If I were ever asked (though I don’t see why I ever would
be) to write a book about coffee, I could. I could write a book about all
aspects of coffee, and not just the product but the people who are involved
with it. I have worked in a locally owned and operated coffee shop, in my
hometown, since I was 15. I know how to do latte art. I’ve taken quizzes about types
of coffee beans. I have seen all types of costumers, all on various stages of their love affair with coffee. Essentially, I know a fairly decent amount about
coffee and I have seen my fair share of
truly addicted coffee drinkers. I’m not talking about the social,
I-need-coffee-in-the-morning drinker; I mean addicted, like the
I-have-a-32oz-coffee-before-I-have-another-24oz-coffee-before-7am drinker. The
type of person you worry about.
That being said, the other day in the HUB, I overheard a boy solemnly
talking about his addiction to alcohol, to which the girl next to him responded, “I’m
addicted to coffee.”
What? Those two are not the same. So
I decided to research why we, as members of a society, love to claim addiction
to coffee.
I found that part of it stems from the fact that coffee is a
reward, a reinforcement, and a ritual, all in one. We become attached to the
feelings that consumption brings and the ritualism of brewing/ordering. Drinkers
of coffee become part of a culture. Society paints coffee drinkers as more
creative, more involved and like many drugs, caffeine relies on social
interaction.
Essentially, it is the concept of coffee that many people
like and thus become addicted to. I am not trying to say that coffee and
caffeine are not drugs. They are. They are addictive stimulants, at that. You
can become addicted to coffee. People do all the time. But psychologically
speaking, in our culture today we love to claim a caffeine addiction, though we
never really, truly have one.
My qualm, I guess, is that I don’t get it. I love the taste
of coffee. I drink it often. But I don’t think I could ever state that I am
addicted to coffee in the same way someone is an alcoholic, or as someone is
addicted to heroin. I think in a bizarre way, we lessen the severity of
addiction each time we claim an addiction to coffee when we never truly have one –
and though psychologically speaking it makes sense, I think we should all just stop
it.
I agree with you on this. I can't start my day without coffee, and probably won' be able to get through an entire day without having more. It is nowhere near as addicting as other things though. I agree with the whole concept of coffee. I love meeting people for coffee, or just relaxing by myself and getting some. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting because I hear people claim the same addiction on a regular basis. Especially on the crew team, in a situation where many of us get very little sleep, we all have our ways of coping. For some, this is coffee. Though to take the issue to a broader level, I think you make a good point when you say that we lessen the severity of addition each time we claim an addiction we don't acutally have, such as that to coffee.
ReplyDeleteI have been drinking coffee since about four years old! My mom always use to give it to me so sweet, it was like the best thing in the world! I only try to have one cup a day, but I'll tell you what, it is awesome!
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