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coffee withdrawl!

BeTheChangeBeTheChange Raw Newbie

OK, so I work at a coffee shop every morning, and love it! I switch between the register and bar, and when I’m playing my barista role, it is so hard not to drink coffee. I am truly not adddicted because I always limit my consumption and hate the effects of caffeine, but I LOVE the taste of it! And also, it is near impossible to be at the bar and not taste things intermittantly so that I know I am making things properly! I love my job and love making people happy with things that taste good (even though sometimes it’s more like drug-dealing than feeding…). Certain customers even depend on me to tell them my personal opinion of what’s good that day, what they should order, etc. Lately I have been keeping a green drink powder there so that it’s the first thing I have in the morning, which makes my want for coffee a little less, but as soon as I get in the swing of things of making drinks and the smells! The tastes! The sensory overload! What do I do????? Again, this is not a caffeine withdrawl question, but more of an internal dilemma… Has anyone ever had a similar experience? Any advice would be great.

Having been vegan for years before I got the job there, it was not hard at all to make drinks with milk and not tasting it, because I could substitute with soy or just have someone else tell me their trusted opinion of how to make the drink. Refusing to put milk in my body was just so simple…will this be the case with coffee eventually? THEN what do I do? :( These sips of coffee throughout my mornings are literally the one thing holding me back from 100% raw right now!

P.S. I do not work at Starfucks or anything like that! It’s a local, REAL coffeehouse where people come for the social atmosphere and quality food and drink :)

Comments

  • If you don’t want to drink coffee, why not tea? Herbal, if you’re avoiding caffeine. If you want to be really strict about your “rawness” you could make tea with warm water.

  • I’m sure that coffee will eventually lose it’s appeal. It did for me. I do understand the social side of it though. Everyone wants to invite you out for coffee, or over for coffee or come to your house for coffee – ugh!!! I keep a jar of instant in my cupboard for visitors and just drink water or sometimes an herbal tea when I go out. I really don’t miss it anymore.

    When it’s right for you – it will be easy. Good luck.

  • bittbitt Raw Newbie

    I know what you mean…coffee is so yummy tasting. I live in seattle although I am not a barista I can imagine how hard that would be. I detoxed off coffee a few months ago and it took me about 2 weeks of awful physical symptoms, headaches, fatigue, etc.

    Once I was detoxed though I did not have the craving for it. I mean, it tastes and smells good but carrot juice is oh so much better.

    I think if you have a few days in a row off to get off of it, then go back and drink some strong tea or decaf coffee for awhile. See how that goes. It was harder for me to get off coffee than cooked food. It’s a drug for sure.

  • amysueamysue Raw Newbie

    BeTheChange – I love it too! I don’t think I could work in a coffee shop without drinking at least a little, but what strikes me is the joy it brings you – your job, the whole sensory experience, it sounds wonderful! Joy is such a big part of health and it doesn’t sound like you’re a junky, but right now it’s a part of your life. I also have a very satisfying relationship with my coffee – I have one cup a week, my husband makes it for me on Saturday mornings – the real stuff with almond milk, in bed, and I enjoy every little sip, and I don’t get out of bed until it’s gone. In the past when I drank it it was the daily cup out of addiction, drinking it on the go and I didn’t enjoy it, I depended on it. I get so excited for my Saturday mornings with my coffee friend, it’s one of my favorite parts of the week. Sorry if that doesn’t solve your 100% raw problem, I’m not 100% either but I am healthy and happy.

  • BeTheChangeBeTheChange Raw Newbie

    Thanks everyone! You all have basically brought up a great point about joy in moderation. After writing this post earlier, while I was at work today I had the equivalent of about 4 oz of coffee drinks. I poured a bit of what I was making into a little espresso shotglass and then tasted it, making sure to keep proportions the same for making the drinks in the real cup, and it seemed to work great! And Amysue’s post makes me wonder: are there any other things that you all love too much to give up entirely because of social aspects/tradition? I feel like we all have SOMEthing…?

  • BeTheChangeBeTheChange Raw Newbie

    And yes, coffee is definately harder to get off of than nonraw food. It’s so crazy!

  • BeTheChangeBeTheChange Raw Newbie

    oh, and I will try harder on the tea thing, too

  • TomsMomTomsMom Raw Newbie

    I’m still laughing at what you called Starbucks; I can’t stop:-D

  • RawKidChefRawKidChef Raw Newbie

    I know Alix haha! Fourbucks is another good one too.

  • TomsMomTomsMom Raw Newbie

    lol, RawKidChef!

  • amysueamysue Raw Newbie

    I have to admit, we just returned from Puerto Rico and we saw a Ben and Jerry’s in San Juan. I’m a Vermonter, where it all started, and it drew us in like a magnet. I hadn’t had ice cream in about a year and it was big in our life – we served Chubby Hubby cones at our wedding instead of cake. I had a lemon meringue pie ice cream cone in a freshly made warm waffle cone. It was a once in a lifetime ice cream cone – PERFECT! So worth the cheating.

  • rawmamarawmama Raw Newbie

    Fourbucks! LOL!

    I know that coffee is such a struggle :( David Wolfe talks about the Ramone nut tasting like cooked coffee, but I cannot find it anywhere. Does anybody know where to get it?

    Maybe have a huge smoothie with cacao in it, some sort of chocolaty, creamy smoothie, to have in a beautiful big travel mug, sitting within clear view of your eyeballs when you are working??? :) Also, maybe put a dab of peppermint under your nose so you don’t really notice the smell of coffee as much?

    I think that it was George Malkmus, but not 100% sure, who said that it takes 8 glasses of water to wash out 1 cup of coffee from your body (the acidity of it)? Yikes, now if cancer survives in an acidic environment…what the heck are we doing to ourselves? :(

  • greeniegreenie Raw Newbie

    Two things help me stay off coffee:

    1) Chocolatey creamy smoothies that rawmama mentions. This works for the taste and the caffeine hit; and

    2) Green smoothies. These give me enough energy that I don’t crave the jolt of caffeine.

    By the way, I haven’t been very successful lately either on staying off coffee or being raw. :-((.

  • greeniegreenie Raw Newbie

    Two things help me stay off coffee:

    1) Chocolatey creamy smoothies that rawmama mentions. This works for the taste and the caffeine hit; and

    2) Green smoothies. These give me enough energy that I don’t crave the jolt of caffeine.

    By the way, I haven’t been very successful lately either on staying off coffee or being raw. :-((.

  • nycgrrlnycgrrl Raw Newbie

    i was a 4-5 cups a day person and now am down to 1/2 cup to 1 cup. I haven’t tried to quit, but my desire has waned, especially since i’ve incorporated green drinks in the morning. i seem to not really WANT coffee, which is totally weird since I’ve been addicted for over 15 years and have tried to quit many times.

    Green smoothies REALLY help.

  • BeTheChangeBeTheChange Raw Newbie

    Hey everyone, so I just came back from work, and maybe it’s partly a mental thing as well as a physical one, but I had a green smoothie first thing (before I had been having a green drink about halfway through the morning, ususally after a few sips of coffee) and my desire for it went wayyy down. I looked at the shot that was in my espresso mug, looked at it, kept loking at it, noticed the acid sitting on top, and didn’t take a sip. Later, I had to to make sure it was being brewed right, and while I enjoyed it, I didn’t really want any more. I guess the secret really is green drinks! And smelling it still gives me the same high as drinking it, interestingly enough…I had a cup last night while out with friends, and I couldn’t take more than one sip. wierd. I guess this will be a natural but slow and steady process… The body is just CRAZY, isn’t it?

    Odd, I’ve also foind that the warmer it gets outside (we had a brutal winter this year) the less I want it. Like, the more I’m outside in the sunshine, the more I want fresh foods instead of coffee, like my green drink….basically I just need to move to the tropics :) :) :)

  • BeTheChangeBeTheChange Raw Newbie

    rawkidchef—how old are you, out of curiosity? YOu keep saying you’re “just a kid”, but you write with a very mature voice.

  • I can’t get away from coffee/espresso either but my tea intake has gone up and the rest dropping bit by bit I’m not too considered with giving up coffee for this but my doc says I need caffeine detox

  • KristensRawKristensRaw Raw Newbie

    Hi! Here are a few tips for helping you get off caffeine! I can totally relate…Been there, done that! When it comes to caffeine. I can definitely write on the subject.

    Hope some (or all of these) help :) CHEERS!!!

  • BeTheChangeBeTheChange Raw Newbie

    So I’ve been limiting myself to just one 4 oz serving a day, combined with a daily green drink, and it is working miracles!!! I have everyone who replied to my woes at the beginning of this posting to thank, and today, I had only a sip or two of coffee, and I didn’t even want it…I WANTED to want it, if that makes sense, but as soon as I took a sip, my whole body went “ewwwwww” and I kind of realized I’m starting to see the light…

  • BeTheChangeBeTheChange Raw Newbie

    I’ve done it! I’ve gone a whole week without coffee! And I realized that I am good enough in my barista skills that I do fine without tasting things, and can actually judge things by smell. My skin is clearer, my eyes brighter, and my energy even higher than before. Woooooohoooooooooo!

    Plus, now that I’ve written this, I have to stay committed!

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    bethechange – fabulous! i’m so glad you’re doing well. isn’t it surprising that your energy is better off caffeine? mine is! you asked what’s hard to give up… beer. i still drink a couple glasses of wine every week, but i don’t drink beer – for now, i’m sure i’ll have some on days i can’t resist. i really like that tasty beverage!

  • I know, there are days when the coffee is my treat. I switched to one cup in the morning, then it got to be like, well, it’s not even that good, so I drank half the cup and now, it’s only a coffee morning when my hubby and I take a special morning out and sit down together and dreamily look one another in each exhausted eye thank god we are alone for a few moments….

  • grapefruit.fanaticgrapefruit.fanatic Raw Newbie

    It helps to know that so many people have had the same problem that I have had!! Giving up coffee has been WAY harder than giving up cooked food for me.

    I just crave the taste; I know that my body doesn't need the caffeine. It has helped me to have NO coffee in the house. If I want it that bad, I have to walk somewhere and buy it (only decaf), which has definitely cut down my consumption quite a bit (If I worked in a coffee shop, I don't know what on earth I'd do!!)

    Thanks for all of the ideas, and health and happiness to everyone!

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