Addicted to Caffeine

My name is David and I am addicted to caffeine.  
For almost three months I was caffeine free as detailed in — Cutting Caffeine and Going Grains — but that is no more.  I am weak for the bean.  I like the kick in the head.  I appreciate the aroma of roasted goodness.  Yesterday, I bought the Krups KM7000 Grind-and-Brew as my white flag of defeat.  I had no idea a burr grinder could bring me so much immediate pleasure.

My caffeine-free life started off a delight.  I was drinking my Pero grain drink and feeling fine. 

Then, against my will — and with my unwitting knowledge — I was pulled back inside caffeine’s jittery glory.

It started with Ito En’s fantastic Oi Ocha green tea.  I did some research on green tea and I discovered that its caffeine content was “negligible” and that having an Ito En or two wouldn’t be a problem for my caffeine-free living.

Boy, was I wrong!

Oi Ocha is irresistible. 

It is cool and delicious and it makes you immediately feel good.  Was it the caffeine in the green tea that made me feel better?  Or was it the natural antioxidant catetchin that gave me such a warm glow?

As I check the Ito En website right now, I see this is now listed for Oi Ocha — the red lettering is a direct copy from the website:

Caffeine Content: Approximately 60 mgs per 16.9 fl oz bottle.

I don’t remember reading about the Oi Ocha caffeine content when I didn’t check the website before I started drinking the green tea.

Hmm… I realize now that’s sort of a lot of caffeine when you’re living “caffeine-free” while drinking six bottles of the irresistible Oi Ocha a day for the past two weeks.

I discovered my re-addiction to caffeine when I ran out of Oi Ocha and started getting that terrible, awful, base-of-the-skull headache that always accompanies classic caffeine withdrawal — except I didn’t think I was going into withdrawal again.  I just thought I was dealing with a stress headache because I was out of Oi Ocha.

A week later, I was back to my normal caffeine-free life and it was then I realized I had been re-addicted to caffeine by my careless, but always loving, swallowing of Oi Ocha all day long.

Two days after feeling better, and calmer, and less irritated, I realized it was impossible for me to live a caffeine-free life because I loved Oi Ocha too much and I liked getting 20 things done in a day instead of five — even though I enjoyed the extra napping and reduced heartbeat no caffeine provided. 

It was then I ordered my new Krups KM7000 Grind-and-Brew and put in an order with my beans dealer:  “A couple of five-pound bags of Jeremiah’s Organic 100% Arabica Ethiopian, please!”

Here I am — pathetic and duplicitous and caffeine re-addicted again in less than 24 hours — don’t cry for me Ito En — and all the while feeling snappy happy and in love with life once again.  

Krups brews an amazing cup of coffee and Jeremiah’s is even better than I remember.