Coffee Makes Me a Better Human
An intro to coffee for the non-coffee drinkers.
I wasn’t always a coffee drinker. I used to think people didn’t really need coffee to stay awake or alert, and they just weren’t trying hard enough to stay awake. I’m sorry. Please don’t hate me for my past, incorrect beliefs.
I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve been a coffee fan for a while now. It started with getting my coffee made from Starbucks then progressed to Peet’s and Blue Bottle. (Don’t worry, I still get coffee from Starbucks— definitely not knocking it.) My coffee consumption evolved into me buying whole beans and manually grinding them. Thanks to my wife, I’ve even had a chance to try coffee samples from around the world without having to travel. (Online ordering is wonderful.) I even tried roasting my own coffee beans, but I found it easier just to buy a three pound bag of coffee beans from Costco.
There was one big change in my life that jokingly pushed me into becoming a coffee drinker — I became a parent. Being a parent is nowhere near a prerequisite to drinking coffee, but it did open the door for me. As I drank more and more coffee, I realized there were other benefits as well.
Coffee is healthy for you.
There are antioxidants and other beneficial nutrients.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, coffee could help you live longer and helps your heart by preventing heart failure. It also protects your liver. Even with all the added health benefits, everything must be taken in moderation. Depending on who you are, one to three 8 oz. cups of coffee should do the trick. Any more, and the negatives start outweighing the benefits of drinking coffee.
Keep in mind, the healthiest form of coffee is when you drink it black, but you can add cinnamon, a little cocoa powder, or even vanilla extract if black coffee is too bitter for you. These are better alternatives to the standard creamer and sugar you buy from the grocery store.
Coffee is accessible.
Coffee doesn’t have to be expensive.
Almost anyone can get coffee. Even “bad” coffee does the job. All I need coffee to do is keep me awake. The taste and all the other bells and whistles can wait if I’m desperate. I was doing the math, and brewing your coffee at home will save you a significant amount of money if you’re concerned about drinking coffee daily. A grande coffee (16 oz.) at Starbucks will cost $2.10. A 3-lb bag of Costco whole beans costs around $21, but you can get around 32 grande sized cups of coffee out of that. If you do the math you can see that buying your coffee beans will cost you $46.20 instead of paying for all those grande drinks. Looking at it another way, that’s an extra 22 drinks you could be having by brewing your coffee at home.
In the end, you don’t have to buy the most expensive coffee. It doesn’t matter if it’s ground or whole bean. Just get the coffee that fits your budget and life style.
Coffee is what gets things done.
If you’re asleep, nothing is getting done.
My key to productivity is coffee. If I’m not awake, I’m not productive. The most important benefit that coffee gifts me is the ability to focus and think with an alert mind. From there, I can see the next steps, the missteps, and the connections that need to be made to maximize my time. Have you had those moments when you were on top of your game? When those happen for me, I usually had my daily cup of coffee — or third.
With coffee, I’m a better parent: more patient, less irritable, and more understanding. Without it, my parenting skills are nonexistent. I’m less patient, more irritable, and less understanding. Parenting is tough enough so if I’m sleepy and parenting, my kids know to remind to have my coffee.
The biggest thing that kept me from trying coffee out in the first place was the fear of the reliance I would have on coffee. While I do heavily rely on it now, I’m sure there are alternatives if I feel like pulling myself off of it. But with all the benefits, I don’t see a need to. If you haven’t given coffee a chance before, you might want to ease your way in by using creamer or any other sweetener before just drinking it black for the most health benefits. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy that nice cup of coffee.
