Drinking coffee is a body practice that
most college kids are very familiar with. Whether it is a grande
salted caramel mocha frappuccino or a quad espresso, there is a
coffee drink for anyone. Why do we love our coffee so much? For a lot
of people it is a caffeine addiction, for others it is that
bitter-sweet taste, for some dorks like me it is the ritual of
grinding, tamping, pulling, steaming, and frothing that makes a great
cappuccino, but for pretty much everyone coffee isn't just a drink,
it is a part of their morning.
Just like what Becker said about
learning to smoke pot, one definitely has to learn how to drink
coffee. Most of us had our first experience with coffee at a young
age taking a big gulp it out of our mom's or dad's cup and for most
of us it was one of the most horrible things we had tasted. For me it
wasn't until a few years ago that I tried again. By that time I had
learned to take little sips at first and appreciate the flavor and I
grew to love it. Now I'm on my way to becoming a full-on coffee nerd.
Hopefully soon I can upgrade from my $5 Goodwill espresso machine.
There is another point I want to make.
We are addicted to coffee, not caffeine, but coffee. Yes, the
caffeine is addictive, but there are tons of ways to get caffeine in
the morning. I've seen caffeinated gum, pills, chocolate, beef jerky,
soap, and even water, but hundreds of millions of people every
morning choose to get their caffeine in the form of coffee. It has
become ingrained in me that coffee is the normal way to start the
day. In the morning I am generally in a haze until I get my coffee
(and that isn't the caffeine either. I usually snap out of it with
the first sip) Those who don't drink coffee seem weird to me. How
does their body know when it's time to start the day? Theirs is an
unintelligible body to me.
I find your points interesting and i agree that our culture has turned to a body practice of coffee addiction and not caffeine addiction. Just the act of drinking coffee has become a new fad, even if you don't like it necessarily. I think that people see it on T.V. and movies and then they also see their parents drink it and correlate it with making them seem older. Because, face it, everyone wants to be seen as mature and wise and all the other attributes we presume comes along with the age scale; coffee is just a new praxis in this modern globe of culture.
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ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more with you about this body practice. It is so interesting how it has become such a staple in modern culture. People, including myself, live for coffee. You made a good point about having to learn how to drink coffee. I definitely haven't always loved coffee. I believe that for most it is an acquired taste. It only tastes good once you reach a certain age because culture has told us when it is time to enjoy coffee. You are also right about how it isn't even the caffeine people crave. Coffee makes or breaks you day. It is a very interesting concept. It has become such a ritual in many peoples lives, making it a very important aspect and practice of our society today.
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