A Tale of Two Coffees

You will probably not be surprised to hear that I inherited my love for coffee from my mom.

However, there is a story there...

My mother, as far back as I can remember, always had a cup of coffee next to her.  She never drank anything else.  And, since it was an all day affair with her, she somehow got used to drinking instant coffee. 

Nescafe instant coffee, all day long.  I can hear all the coffee lovers going 'ewwwww' all across j-land!

So, all day, all night, Nescafe was in her hand.  She never drank soda, or water, or anything else.

Fast forward to around 1980.  Mom was having problems with cysts in her breasts.   Our family doc told her to switch to decaf coffee.

No problem, the switch is made, Decaf Nescafe it is from now on.

On day two, my mom remembers waking up with a horrible headache.  By day four, she is really miserable, and decides to call the doctor, it is about 2 weeks since she saw him, since she waited to finish the last of the caffeine bottled of Nescafe before switching.

Mom tells our Doc that she must be dying from some sort of brain tumor because she has a horrible headache, that has been torturing her NONSTOP for the last 4 days.

He tells her that she needs to calm down, because he just had given her a thorough exam, and there was no evidence of anything wrong.

Maybe Mom changed something in her food?  She says no at first, but then remember the switch to decaf, and tells the Doc.

He says, 'Maybe, how many cups do you drink a day?'

Mom answers, 'Oh I don't know, maybe 30.'

The Doc nearly falls off his chair, but mystery solved.  He tells her 'You are having major caffeine withdrawal, it will stop as soon as your body gets used to it, but for now, to stop the headache, have a cup of coffee with caffeine.'

Mom does, and the headache leaves, and then she weaned herself off more slowly!

Unbelievable, huh??  But true!!  lol

Finally, when I was a junior or senior in high school, Mom started to drink brewed coffee.  We had a microwave then, so she would reheat whatever was left over and drink that after she came home from work. 

Thus, began the new phase for my mom.  And, even me.  I would do the same.   I did get a good thermos style coffee carafe as soon as they were out a few years back, so it kept the coffee fresher throughout the day. 

But, nothing is like that first fresh cup.  So, for years, since I have seen the Keurig single cup maker in a catalog we receive, I have wanted one.

Then, my Hubby, as I described earlier in a November entry, bought me the knock off version of that, the Senseo.  And, it was not very good at all.  I still pined for the Keurig.

Thankfully, this past November, Hubby (upon the kids insistence) got me the Keurig. 

Mom, at first, still kept drinking her pot of coffee, reheating the left overs as the day goes on.  Then, more and more, she starting making herself the fresh cups. 

And, now, she is hooked.  It really is awesome to have that perfectly fresh brewed 'first cup' each and every time!  So, that is why we are waiting for the phone call for me to get the bigger version, and Mom will take this one upstairs for her to enjoy!

All the coffee lovers win!  And, I ordered tea K-cups for my dad to try, too!  He usually only has one cup of coffee in the am, then switches to tea.  :-)

So, that's the tale of the two coffees, and how after Mom turned me on to coffee, I have turned her on to better coffee.

be well,
Dawn

Tags: coffee, decaf, caffeine, withdrawal, headache, Keurig, k-cups