Coffee Convert

Yesterday, after coming home from a pre-New Year date with two graduate school girlfriends, I raided my closet and got rid of my "obsolete" clothes. This practice always ends up in a fashion show; thus, it took me two hours to put everything back in order because with me matching a long forgotten skirt with a new blouse or trying on a pair of faded slacks with several tops can sometimes get me too carried away. After the closet cleaning/catwalk, I proceeded to dust the shelves and arrange my books. I also swept the floor and the ceiling, scoured the shoe rack, and washed my shoes. All of which took me more than two hours to finish. While I was taking out the garbage, it hit me that I didn't feel in the least bit tired. In fact, I was eyeing the clothes that I needed to launder and I was contemplating on doing it after the general cleaning. I had no desire of stopping!

I wondered where I got the energy and thought of what I consumed the whole day - there's the coconut milk for breakfast, C2 iced tea for lunch, and gasp, coffee for merienda!

You see, I am not a coffee drinker. The only time I took coffee was when I was in college with some Korean students who insisted that I drink one. The strong coffee gave me such a headache that I vowed never to drink not even a drop since.

But yesterday's coffee didn't give me a headache. It even boosted my energy (which is what coffee is supposed to do). I've always had a negative impression on coffee because of its caffeine content. It makes one's body become addicted to it. I am of the belief that my body's mechanisms should all be au naturale and should never be dependent on coffee.

So with the fear that I'd be too tired the next day, I stopped working and even without a trace of exhaustion, I forced myself to sleep. But when I woke up this morning, I was surprised that my energy wasn't depleted by last night's hyperactivities. I was mentally alert which reminds me that coffee is a stimulant, too. The surge of energy that I experienced in drinking yesterday's coffee isn't even comparable to what I feel when I take multivitamins or power drinks.

So, does this make me a coffee convert?

Yes, because now I don't have such a resentment against coffee. Now I can say "Ok, let's go!" when someone invites to Coffee Break or Starbucks instead of my overused "I don't drink coffee." I can now call myself a social and occasional coffee drinker. I guess the headache I experienced in college was just all in the head?

And no, because I'll say it again - I don't want my body to be dependent on it. People who have heart problems are asked to cut their coffee intake. I don't have a heart problem, but the point is, if you want to stay healthy, avoid coffee. Despite Nescafe's massive advertising that coffee is an antioxidant and that it's good for you, so it's alright to daily drink five cups of it, I still don't buy it (literally and figuratively). Coffee is addictive, period.

So addictive that I couldn't help tasting and sniffing the creamer after

But coffee is not only for drinking. You can also put it on your skin. In Balitang K once, I saw Angel Aquino mixing oil and coffee together. She then rubbed the concoction on her elbows. There goes your natural exfoliant. I've also once tried coffee facial and body scrub. The whole coffee beauty treatments smell of sensual delights if not of coffee shop.

With this, I'd recommend coffee to coffee virgins both as a beauty treat and as an energy drink. It is after all, one of the earthly pleasures we mortals should experience. There's something about its smell. The aroma actually gives you a heady feeling making you remember the sweet damp smell of the earth and of coffee beans picked by such able hands, the color of their flesh not very different from the dark coffee you're drinking. And with the first sip of it, you return to the ancient past of pharaohs, knights, kings, monks, crusaders, emperors, and samurais - to the people who drank and enjoyed coffee like you did. And when it warmly settles on your tummy, you return to the sights and sounds of the present - the honking cars, smell of cigarettes (what's with the coffee and cigarette tandem?), and the mild chatter of your yuppie friends. So, you smile and take a sip again enjoying the present and relishing the past.

Yesterday's coffee experience was like that for me. It was surreally delicious! But like my meeting with the girlfriends, my coffee drinking would be very irregular (definitely not daily), but let's just say that I'll probably grab one if I plan to clean my room non-stop again.

Random guy behind us

Thank you, Jureca Failanga and Graziella Sigaya for the laughs and chat over peppermint, chocolate, and strawberry coffee.