It's Over

It's over. I'm done. I've had enough.

And so today starts my first day of not drinking coffee (gasp!). I know it sounds ludicrous. I love coffee. I remember the first buzzes of caffine and freedom I felt after I got my first car. I'd drive to the bagel shop, filling my 36oz. Dunkin Donuts coffee mug before school. Oh, how cool I felt arriving in my own car with my own coffee, savoring the warmth through first period. I worked in a coffee shop at the time and would love filling the big jars full of beans: Sumatra, French Roast, Our Blend. The aroma of beans, the sound of espresso grinding, the foamy milk frothily enveloping my angst-ridden lips--I clung to it.

I was lucky that my college roommate had the same love affair. I used my pull at the coffee shop before I left and brought with me a 25 pound bag of beans--a necessity no college student should be without. We'd wake up drowsily, each drain half the pot into our gigantic mugs, and slowly shuffle out to class in our pajamas. That coffee cured me of many hangovers, brought out my best and brightest for tests and presentations, and more than once helped me burn the midnight oil cramming for exams.

For graduation, my ex-boyfriend's parents gave me a grind-and-brew. I hit the jackpot. The automatic grind-and-brew's timer saved my life. I was commuting to Boston from the middle of MA, waking up at ungodly hours, spending even more ungodly hours on the commuter rail. But, those fresh, warm cups of Rainforest Nut kept me company, kept my spirits lifted, kept me awake (and therefore safe from pick-pockets and the like).

And then, the culmination of my coffee drinking experiences came. At my new job in NH, I discovered the wonder and delight of the one-cup maker. Oh, the choices available at my little fingertips each morning. How glorious to make one fresh cup of with the flavor and intensity I craved. It's at this height of enjoyment that I think I must let her go. I'm going to try tea. I like tea, I really do. I think I can get used to tea. People say tea drinkers have better skin, better bowels, less migraines. I promise to revist coffee every once in a while, but for now it's goodbye.