I like coffee too much. I am dependent on it. I consider it a vice because I crave it and feel like life would just not be as pleasant without it. It’s part of my daily rituals: coffee in the morning, coffee in the afternoon. On special occasions, when my husband and I are on a date, one of my favorite treats, one of my favorite indulgences, is having a cup of coffee with dessert. It’s a small thing, but is the perfect end to a fine meal, and is the part that is most special to me. It’s the one thing about an evening meal that I don’t do in my normal life.
My husband doesn’t think coffee is a vice. He does not drink coffee, which may or may not be relevant. But he considers a vice to be something harmful. I’m sure he is right, and I’m sure coffee has some disadvantages or health risks, but I certainly wouldn’t call it a danger.
Feeling dependent on something though – even something harmless like coffee – makes it feel like a vice to me. Maybe I consider a vice to be something I do that feels like it is out of my control. Which really is probably more the definition of addiction: being powerless over a substance. Like I am with coffee.
I’ve tried switching to tea by it’s not hearty enough. It’s not thick enough. It’s not dark or potent enough. When I tried to switch to tea I ended up drinking a cup of tea and then drinking a cup of coffee. Or sometimes I’d drink multiple cups of tea, hoping the caffeine would take care of the coffee craving, but it didn’t. I could jitter across a room jacked up on the caffeine from a whole pot of tea, and I’d still want coffee. It’s not just the drug in it, it’s the everything: the flavor, the richness, the ritual, the strength. I am powerless over it. I succumb.
vice n. 1. an immoral or evil habit or practice… 5. a fault, defect, or shortcoming 6. a bad habit, as in a horse.
Note: Given these definitions, I agree with my husband: coffee is not a vice.
Photo credit: Colombian Coffee by McKay Savage
For the month of April, I will be publishing a 10-minute free write each day, initiated by a prompt from my prompt box. Minimal editing. No story. Just trying to get back into the writing habit. Thank you to Lori Carlson for the prompt “An unexpected vice.”
Butterfly Mind 
I enjoyed this post
To get the best caffeine kick from tea it requires a blend of good choice tea leaves and skill in brewing. Unfortunately it is an acquired skill. Strong Tea is not thick but the caffeine hit last longer than coffee (or it feels that way).
But the immediacy of coffee is the real hook, tea takes longer to affect the nervous system.
Therefore for me I drink green tea all day, coffee for the hit of caffeine when needed and a really good Chablis to settle the day. Personal indulgence and if I’m aiming for vice like indulgence French Pinot Noir – again a great vice
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Loved your post. And I share your vice (not vice?). Tea is great but nothing beats coffee. I find myself substituting water with tea which is terrible. So maybe that’s a vice. 🙂
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for me, caffeine IS dangerous. I have an intolerance to caffeine which means I am not able to drink Tea, Coffee, and many popular fizzy drinks. I am also not allowed Chocolate. Even the tiny amount of caffeine present in chocolate is enough to set my heart off into an arrhythmia I would prefer not to trigger. Fortunately I never drank tea of coffee anyway. I have never liked them. I think I would have struggled a lot more to give up caffeine if i had.
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I prefer to start my day with tea, but coffee tends to be more apparent throughout the day. I guess it stems from canteen drinks machines where the tea was always dire and the coffee half decent (the hot chocolate drinks were too sweet). Nothing beats a cup of latte and a hot pasty as we sit on a bench and people watch.
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I too tried tea as an alternative, but found tea too “thin” so back to coffee for me. Today as a matter of fact is day 1 back to coffee. I brew in a press and for several seconds I stood and smelled the fresh roast right from the bag! Ahhhhhh….that’s the good stuff.
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COFFEE is most definitely my vice too♡
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So glad you used one of my prompts! And thank you for the pingback to my About page! I too indulge too much in coffee… it is a passion, an obsession, and probably a vice at times as I love it with French Vanilla creamer and it raises my blood sugar… lol.
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Hi, I really enjoyed reading this, love the idea of a 10 minute daily free write! I’ve also had the same exact debate in my head of whether it’s an addiction, but it’s really just about the ritual and the smell of it for me. 🙂 Keep writing!
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Reblogged this on Dream Big, Dream Often and commented:
I read Butterfly Mind and enjoy the posts. Check out today’s convo about coffee. This post spoke to me as today is my first day back on coffee following a week long hiatus…Enjoy!!
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wow
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Coffee, for me, is a necessity! It helps that I also enjoy drinking it but with 4 year old twins, I couldn’t get through the day without it!
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Drinking coffee should be a part of your life where there is no adverse thought…you either have it or you don’t. There can never be too much coffee throughout the day or evening. I do not drink coffee when I am sleeping or in the shower. If you know you’re going to be trapped in a situation where you will not have access to a facility for an extended period of time, have with you a large mug of coffee and sip it slowly. 😉
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I share your vice. And, I think it’s OK to love something unabashedly. If we can be addicted to people that way, why not coffee?
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Hi there! I’m one of your followers and I love your work… you actually inspired me to work on some of my own writing 🙂 So thank you! I also wanted to nominate you for the Versatile Blogger Award. It’s a great way to let your readers know more about you while meeting new bloggers. You don’t have to accept it and you don’t have to do it right away if you do accept it. If you would like to know more, check out my blog post called “Tag! You’re it!”.
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Drinking coffee, GOOD coffee, is definitely not a vice. I really enjoyed your piece. It inspired me to write this poem:
https://writeswithpencils.wordpress.com/2015/04/21/better-cup-o-joe/
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Coffee is my vice, too; I’ve been up for two hours and just finished the first pot. Now to make more for my coworkers!
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I think I feel the same way about coffee and given your definition, I would agree it is not a vice but definitely a shortcoming or a weakness because if you (or I) don’t have it, the rest of the day is affected and feels wrong. It has power over our emotions like a vice but it doesn’t innately hurt us. 🙂 Nice share!
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Coffie is a lot more than just a drink. It brings people together. Whenever I ask people if they want to go for a coffie it’s rather to catch up with them than about the beverage itself.
Nice post. I’m a big fond of coffee myself.
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