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Let’s face it: Starbucks just might be one of the smartest businesses on the planet. It totally understood what was happening in the working world when it blossomed into something reliable and omnipresent. People were working longer, harder, and were busier than ever before, especially in corporate America. And their brand offered us a “perk.”
Starbucks knew exactly what we needed, how to seduce us, sustain us, and how to give us extraordinary pleasure.
If it sounds a lot like the rewards of good sex, that’s the point. Good coffee has the capacity to put us into a state of euphoria.
You may agree with me or disagree with me on this matter, but the truth is, coffee rarely disappoints and provides endless satisfaction.
When I go to bed at night, I often coax myself into grappling with the next day’s affairs by reminding myself that my day will begin with coffee; it will help kick start that day’s itinerary. Savory and extraordinary, every cup brings me a little bit of joy. I’m also in love with my Keurig, as it provides me with my best cups of coffee. I am delighted every day to drink my cup of coffee, and even more satisfied because my Yeti keeps my coffee hot the entire 40-minute drive to work.
It’s the little things, people. We’ve got to find those moments of euphoria somewhere.
According to Caffeine Informer, there are 19 solid reasons why coffee is good for you, and when I reviewed the list, I picked my top favorites as to why coffee doesn’t have to worry about our relationship. It wards off depression, fights Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, and Type 2 Diabetes. For those of you who drink too much (and I’m not talking about coffee here), it also can help protect against cirrhosis of the liver. If you’re not convinced yet of its benefits, a typical serving of coffee contains more antioxidants than grape juice, blueberries, raspberries, and oranges. Want to read more about it? Visit Caffeine Informer by clicking here.
While relationships can let you down, coffee rarely does. It doesn’t fight with you or ask you what’s for dinner. It doesn’t ask you how you did on your diet the day before. It simply does its job on most days. When I’m feeling a little sluggish in the morning and have to teach a class, my cup of coffee comes with me and helps me get going, especially for those early morning classes. I am not alone as I walk into the classroom; many of my students walk through the door with cups of hot coffee in their hands as well, either from Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, or our student cafeteria. They seem to be just as happy as I am to have our morning cup of joe as we tackle the day’s lessons.
None of us is breaking up with our coffee.
So there you have it. While there are plenty of bad habits we can get addicted to in our lives, I won’t buy the fact that coffee is bad for us, as some may suggest, like a bad boyfriend, eating too many carbs, or avoiding an active lifestyle.
Coffee just merrily slides into our lifestyle, and holding that cup helps me know it’s all going to be okay.
And while, honestly, Starbucks isn’t typically my cup of tea (ah, yes, tea! Can we chat about that sometime soon, too? Because I do love Starbucks’ black tea), I prefer the taste of Dunkin’s, Green Mountain’s, or Panera’s coffee. I like to think of coffee and me as a team: it is created, I buy it, drink it, and it makes me happy.
Consumer heaven. In a cup.
In a happy little cup.
We should indulge in certain things that bring us joy.
Coffee and I will be intimate for life.
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Stephanie Verni is the author of Beneath the Mimosa Tree, Baseball Girl, Inn Significant, The Postcard and Other Short Stories & Poetry, and an academic textbook Event Planning: Communicating Theory & Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt, that she co-authored with colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus & Chip Rouse.
**NOTE: This is a revised and updated version of my original post, published in 2017. It was one of Steph’s Scribe’s most popular blogs of 2017.
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