Coffee A Day

As some of you may be aware, I am a die hard coffee addict. I readily and willingly admit to this addiction. I'm not ashamed of it. I know I probably drink more coffee a day than is good for me.

To do a brief recap on where my coffee drinking habits began. I guess, that on the odd occasion my parents used to let me drink decaffeinated coffee when I was in my early teens, as a treat. By the time I was about 14 I was drinking the real stuff on a regular basis. Around the ages of 15 to 16, I was getting headaches due to the amount of coffee I was drinking (I skyrocketed my body's tolerance to paracetamol, so to this day, only ibuprofen works for headaches).

By the time I got to boarding school I was truly addicted, and was drinking between 8 and 12 cups of coffee a day, for the duration of my time in Kenya (I wouldn't do this when I was at home). When I went back to Uganda after year 12, I kept drinking coffee, but it was a lot less than my boarding school high. When I went to Holland to do my DTS* I was still drinking coffee every day, but then again I was living in a country that runs on its caffeine intake. I attempted my only detox when I was in South Africa after my DTS* finished. This ended up not lasting long because I missed my coffee so much (more on that in a later post). I've had some negative comments about my coffee drinking over the years but because I've always had to start my day with a good cup of coffee.

To be fair, drinking coffee quite soon after I wake up is something I still do to this day. Its something that I look forwards to and its one of the many consistent things in my life. I've discovered that if I don't drink it, the chances I get a headache goes through the roof and that's something I don't want to deal with. So a coffee a day keeps the headaches away, or in my case. its many coffees that keep the headaches away, but not nearly as many as when I was in boarding school, I should point out, but still plenty of coffee.

Over the years, I've gone from drinking instant coffee to preferring the real stuff (as in, ground coffee in a cafetière (or french press). I carried a French Press around in my luggage for years. Then, about a year ago, I bought a drip filter (so far the third one has broken). Then on our wedding, Andy and got given both a filter machine and a Nespresso Machine (which now belongs to Andy). We also used our vouchers from Argos to buy a Dolce Gusto Mini- Mine (which is mine). We use all three regularly.

Nowadays, I only drink about three or four cups a day, depending on how tired I am and how much I've slept the night before. I love drinking coffee and its not a chore to drink it. Its a love of mine and I'd happily drink just cup of coffee in the morning and that be the only one I have. I have done this on the odd occasion, when I've had a day off. There have even been a few times when I've just not had a cup of coffee. There were was mainly due to the fact that I kept forgetting to make it. I'd think, yes, I can put milk in my cup, a pod in the machine and press a button, however, even though I dearly love drinking coffee, I have been known to forget to make coffee and drink it. Since I moved to England, my fussiness in regards to the type of coffee I drink has almost disappeared. Its not because I no longer enjoy good coffee, I do. Its down to the fact that I've had my fussiness dealt with. The English aren't like the Dutch in regards to coffee. I've discovered that the Dutch will often only have real coffee at home, whilst with the English, its the other way around. The English are primarily tea drinkers and most will have instant coffee at home. I've learned to drink a lot more tea and as well as instant coffee. Though my taste, and my preference, for the real stuff will never change. 

A little secret for you, about me. If you want to get to know me, the best way to do so is over a cup of coffee.

*Short for Discipleship Training School