Why I Do Not Drink Coffee

Olivier Chabot|September 7, 2021|Advice To Myself, Habits, Health, Productivity, Studying
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My mother always says I was born caffeinated.

Dani Rojas – From ted Lasso S2E5

I do not like the taste of coffee. Plain and simple. I don’t even like coffee crisps, sugary lattes, or anything with a coffee flavour for that matter. I drink and eat other stuff that doesn’t always taste the best so I had to ask myself; why not coffee?

I know coffee is an acquired taste (like most bitter-tasting foods) but I am not in a rush to acquire it. My energy levels are high enough that I do not need to rely on coffee for that morning boost or to prevent the famous afternoon dip. I try to take care of the big pillars of health before I resort to supplements and crutches like coffee. When it comes to coffee, sleep is the most important variable that determines how much I need it. I wonder what is the proportion of people who consistently sleep 8+ hours of high-quality sleep and say that they “need” their coffee in the morning to be able to function. There is also something to be said about consciously choosing to depend on an exogenous substance (caffeine) in order to live functionally.

To be fair, life is demanding and we won’t always be to get our beauty sleep. However, it is the automatic response that can become problematic. Equating waking up with a need for caffeine and ignoring your sleep deprivation while upping your coffee intake may not be very wise. It can become a vicious cycle since increasing your intake can (and often does) negatively affect your sleep.

I have been described in some contexts by some folks as a high-energy person. A high dose of caffeine can make me feel anxious and jittery. As a result, I try to limit the amounts of stimulants I expose myself to. I’ve stopped taking cold showers in the morning for this reason. The higher levels of energy are highly pleasant. It is addictive to feel great in the present even if it’s at the expense of the future.

Most of us live high-paced lives. I know many folks who are constantly running on fumes. They rely on the cortisol rush to get through the day. Stressful job, jam-packed calendars, high-intensity exercise, wild parties, and a phone that never stops buzzing. The result; coffee (and/or other stimulants) throughout the day and wine or marijuana at night to calm down.

The bonus benefit of drinking coffee on an ad-hoc basis (when necessary or needed) is that I can reserve the effects of caffeine for when I truly “need” them. I used to tutor for 8 to 12 hours on Sundays while I was completing teacher’s college. Needless to say that those days were cognitively demanding. It didn’t help that I often stayed up late on Saturday nights to socialize. I needed to make sure I was sharp so I often took a caffeine pill (200 mg) and sipped on some lion’s mane mushroom tea. Both supplements are relatively well-known cognitive enhancers. Note that 200 mg of caffeine makes you feel invincible when you don’t have a tolerance. The effects of the lion’s mane effects were not as robust in my experience. As of yet, caffeine is still the best safe nootropic I have experimented with. I am curious to try nicotine. Apparently, chewing nicotine gum can have similar effects as drinking a cup of coffee. Coffee acts as a secret weapon that I use a few times per year.

I drink a pot of tea almost every day that I work from home in the morning. Tea is a great alternative to coffee if you enjoy drinking something warm. You can also get some caffeine by drinking tea. I tend to stick with herbal teas that contain little to no caffeine. My favourites are ginger lemon tea and peppermint tea. Like coffee, one can start to appreciate the cultural history of tea and the practices associated with drinking it.

Don’t take the above as the unquestionable truth. I don’t believe everything I say. I presented a one-sided argument to illustrate my current perspective. I could very well write a similar article titled “Why I Drink Coffee” and lay out a solid rationale for doing so.

A recurring theme that keeps emerging while writing these articles is that our rational minds (the rider) find ways to justify our behaviour that is mostly determined by our emotions (the elephant). I can come up with a million reasons why It is BAD to drink coffee because I happen to not drink it. Carol Tavris proposed a useful analogy on her appearance on the Mindscape podcast. She coined it The Pyramid of Choice in her book Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me). Make sure to watch the video to hear the author’s explanation along with some nice visuals.

The Pyramid of Choice analogy directly applies to why I am not drinking coffee and why I am taking the time to write this article. I happened to not start drinking coffee (for reasons out of my control) when most people my age did. I took a step down the “no coffee” side of the pyramid. I take another step every time someone offers me a coffee and I proudly reply that I do not drink it. It is extremely easy to become radical in your beliefs when your identity (that was initially informed by your behaviour) is at stake. The wisdom lies in being able to see both sides of the argument.

I am not convinced coffee is either good or bad for our health. Most of the large-scale studies are observational in nature and can be taken with a grain of salt given the obvious societal bias that we want coffee to be “proven scientifically” to be healthy. For most folks, coffee in moderation is almost certainly a net positive in their life. That said, many of us are addicted and aren’t being honest with ourselves.

Would you still drink coffee daily if you had no need for it in terms of energy?

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Affiliate Links

  1. Why We Sleep – Matthew Walker
  2. The Wim Hof Method – Wim Hof
  3. Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me) – Carol Tavris & Elliot Aronson
  4. Atomic Habits – By James Clear
  5. The 80/20 Principle – Richard Koch
  6. Caffeine Pills – Ask your doctor
  7. Lion’s Mane Tea – Ask your doctor (very mild effects for me)

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