A few years ago, I had a breakdown and went to Peru (classic) to blow my brains on plant medicine. Before you take ayahuasca, you’re supposed to do a dieta which is essentially a way of preparing the body and mind to receive spiritual guidance. My pal and I gave it a good go and by the time to trip, we were exceedingly wholesome. Our dieta required we go without:
salt
sugar
coffee
sex
alcohol
red meat
I was single AF and quite mental at the time so sex and sugar weren’t really an issue. I regularly do booze breaks and don’t cook with salt. But the coffee? Good God, that was hard. I kept trying to give it up before leaving the UK and giving in to a very small cup. I remember us sitting in a vegan café in Lima, smelling the air as heavenly cups of Americanos were being dished out to other customers while we nursed mugs of turmeric.
Did I notice any difference from not being caffeinated? Not really. It was just one less nice thing in my life. A month after the ceremony, back in Lima again on my back to London, I finally had a cup of proper coffee - and I’ve had one, two or three a day every day since then.
Dietas can be really amazing, transformative things but even when I’ve tried to follow a vague one ahead of doing kambo, I just couldn’t be arsed to go without coffee. I just don’t see the point. It’s not that I feel any more awake drinking it - it’s just a delicious, healthy drink.
In the past year or so, I’ve found it baffling how many younger friends have gone decaf. A few have done it because they’re anxious. One gave it up last year because ‘something felt wrong’. Another says it impacts their sleep if they drink it after 11am. I’m not saying those aren’t legitimate reasons but I do wonder how previous generations managed to enjoy it while people in their 20s are fainting at the idea of having an after dinner coffee-soaked tiramisu.
My parents regularly drink coffee at night. Ever been down Italy or Portugal? Go to any old man bar and you’ll find them packed with old boys supping espresso alongside their aguardiente at any time of the day or night. I was being given milky espressos after dinner at about 7 or 8-years-old.
I met a mate on Sunday for a 3pm latte before a couple of beers. He, like me, is an early/mid-30s millennial with boomer parents. And like me, he’s quite old fashioned about where he gets his kicks; he doesn’t do social media much but he bloody loves any and all pubs. And I know a few other people who like a late energy boost but none of ‘em are under 32.
The irony is that while caffeine can cause flutters and energy spikes/slumps, lots of us are addicted to actually-mind-destroying things like TikTok. Are you struggling because you had a 2pm flat white, or is your concentration shot because your screen time averages 8 hours a day - half of which is spent glued to 20-second videos of dogs wearing roller-skates? Is coffee the problem or is it the fact that you’ve barely done 10 steps in the past 9 hours so are more prone to getting a head-rush when you get up to boil the kettle?
You can’t blame caffeine for all your ills - however tempting it might be when faced with stuff we can’t control. Consuming gloomy news every day is definitely going to raise your cortisol and make your brain feel like it’s knitting itself into a hole. A steamy rich Americano, on the other hand? Probably not.
There are huge health benefits to coffee - some of which you can get from the decaf stuff. But I think ‘to caffeinate or not’ is part of a bigger generational conversation. Do we want to get our kicks virtually, or do we actually want to feel real life chemical ebbs and flows (be that endorphins from running or caffeine)?
Love this. Post dinner tiramisu or affogato all the way. I’ve been instructed to wean myself off coffee ahead of a Mayr retreat in a couple of weeks 😱 Already making plans to sneak some in my luggage … I can’t find any sensible reason to justify cutting caffeinated joy out of my life!
You can't just casually mention you don't cook with salt and leave it at that.... WHAT? WHY? ARE YOU OKAY? I enjoyed this, minus the lack of salt.