I mentioned in the first leftover that I was reducing my coffee consumption in 2019. This struck some readers as odd so I thought I would quickly outline my thinking.
First, I realized around the start of the fall that drinking two to three cups of coffee each morning was the primary reason I’d stopped drinking tea. In general, I would prefer to drink more tea than coffee so I decided to slowly scale the coffee back and replace the caffeine content with an equivalent amount of tea. After a couple of months, I seemed to have adjusted and I was able to scale back on the tea. These days, I drink a cup of coffee and one or two cups of tea per day. This balance isn’t set in stone, but it’ll do for the short term.
Second, I learned that for most people a caffeine boost around three to four hours after waking is the best way to reach peak performance. I wanted to feel how this worked for me so I gave up the first cup of coffee I’d always drink right after waking up. So far, my experience backs up the science so I think I’ll stick with this coffee schedule on workdays (I’m still having my coffee early when I’m at home for the day).
Finally and perhaps most importantly for the long term, I wanted to have the option of quitting entirely if I decided coffee was doing more harm than good. My main concern at the moment is my digestion and I understand that coffee is not popular due to its anti-digestive qualities. I thought getting down to one cup would make a possible abandonment easier in the future.
Of course, I should note that I have no interest in making this permanent change – I like a good cup of coffee and would hate to give it up. But like most things, one cup is probably more than enough.
