Committed Coffee Consumer

I have finally reached the long awaited milestone of £20 on my Costa card. Now what???

I'm not exactly sure exactly what I was saving for and it's not really enough to make a grand gesture and cry “Cappuccinos for all!” unless the coffee shop was very quiet … which reduces the appeal somewhat.

Keep saving it is then; £30 here I come. I could of course, perish the thought, spend them (say it quietly) but why would I want to do that?

When I wake the first thing I think about (beyond where am I? Am I meant to be at work? Have I over slept? And similar questions) is coffee, the desire for a cup is frequently the thing that gets me out of bed. I have to accept that I am perhaps a coffee addict.

I don’t need to imbibe numerous cups throughout the day, that first one in the morning is the most important and a few at regular intervals throughout the day dependant on place and activity.

Even when I’m on nights; getting up mid-afternoon my first waking job is to put the machine on and grabbing a cup is almost the last thing I do before leaving the house to drive in. There is always a cup waiting for me when I arrive at work, irrespective of shift. Just as well, especially as when I’m on an early I suffer terrible early morning nausea and couldn’t face anything before leaving the house.

I couldn’t entertain going out in the day and not visiting a coffee shop, it’s as much part of a shopping expedition as shops! Hence my £20 plus Costa card, high monthly spends in Starbucks and the numerous semi-filled loyalty cards that sit in my wallet (I’ve even got one for Pumpkin, the British Rail Coffee shop franchise).

I wish I liked tea; I like the idea of tea, the paraphernalia and the apparent ceremony that goes along with making a brew. I just can’t abide the taste, be it green tea, leaf tea, fruit tea or iced tea. The only tea I can bear is Long Island Iced Tea, which I’m fairly sure has zero tea content.

No I’m a committed coffee consumer. I don’t think it’s even the caffeine, the maximum I’d have in a day is three cups. Anymore and I suffer from coffee intoxication (giddiness, giggles, hyperactivity and overtly euphoric; in short horrible to be with!) and my bladder goes into spasm and tries to vent itself almost instantly. But the idea of giving it up, as suggested because of fertility issues, is potentially abhorrent. But if that’s what it takes I understand it is a very small sacrifice, if one I wouldn’t particularly like.