tweet by @crystalhunter

When I habitually smoked cigarettes, I never felt like I was a slave to nicotine. I never felt like if I didn’t have a cigarette that my mood or body would be affected. I smoked because I liked it. And it made me look cool.

The same is true for other social drugs such as alcohol. Even though I used to drink every day, I don’t remember feeling that if I didn’t drink that I would be physically or emotionally affected. Maybe just bored.

Enter caffeine.

My initial interest in decreasing caffeine intake stemmed from a desire to save money. I quit Red Bull, because it is just too expensive. What I didn’t realize, though, was that switching to espresso in the afternoon was more than tripling my consumption.

We use a 3-cup Bialetti Moka, so every espresso is a triple. I don’t think this is the best practice, but I don’t know a good way to counteract it without creating a lot of waste. Espresso is not something you can really save for later.

tweet by @dashdrum

That’s when the headaches started. I asked myself: does this substance have control over me? I don’t like the idea of being at the whim of the substance. I don’t want to become so dependent on the drug that I cannot function normally without it. This never happened with nicotine or alcohol.

I think the caffeine addiction has far more effect on me than booze or cigs ever did.

As I typed the above, I distinctly remember being an undergrad and purposely avoiding caffeine for fear of addiction. A curious explanation coming from someone who smoked cigarettes.

It is not necessarily the health effects of habitual caffeine consumption that I am worried about. Some studies have actually found positive health influences such as preventing cancer, heart disease, and stroke.

Ultimately, I am more concerned about its impact on the Simple Life I am currently pursuing.

I like caffeine in moderation, but at what point does drinking espresso go from a simple pleasure to a nuisance? That line is quite thin and shakily drawn, which leads me to believe my life would be much simpler if I didn’t have to monitor, or even think about, caffeine intake ever again.

Jessica has an affinity for neuro-enhancers, while Kelly aversion. Hear the reasons behind both below. Yes, we do discuss illegal activities.

See what we would be doing without caffeine. | 00:02:55

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