A Love Letter to Decaf

Keats and Co and Taking Things Slow | Malikai Smith

Not everything is go-go-go all the time, nor does it need to be. Life gets fast on its own (too easily and often), and to keep up with the breakneck pace, how many of us are leaning on coffee? If you're not, congratulations. I envy your self-discipline. But admittedly, I'm drinking enough for both of us.

With life putting so much on our plates, it's easy to let our coffee cup runneth over. That's why it's time to give a nod to decaf coffee and my favorite ways to indulge (somewhat) responsibly.

Start Your Morning with Coffee—Then Switch to Decaf

We can move linearly here because the first opportunity for decaf coffee to be the MVP happens early in the morning and often in my life.

Here's something I've literally never done: gotten out of bed and immediately had breakfast.

Here's something I've done literally every day for the past couple of decades: gotten out of bed and immediately had coffee.

My morning routine involves my favorite chair by the window and a cup of coffee. But how easily one becomes two, and two becomes three. Too often, I'm wrapped up in whatever I'm doing, enjoying my morning coffee, and then after my third cup, my appetite is shot, I'm out of time, and my body is vibrating as I leave for work, over-caffeinated and under-fed. Not fun.

An easy fix? Switch to Keats & Co Paradoxa Decaf Coffee after the second cup. A nice breakfast and a nice cup of decaf later, and your day is built on a rock-solid foundation.

Beat the Midday Slump with Decaf Coffee

I run into the same issue later in my day as well.

It's the midday lull. Things start dragging, and to deal with the tedium, it's time for more coffee. That same baited hook lurks beneath the surface regardless of the hour. Too much coffee in the middle of a busy day can put us past that critical mass where you go from feeling sharp and alert to feeling like an alien in your own body.

This isn't limited to the work week, either. Over this past weekend during a visit with my mom, she whipped up an afternoon decaf frozen cappuccino. It was out of this world. A midday cup of decaf is the perfect way to keep your day rolling along smoothly while breaking up the monotony.

Enjoy Decaf Coffee After Dinner

We all have different hard-line cutoff times when we have to draw the line against caffeine if we want any prayer of falling asleep. For me, it's around 5 PM.

Sometimes you have late guests, or dinner conversations carry on well past the meal, but it's too late to roll the dice with more caffeine. What better way to end the night than with a cup of decaf coffee, good conversation, and the peace of mind knowing you won't be tossing and turning all night?

Keeping the Poetry Alive

Keats said, "The poetry of Earth is never dead," and how true that is.

Coffee is just another one of the countless wonders the Earth has blessed us with. Poetry in action. With overindulgence, however, that same poetry can become a thrall.

A modicum of moderation, a dash of experience, and a pack of Keats & Co Paradoxa Decaf keeps the poetry alive and present in every moment.