It was Y2K in Vietnam. I had my first sip. It was bitter. Have you ever tasted watered-down Vietnamese coffee? I hated it.
I hated coffee.
Fast forward a year later, I found myself in an American household for a study abroad scholarship. As a result of jet lag and having to wake up very, very early to share a bathroom with my host sister, I found myself extremely drowsy at school. Drinking coffee daily was the solution to my problem.
My first real job after college was with Threadsy — a startup in San Francisco. I still remember the first time I saw Rob Goldman tinker with a kettle-like contraption. I wondered, “What’s that?”
His morning coffee ritual: Beans (Peet’s Major Dickason, if I recall correctly) + grinder + French press = ~4 cups of coffee. He added nothing, just straight black coffee. I started to wonder how this was different than my normal brewed coffee with cream and sugar.
One cup later, I learned something new. Coffee can taste different, especially without fixings. It was bitter, but addicting. I started adopting that ritual. I bought a French press for my home. I believe my wife enjoyed the ritual as much as I did.
Lesson 1: Something as simple as bitterness could be quite complex.
What else is out there…
I started to wonder what else I’ve been missing and soon found out.
One afternoon, somebody was going to Starbucks for the team. I overheard Rob order an “Americano.”
“What’s that?”
“Espresso and hot water.”
“That sounds like normal coffee.”
“No, it’s different. A lot smoother.”
“Smoother?” How can something bitter be smoother? “Ok, pick me up one so I can try it.”
Another game changer. Another fracking game changer! It’s smoother. Much smoother. Without much of the bitter aftertaste I normally found in the French press version.
Lesson 2: I don’t know what I don’t know.
Without realizing it, I was addicted to coffee (long before I realized it). I had at least one cup a day, but still counted myself lucky considering some of my co-workers had 2 or more.
This was it. I would just have a cup every day for the rest of my life. Because not having it in the morning made my productivity drop dramatically.
And then it happened.
We moved to Vancouver late 2013. We found ourselves having to get up super early again to catch a 7:50am train to the city. Without much fanfare, I continued my Americano ritual.
One day, we ran out of espresso at home. “Why don’t you make a tea like mine?” my wife said. “Tea is not gonna wake me up,” I said. But she made me one anyway (Thanks babe!). That day, my body felt odd. It was lighter. The afternoon seemed much more productive. I liked the feeling. So I continued for a week.
But there was something else. When I woke up the next morning, I didn’t have that drowsy let-me-stay-in-bed feeling. I was energized. And that night, I fell asleep in bed without much effort.
It was like I was back in Vietnam again, back to those days before I knew about coffee. Turns out, coffee had taken a toll on my body. I had gotten so used to it, I didn’t know what it felt like without it anymore.
Lesson 3: The norm ain’t the normal.
I challenge you to switch to tea for a week and see for yourself. Though your mileage may vary, I bet you’ll find out something about yourself during this process that you haven’t experienced before.
Keep exploring.
T. Nguyen is the founder of Chopp Kitchen. Chopp is a mobile app that will help you improve your cooking skills and nutritional knowledge. Your customized meal plan is wrapped in a fun, addictive experience, providing all you need to make cooking and eating healthier life-long habits.
