Venturing Out Into A Caffeine-Free Land

I was terrified of this day. Really, honestly terrified. I wondered what I would do with myself, how I would greet the day. But, in doing something dumb, I proved to be quite clever.

You see, one of my coworkers was also doing an alcohol free January. When we finished work (with 5 minutes until February 1st, so sue me people!), we decided to celebrate a month of sobriety...with a beer. Then we went to a friend's house and got totally, utterly, wasted.

When the smoke cleared and I awoke the next morning, mouth full of cotton, head throbbing, I was in no condition to think of coffee or anything else. I was far too focussed on merely existing. Thus my unintended brilliance: I was so out of it from my hangover I didn't ever feel the need for a coffee! It was impossible to separate my physical fatigue, the hangover, and my coffee cravings from one another, so I couldn't discern if that tired feeling I had was due to actual sleepiness or caffeine withdrawal. I'm overreacting, I know.

(As an aside, at brunch I had a cookie for the first time in a month. It tasted absolutely fabulous, but I legitimately had trouble eating it. After only a couple of bites, I was completely overwhelmed by the incredible sweetness of it. My girlfriend had a bite and concluded it was a tiny bit sweet, but no overly so. I had lost my tolerance for sugar! I'll bet it comes back soon though).

As I write this, it is the evening of the second, and everything preceding this sentence happened yesterday. Today, I felt a definite prolonged fatigue that cried out to be filled by a coffee or two. Luckily, I had anticipated this need, and purchased some coffee substitute. At your local health food store, you can purchase a mixture of chicory and rye, which is sold in what looks like an instant coffee jar that has noticeably larger grinds. I think they look like bran nibs. This mixture is made without coffee beans or tea leaves and thus has no caffeine!

But how does it taste? Well, in a word: satisfactory. The taste is like instant coffee but not quite the same. It's as though an alien or something were trying to recreate the recipe of a cup of coffee from someone's description. Close, but not close enough. Plus, there's no buzz, which is kind of the main point of coffee.

That said, you drink it warm, and can add milk to lighten it. And since it's just a warm drink, I can drink it anytime day or night! It definitely takes some getting used to, but I have had two cups already today and I feel I can manage if I can adjust (I hope).