Among other things, I am a LOVER of coffee. Oh the taste; oh that fragrance when it is brewed!

Back in the day, I’ll drink caffeinated coffee with or without cream as long as there was sugar in it. I recall joining the group of people who would take coffee because they wanted to stay awake to read especially during examination times in school. As much as I drank it, it did nothing for me in respect to keeping me awake. I could sleep off almost as soon as I drank it, especially if I was already tired to begin with.

As the years progressed, I was introduced to decaffeinated coffee. Guess that was supposed to be a healthier version – something with the exact same taste or better but void of the addictive component. It was an easy shift. However, my desire to drink coffee and the frequency of taking it did not reduce no matter how hard I wanted to give it up. It looks like there exist many like me.

The last decade has seen a number of campaigns encouraging folks to drink healthy coffee options. So many organizations involved in multi-level marketing who sell natural products have their own unique variant of healthy coffee. Whether it’s anti-oxidation or something to do with getting rid of free radicals, they have sold a narrative that focuses on the need for healthy living.

Over the past five years, conservatively speaking, I must have tried at least ten different brands of coffee. Just yesterday, my husband again, expressed his dissatisfaction at the manner in which I took coffee. I could almost drink as much coffee as I would water. My excuse was simple: This coffee is healthy! “Even too much of a good thing is bad”, he exclaimed, as he brought me a glass of water to drink. Ok so that is one of many quotes that I do not totally agree with, but I got the gist of what he was trying to say. I got the loving mushy feeling that accompanies the thought of someone genuinely caring for you and interested in your wellbeing and decided to add ‘reducing coffee’ to my list of things to be more intentional about.