Ritual Caffeine

I keep hearing an ad for 5-Hour Energy that touts the product as a better caffeine-delivery system, without the “making, waiting and hassle” of coffee.

But I rather like that “hassle.”

For years, I didn’t drink coffee. I drank tea. I enjoyed filling the kettle, wandering off for a few minutes, and being summoned back to the kitchen by the high-pitched whistle. Then I measured out my loose leaf tea into the little ball. As I poured hot water into the mug, you would smell a hint of the tea to come, an aroma that grew and blossomed over the next 5 minutes until I was ready to settle in with a mug of warmth.

I started regularly drinking coffee about four years ago when I realized that the occasional latte really helped me focus and power through work, so why not switch to coffee in the mornings? A friend gave me a coffee grinder and a bag of beans and recommended I buy a French press. I was in heaven. I could follow the same ritual – filling the kettle etc – and pour the water over freshly ground coffee. The aroma was heady and intense. Growing up, the smell of coffee meant morning, as it wafted upstairs in the wee hours before I had to get up.

Of course, life has gotten busier, and I welcomed the Keurig single cup brewer I got for Christmas a year ago. It really is much quicker than the kettle/French press method, with less clean up required. I got a refillable k-cup that I can fill with my freshly ground beans.

But on weekends, when I have time, I still fill up the kettle and break out the French press for my favorite cup of coffee of the week.

Since school started, my caffeine consumption has roughly tripled, but I still enjoy the ritual of every cup of tea or coffee. And when I get home from class, late at night, there’s something soothing about starting the water, changing into my pajamas, and curling up on the couch with a mug of mint tea while my brain slows down for the night.

What’s your caffeine ritual?