Coffee: How I Kicked The Caffeine Habit
Many people enjoy their morning cup of joe. But I truly have a relationship with my coffee. I’ve created a full-on ritual in the morning and afternoon around my coffee time. So, when I started having some heartburn issues (more on that topic on another blog!), I knew I had to cut down or even...yikes… stop drinking coffee for awhile. I made several attempts to go cold turkey and then tried weaning off, all to no avail. Yes, I missed the coffee itself, but I also missed the warmth of my mug, the slowing down to enjoy my beverage, and of course I liked the little pep in my step that soon followed.
Soon, after some research, I discovered a similar tasting, caffeine-free alternative: Chicory root tea. Now, I know what you might be thinking. I saw the word tea and thought “no way”. No offense to tea, I love it too and it has SO many benefits. But there is something about the flavor and the body of coffee that keeps it in a class of its own.
The directions on the first bag of my chicory root tea seemed to be talking to me. There was a special section that read something to the effect of “If you are trying to wean off from coffee do the following”. It actually suggested using half coffee, half tea for the first two weeks to adjust and then wean off the coffee from there.
To my happy surprise, it tasted great! I quickly switched to chicory root tea for my afternoon cup and found that I still felt the same pick me up just from sitting down and cradling my warm mug and taking a time out.
I’m a creature of habit and though I have good intentions, I find it hard to break long standing ones, but this time I think I’ll stick to it. Now I still enjoy a lovely cup of coffee every now and then with a friend or colleague, but my stomach and I are ok with that.