01-07-2019::decaffeinated                             .moji
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   This might not seem like something to write home about/to phlog
   about, but hey it's actually been kinda difficult to kick this
   habit/addiction/routine/joy with caffeine - in particular coffee.

   When I think about it, I don't think there's a working day gone by
   in the last 8-years in which I didn't have at least one cup of
   coffee - before today. I've been wanting to, not exactly 'quit',
   but cut down significantly and, if possible, quit for an extended
   period of time - like a few months or so. Back in 2013, I kicked
   caffeine for about 2 months while I was in Peru, of all places -
   and it had a marked effect on my quality of sleep, lessening
   levels of anxeity, and a few other health/wellbeing benefits I noticed.

   I love a good cup of coffee, don't get me wrong. For the past few
   years I've been hand-grinding my beans daily, before brewing in an
   aeropress, or sometimes a moka pot. I get my beans from either
   Monmouth Coffee in London's Borough Market, or 'Algerian Coffee
   Stores' in Soho. The latter can be a bit risky though - they import
   a lot of delicious and well-sourced blends, but sometimes I think
   the beans may be left sitting out a bit too long. At Monmouth, as
   there's such a high rate of sales, you're guaranteed something
   really fresh, and they take pains to source from some of the most
   careful growers (n.b. that said, my fav go-to is Jamaican blue
   mountain beans, but their price is just off the chart outside of
   Jamaica).

   Why 'quit'? I became too reliant. In particular for the working
   day. And my sleep has just become so terrible over the past couple
   of years, with many nights not sleeping until just a couple of
   hours before I need to get up, very much largely a result of my
   caffeine consumption, some nights of no sleep at all - and then
   that magical answer "ah, I need coffee to get through the day" -
   and so the cycle continues. Reducing anxiety is a motivational
   factor also, but so are a few other factors that I get may be a bit
   particular to me and not everyone I know into coffee seems to get
   this quite as bad: irritability, difficulties focusing (my mind),
   etc. 

   Anyhoo, I had a good opportunity to quit this weekend as there were
   a couple of days of work either side of the weekend where none of
   my bosses were going to be in, so I was more okay with the idea of
   going through a couple of rough days after quitting with no
   supervisor over my shoulder. Sure enough, I had a headache on and off
   for the best part of 3-days since the last cup of coffee I had, and
   the ghost of that headache is still lingering, waiting to be
   dispelled altogether. The second day, in particular, was tough as I
   could just feel my body 'withdrawing' from something it was so used
   to. And now, it's not exactly blissful, but definitely I feel more
   relaxed, more naturally chilled out, less anxious, less wired like
   some jagged irritable electricity running through my veins.

   My plan is to just see how far I can go, without being too hard on
   myself if I slip up. Ultimately I don't want to quit coffee
   entirely, but I'd rather approach it as more like an occasional
   delicacy, less an everyday necessity but maybe more an 'every other
   Friday' kinda treat, so I don't fall back into an addictive
   routine, can hopefully reap the benefits of lower consumption, but
   still have a nice cup every now and then.

   -moji