Step # 1 Acceptance. Now just to be clear I like it and I don't want to change. It's not harming me. I believe coffee is my drug of choice. I accept that coffee is a part of my life. Unlike other drugs it doesn't control me.
Let's go over what coffee means to me. When my dad was growing up, his family had a large carafe of coffee, in his backyard, on a table, next to an outdoor stove. My great-grandmother would make this large amount of coffee and place cups next to it for everyone who lived on the property and the workers. Therefore, everyone would just grab a cup and go. My dads' been drinking 3-5 cups of coffee a day since he was a kid. Which is about 50 years. On my mom's side of the family my grandma used to pick coffee from the volcano when she was in her 20's and 30's. For my family in the afternoon they had a piece of sweet bread and a cup of coffee. My pops has had the same coffee cup for almost 20 years. Coffee is a way of life.
Many studies out there show the pro's and con's of coffee, but when you've grown up on something those studies mean nothing. We live in a society where a $5 cup of coffee a day is normal. Where there is at least one coffee shop in every town, I live inDowntown LA and there are at least 25 Starbucks alone within a 10 mile radius of me. Our society is ruled by the God known as coffee. (Don't worry my God knows I'm joking.)
Thankfully I am not bound to any specific coffee like my ancestors. My addiction spans into the possibilities of frappuccinos, cappuccinos, lattes, americanos, macchiatos and a plain cup of Joe or milk with instant coffee instead of espresso like a latte. I can be versatile.
In my house I have an espresso machine with a milk steamer, a regular 12 cup coffee machine, instant coffee and a french press. I know it's an addiction and I accept it and I deal with it. My brother ended up working at a coffee shop, and when I needed a job for a few months I worked there too. It was the best place for me to work. I learned how to brew the perfect cup, pull the perfect espresso shot, the perfect temperature for milk to be steamed to. I learned about different flavors, the right grinding size, the strength levels and so much more. I do have to say at the time it really helped with the cost of coffee in my life.
I also learned the difficult lesson that too much strong coffee is not good to my stomach. To be honest at that time I was having about 5 shots of espresso throughout my 6 hour shift plus whatever I had at home. You see the company I worked for believed in quality and they only served the best and the freshest stuff out there. I eventually went down to a 1/2 caff drink or decaf sometimes.
Ultimately I love coffee and it's a part of my daily life. I can give it up although I don't see the point of it. No harm no foul. If you ever have a coffee question let me know and ask away. I have a fair amount of coffee knowledge and I make a mean latte and cappuccino.
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