Caffeine & Morning Rituals

Thanks to the invention of K-cups and instant coffee, making a cup of coffee can take less than a minute. So why do I know so many people who choose this super confusing, complicated, intense process of making their coffee every morning?

When I asked my friend Taylor my capstone question, the thing that first came to her mind was pour-over coffee. I don’t even totally know what that means, except that she does this fancy thing when making her coffee every morning. It’s not cheaper than K-cups… so why does she choose to make her coffee so complicated?

Her answer is that she enjoys the morning ritual… it’s a slow way to start her day. She also noted that the quality of the coffee is just way better than instant coffee, which she would know because she’s a coffee barista. Furthermore, she said that she appreciated how it helped her work on patience.

Similarly, my friend Morgan answered with her own morning drink ritual, but instead of coffee, its matcha. She uses a fancy whisk and spends time making it the “long way” – which she says she chooses to do because it gets her excited about the day and allows her to use her hands. For Morgan, the satisfaction from the tactile experience of making her matcha in the morning is well worth the time and equipment investment.

While I’m not a consistent coffee or matcha drinker, and I don’t really want to be one, the appeal of a slow morning ritual makes sense to me. I do love drinking tea in the evening, and I agree it definitely works your patience muscle as you wait for the water to boil… then for it to steep… then for it to cool… it takes a bit! But when I use loose-leaf tea vs tea bags… there’s so much more satisfaction when drinking my tea after waiting, and it tastes so much richer!

In conclusion, as I graduate college and move into this next season of life, I’d love to start a slow morning routine and rhythm that helps me ease into the day… instead of my current ritual of rushing around frantically. I’d like to be more intentional about how I spend my mornings and maybe go to bed earlier so I can wake up earlier and have the time to enjoy the morning… whether it’s making breakfast, brewing my tea, going on a walk, etc.

I’d be interested if this is the norm for most people who are coffee drinkers, or the exception. I’ll have to keep asking!