How Coffee Can Change Your Life

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Change Your Coffee, Change your life

I believe there is great power in establishing mindful and intentional routines in our lives. Our morning ritual can set the trajectory for the type of day that we will have. Our days turn into weeks, leading to months gone by, and define how we live our life.

There aren’t too many things that are as universal, connecting, and integrated as a morning cup of coffee. How many things do you experience so consistently, and repetitively? For me, before my day starts, there will be coffee, and that experience is the start of a long line of events that make up my day.

Consider the following scenarios:

A frantic morning, alarm clock blaring after the 3rd snooze forces you out of bed, and into a well-worn routine, where the timing of each part of the ritual, down to the snooze, has been whittled down by years of practice. By the time you rush out the door, you pass the coffee pot where the coffee is pre-ground, pre-measured, programmed, and ready just in time to be a few minutes late out the door. The mediocre flavor is familiar and will suffice until it can be followed up by more caffeine at the next convenient time.

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2 minutes before your alarm goes off, your body stirs awake, because you have trained it to each morning. The first steps are toward your coffee bar, where you have a brand new bag from your favorite roaster. The notes on this Ethiopian batch sound really interesting, Tropical Fruit, Toffee, Pineapple. As the coffee grinds, you take a deep breath noticing the bright and interesting scents are wafting through the kitchen, almost like… fruity pebbles? You get your pour-over set ready, and ever so carefully bloom the coffee, smelling a subtle change as the fresh beans are saturated with water. Once the coffee brews through, you take your cup and sit down in your favorite chair, letting your body wake up as you take a sip. The sweet notes are bright and interesting, a tang touches your tongue, almost like lemonade. The lingering flavors are deep and sweet like toffee. You notice a slightly bitter finish that indicates you may have ground a bit fine this time. Ah, next time I’m going to try a new pour, and I think I can bring out more of the sweet…

An artful coffee routine is the first step to starting your day off with mindfulness and intention. The craft pour-over technique tickles your senses and sparks your curiosity about how such a simple drink can contain so much complexity, differing so widely just because it was grown high on a mountain, or dried in the sun.

I’m not saying coffee is the secret to happiness, but I do believe that the routines we establish influence our behavior, which defines our days and compile into how we live our life. I believe the mindfulness to make craft coffee can translate into other areas of our morning, our day, and our life, Starting a simple trajectory toward a slightly better version of ourselves.

Try this:

Think about some of the routines you have established in your life, intentionally or unintentionally, and how does it serve you? For example, your morning routine. Is it hectic, like the first example? Or perhaps it is your evening routine, do you run like crazy until you finally pass out? Think about it, re-imagine one that would make you feel better, and take a step, to adjust it toward who you want to be.

Example morning routine change:

Set your alarm for 10 minutes earlier than normal (It seriously probably won’t kill you). Get up the moment your alarm goes off (Stick with me here. A few tries, and faster than you think, your body will start waking you up naturally before your alarm). Sit down with your coffee (preferably True Adventure style), and imagine the day that lies ahead of you. What might you encounter? How do you want to feel? Don’t get wrapped up in the stress of your to-do list, maybe even have your list beside you so you can get it onto paper and out of your head. Just imagine yourself walking through your day. Who might you talk to? Where might you go? What could you do, that would make your day just a touch nicer? What could you do to make someone else’s day, a bit nicer?

This is mindfulness, and changing your coffee routine, can change your life.