How I Became a Coffee Addict (And Kind of Love It)

By Captain Caffeine

I used to hate coffee. Like, really hate it. The smell? Offensive. The taste? Like burnt tree bark soaked in regret. But then college happened. Specifically, dorm life and late-night study sessions powered by desperation and caffeine.  I didn’t need hot water to pour on the crystals, my tears of failing Bio-Chem mixed easily enough.

My first cup was more sugar than coffee. I’d dump in so much sweet stuff my best friend and room mate would ask, “Hey, you want any coffee with that sugar?” It was less a beverage and more a syrupy survival potion. I didn’t drink it because I liked it, I drank it because I had a midterm in six hours and hadn’t opened the textbook yet.  It was an elixir of the Gods, that would imbibe me to ingest the complete note taking scribbles of a mad man and spit it back onto a scan-tron with only having to guess “C” a few hundred times.

Fast forward to graduation. I got a job, a desk, and most importantly a break room with flavored coffee. Suddenly, coffee didn’t taste like punishment. It tasted like hazelnut hope and vanilla ambition. I started brewing it in my office, just a cup to kick off the day. Then came the afternoon pick-me-up. Then the “I’m not even tired but coffee sounds nice” cup.

My first then big real money job, three interviews with the final being a demonstration of a software product at 8AM on a Tuesday. One “Pike Roast Venti” with a quadruple shot. “I got this” I remember saying.  “I love your energy” the VP chimed in. I nailed it… and then slept until Thursday.

Now? Coffee is my morning ritual. My warm hug in a mug. My productivity potion. I still take it a little sweet, but I’ve cut back enough that my old roommate no longer suspects I’m trying to make coffee-flavored candy.

So yes, I went from coffee-hater to coffee-devotee. It started as a necessity, became a curiosity, and ended up a lifestyle. And honestly? I wouldn’t have it any other way.