college, I tried drinking coffee to stay awake and study. But I didn't particularly care for the taste without a lot of cream and sugar. I didn't like how it upset my [stomach] and I hated that it was a diuretic.

Then somewhere along the way, I got old. A funny thing happens when you get old; sometimes you end up enjoying things that you wrote off as a youth. Perhaps my palate matured. Or perhaps it evolved out of necessity.

My introduction addiction to coffee started at my previous job. The lunchroom was stocked with a pair of instant coffee/tea machines with a large variety of flavors distributed in self-contained packages. One of the machines allowed you to mix multiple flavors together (e.g., choco + other coffee flavors) for some very delicious combinations. I figured I'd try a few combinations to stave off the 2 PM blues. After sampling all of the flavors, a few of them started growing on me. I was hooked...

A typical work day would start with a cup of coffee followed by a 2nd one later in the afternoon. The long hours didn't help. I was always tired. I always needed a pick-me-up. I needed a cup of coffee before I could even get started on my day. I needed another just to keep going. Sometimes I needed a fix on the weekends.

Then I got a new job. I work fewer hours. I am not as tired and I am less dependent on caffeine. But you know what? I still enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning. I like making myself a cup of tea in the afternoon. When we're at a restaurant, I look forward to coffee after dinner.

It's funny how your perspective changes as you get older. I'd elaborate but my tea is getting cold.