Do you personally drink coffee and why/why not?

[ertyu]

i claim i can taste the difference and it's not the same. i drink my coffee black.

[Vaikeasti]

I like drinking tea when I can enjoy it in peace. So I rarely drink it.
I think the expectation that "Everyone drinks coffee" rubbed me the wrong way as a kid. So I never learned to like it.

Loosely related: I think you can see the quality of a restaurant by the way they serve their tea. Even fast food joints have a coffee pot, but they serve hot water and tea bags. Some restaurants have a coffee pot with tea in it. Good restaurants have a teapot or make the tea specifically for you.

[ertyu]

comparatively few % of peoples' coffee strategy so far seems to be explicitly informed by ERE. i find this interesting.

@vaikeasti, that was some quality dark humor there. strength.

[Alphaville]

comparatively few % of peoples' coffee strategy so far seems to be explicitly informed by ERE. i find this interesting.

i have a friend who roasts his own but it’s a PITA

the ERE way in my area would be toskip coffee and go out on hikes and harvest “mormon tea,” which supposedly contains ephedra, and let that rip through your CNS.

[Kriegsspiel]

I just drink instant coffee from Aldi, because I'm a psychopath.

[C40]

I got into coffee a few years ago and I've enjoyed it a lot.

The two main things I enjoy about it are:
1 - Exploration of the different tastes and attributes of coffee. The range of differences in taste and other things that we can get out of beans of (basically) one plant type is pretty incredible.
2 - Enjoying the process, especially as it relate to the flavor and other attributes. There are many many inputs into how the coffee comes out (plant type, soil, altitude, weather, fertilizers, harvest timing, processing method, various roasting details, days since roast, blending, grinding, brewing and extraction methods, and numerous others). So I've experimented a lot with bean sources (different countries and farms, different processing methods, some decafs (which have extra processing steps), roasting methods, and espresso extraction details.

It has been quite fun for me to explore the different aspects and tastes you can get from coffee, and to learn how to control those. It is one thing in my life that I've now went a ways up the scale of preference adaptation, and I'm pretty picky now and search out 'good' coffee. I wont ever drink crappy coffee just because I want coffee or want caffeine.

Personally I'd prefer it if all coffee had very little or no caffeine. I get physical caffeine addiction fairly easily (or, I *do* something about it sooner than others), and I cycle off caffeine for about 1 week per month, though not always in a row. There are very good decaf coffees. There is impact from the process of decaffeinating - both on taste and on how it needs to be roasted.

As for relation to ERE, it is for the most part just a consumption hobby. It's all money out, unless one gets into selling the coffee. There was some discussion, perhaps in my journal or a thread I recently started about income sources from 'non jobs' - one forum member roasts coffee on a pretty large scale to sell it. For most of us - relating to consumption - if we're going to be drinking the coffee, It can help keep spending lower.

Doing it at home can be far less expensive than getting it from coffee shops. I bought equipment to be able to make very good coffee. The most expensive part is a grinder. Roasting *can* be quite complicated and expensive, but if you're interested in it and enjoy it, it can be done easily and for nearly no cost (So far, I've roasted using a specific type of pan and doing it entirely by hand. My results are not completely precise and repeatable, but I can still get really good results).

It can also help with socialising. When I lived in Tucson, I'd have friends and dates come over for coffee. When I'm more settled down, one thing I expect to do is have a regular time one day per week for friends to come over, have coffee, and hang out. Or, possibly even set up something like a hobby coffee shop at home and charge. When I already have all the equipment, my incremental cost of making someone coffee is quite low. It also makes for good dates, and IMO, is much more impressive than inviting someone over and opening a bottle of wine. Particularly so for dates who are into coffee - so if they know that I've roasted it myself, and they can watch me make them a nice latte or whatever espresso drink at home, they are impressed and like it. Because normally espresso drinks are only available at coffee shops.

By the way, if anyone has other ways of getting to the state of flow I would very much appreciate sharing, I am trying to have a collection of these.

Among the chemical options:

Psilocybin is far superior to caffeine. If you have a safe source, I recommend highly that you try. Experiment with dosage ranging from levels of "micro" up through "heroic". For many years I never wanted to try psychedelics because I thought they would mean 'losing control' of my mind or thoughts. But even with pretty heavy doses, I didn't ever feel any loss of control of my mind/thoughts.

Some folks say that marijuana helps them a lot with flow in things like artistic output and thinking. I never felt that myself.. it just makes me feel dumb.

[BookLoverL]

On the socialising aspect: here in the UK the main drink people expect to be offered is tea rather than coffee. I don't drink proper tea either, I only sometimes drink fruit tea, but I do keep a packet of teabags in my house so I can offer said tea to any visitors I might have. Sometimes while they are drinking the tea I have one of the fruit teas, and sometimes not. Since only the visitors are drinking it, it's not a big expense.

[BWND]

This year I started getting nice freshly roasted beans delivered and bought a hand grinder. I measure and grind 15g of beans just before brewing, which is done in an aeropress. All in all, it's a really great coffee experience and I'd echo CS' comments - for me it is the highlight of the morning!

I have been much more disciplined about it since the turn of the year, trying to stick with two cups, finishing up around lunch at the latest. I bought some decaf beans for when I'm really desperate later on. I didn't have any problems sleeping, but my job has been stressful for a while and I think knocking back on the caffeine has helped ease that creeping sense of doom I was getting when emails came in.

I spend about €30 every 5 weeks roughly, so it's about €6 a week habit. I rarely buy coffee out.

I really enjoy the taste of it, but interestingly this thread had me thinking:

If you had the choice now to swallow a (decaffeinated??) pill and erase the fondness for coffee, would you take it?

My answer wasn't immediately "no way" - so does that mean I don't really like coffee? Subconsciously do I think it is a negative thing?

[Freedom_2018]

No coffee, thank you.

Relaxants better for me than stimulants.

Civilized people drink tea

Speaking of tea, Lipton teabags are absolute crap. Hard to find goodbtea in the US. Barry's and Builders Tea if I can find them. Failing which PG Tips (UK version...the US version has less tea leaf per bag and I also suspect more tea dust than leaves) or Yorkshire Tea.

Mostly try to drink decaffeinated though as regular caffeine use hampers my well being.

I also find it amusing that much of the western world relies on either leaves or berries from a tropical plant to wake up and get the day going. Shouldn't this be a National Security issue? Ha ha.

[Alphaville]

Hard to find goodbtea in the US

allow me to respectfully call bullshit on that

this is my local provider:

https://www.nmteaco.com/

yes, they ship free

[Freedom_2018]

allow me to respectfully call bullshit on that

this is my local provider:

https://www.nmteaco.com/

yes, they ship free

Ok...I am visiting Santa Fe right now so probably can check them out while here. Though my experience has been that in the US you can find 72 billion varieties of exotic tea and all of them are of the limp dick variety... apparently any concoction of dried stuff is a tea.

I grew up in India and the only tea I am interested in is the one that gets the job done (basically some mix of robust bodied Assam tea and possibly some Darjeeling tea for aroma). Due to my nomadic lifestyle I prefer product that is readily available in tea bags most places in the country....otherwise Amazon it is.

[Alphaville]

Ok...I am visiting Santa Fe right now [...{ the limp dick variety... [...] Assam tea and possibly some Darjeeling tea for aroma). [...] in tea bags

nmteaco carries an assam that will curdle your tongue. i think it’s one of their cheapest actually. they also sell tea bags for you to fill.

for hard dicks... i don’t know if craigslist does that anymore. didn’t they ban those ads?

ps-i hope you didn’t come here from arizona bringing GERMS. are you quarantining 14 days?

[C40]

Civilized people drink tea

Speaking of tea, Lipton teabags are absolute crap. Hard to find good tea in the US. Barry's and Builders Tea if I can find them. Failing which PG Tips (UK version...the US version has less tea leaf per bag and I also suspect more tea dust than leaves) or Yorkshire Tea.

Mostly try to drink decaffeinated though as regular caffeine use hampers my well being.

ahh, mate, the civilized way to drink tea is like the Chinese or Japanese tea ceremonies. Not like in the UK where they put paper bags and strings in their tea. Who wants *paper* and *string* in tea? (let alone all those crap leaves and dust) And then milk and sugar?

For good tea, the place to get it is online. There are some decent stores here and there in the US where you can buy bulk tea, and where you can (and should!) try it out at the store before buying any. But those are overpriced, sometimes lower quality, and some are full of tea ruined by perfumes, with usually only 20% of their options being 'real' tea. So - check out places like teavivre.com - I think they have a good balance of quality and price. Get yourself a gaiwan, a little pot, or full tea set. You can buy a good gaiwan for ~$10, and probably nice teapots for $20. And try out some 'real' tea made of good/entire leaves. Not the discard scraps that go into bags.

IDK about decaffeinated tea, I haven't gotten into that. But there is a pretty wide world of tea-like products that you steep in water like tea (and that people do call 'tea'). Things like rooibos, mint and other types of leaves, various flowers, and also grains like roasted corn, rice, barley, etc. I was getting into the grain types later on in my tea when I wanted decaf. I also liked mint a lot (and mint is super cheap)

[Freedom_2018]

I guess to me tea is something that princes and paupers alike can drink and bond over. Not something to be fetishised (as it mostly seems to be in the US from my observation...same goes for wine). Drinking tea is never about the tea but rather taking a break for conversation and beholding the simpler pleasures of life.

[C40]

I think beer is currently the popular drink that people in the U.S. are getting really into the flavor, process, home-brewing, etc. Coffee is still pretty widely popular that way.

Tea is rarely fetishized in the US. Being really into it is an uncommon niche hobby. This is evidenced by that if you get just a couple wheaton levels from normal, you'd be ordering it online. Most people in the US are drinking really poor tea, like Lipton bags, or leaves with artificial flavors added because what people actually want to drink is hot cool-aid or just hot water that doesn't taste like plain water.

[Freedom_2018]

@c40 - What I mean is that while it is hard to get decent robust tea in a store, it is all too easy to find tens of types of tea in the tea aisle, each sounding more exotic than the other.

Analogy would be like being unable to find a hearty coffee roast/blend but lots of coffee type drinks.

[Freedom_2018]

nmteaco carries an assam that will curdle your tongue. i think it’s one of their cheapest actually. they also sell tea bags for you to fill.

for hard dicks... i don’t know if craigslist does that anymore. didn’t they ban those ads?

ps-i hope you didn’t come here from arizona bringing GERMS. are you quarantining 14 days?

- I don't want to curdle my tongue....a robust brew will be just fine.

- I wouldn't know about those Craigslist searches, but will defer to your deep and updated knowledge/experience on the subject.

- I have been here longer than the quarantine period and have enjoyed being subject to Governor Michelle Lujan Griswold's directive of wearing a mask when hiking in the middle of the desert.

But I do keep my car securely locked in the Auto theft, under insured and DUI capital of the US with some of the highest auto insurance rates in the nation. But hey I can always get the right answer to red, green or Christmas

[Alphaville]

- I don't want to curdle my tongue....a robust brew will be just fine.

yah they have all kinds of black teas, check them out. assam, kenya, ceylon, china...supplies vary.

eta: here https://www.nmteaco.com/PureBlackTea.html

(the cheap assam is good with lots of milk)

- I wouldn't know about those Craigslist searches, but will defer to your deep and updated knowledge/experience on the subject.

idk, it was you who complained about “limp dicks” ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

- I have been here longer than the quarantine period and have enjoyed being subject to Governor Michelle Lujan Griswold's directive of wearing a mask when hiking in the middle of the desert.

good (but it’s grisham), keep that mask on. i remember you were traveling in the middle of arizona’s mess, and now the red states are paying. arizonans and texans have been bringing the plague here lately.

But I do keep my car securely locked in the Auto theft, under insured and DUI capital of the US with some of the highest auto insurance rates in the nation. But hey I can always get the right answer to red, green or Christmas

if you wanna make your premiums count, you should really try las cruces.

(no, really, avoid that place)

[tonyedgecombe]

IDK about decaffeinated tea

I've been drinking Aldi decaf tea recently. It doesn't really taste of much at all and looks like dirty dish water but it does allow me to drink it all day without upsetting my digestive system.

[EricaR]

I like coffee aroma and love to drink. But, I feel very uncomfortable after drinking a coffee. I feel burning sensation in my stomach after drinking.. I'm really sad about my condition.. So, tea is my option