Why I Microdose Coffee

“Here’s the thing: if you’re noticing your sensitivity increasing, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing. It means your body is finding its natural baseline and is telling you: ‘hey I don’t really want these substances anymore’.”

Why I’m microdosing coffee

This is a story about my love affair with coffee that came to a close about a year ago. In an effort to stay away from extremes and demonize or glorify any substance, I invite in nuance. This isn’t about going cold turkey and this isn’t about psychedelics. In this article, I explore the theme of moderation, and how, when we finally find a baseline of health, everything that is not health will flash in red by causing symptoms (the body’s way of communicating with us). This is a story about sensitivity and listening to your body. It’s about finding answers in a confusing sea of ‘eat this, don’t eat that’ that seems to change every news cycle. It’s about finding balance amidst the storm of ‘shoulds’ and ‘shouldn’ts’ when it comes to what you consume. It’s befriending, not demonizing, our addictions (big or small) so we can finally achieve our goals in health and get over the hump of unhealthy attachments. This is about finding answers from our very own body.

It seems everywhere we turn, we’re getting mixed messages: a glass of wine is good for you at dinner turns to: alcohol causes cancer. A cup of coffee can be healthy turns to: coffee completely shocks your adrenals and gives you anxiety. Chocolate is great for you, but wait, look at all these brands with heavy metals — don’t buy those! The wellness craze is often more confusing than clarifying, so like any good investigator, you have to stand by your own journey, experiment, test and try again, and see what works for you, because really, we’re in a collective era of re-defining what health actually means and looks like.

I am not an addiction specialist nor medical professional, but I am an Ayurvedic health counselor and wellness advocate, devotee and explorer. I chose coffee as my subject today because it is beloved by many and I for one will never throw it shade. However, I am welcoming in a reframe. So, let me start by telling you a little story of how my love affair with coffee began:

I fell in love with coffee during 6am practice.

Like many of you reading, my relationship to coffee started at a pretty young age, and my love for it really flourished from being an over-scheduled, under-rested teenager. (I won’t even start with the sleep research for teens).

I fell in love with coffee due to 6am drill team practice (hello, I am NOT a morning person). I’d begrudgingly roll out of bed while it was dark outside only to look forward to the friendly barista at my neighborhood Starbucks (back when it was a novelty) to get my highly sugar-infused white chocolate raspberry mocha — the only thing that kept me going at that hour. It was sweet. It was delicious. And it was the one thing that distracted me from doing high kicks half asleep under fluorescent lighting before 7am. The barista knew my name, he always had a joyous, positive attitude and gave me hope at that ungodly hour when I was 16 years old when frankly, I should have been sleeping till 10.

My addiction to caffeine had only just begun. I drank Monster energy drinks at lunch with a side of Bosco sticks (glutinous cheese bread) and a big ol’ chocolate chip cookie , caffeinated soda after school while binge watching crap TV until I had to drag myself up yet again for Friday night football games to perform at halftime or dance classes during the week. Candy, coffee, chocolate and junk food (and mayo-drenched sandwiches) fueled me, and I partied heavily on the weekends to forget it all.

Let’s just say if I attempted a fraction of this diet today, I’d be seriously ill. 

Coffee gave me that sweet break from life that said, ‘everything will be ok, and life can be sweet’. You might be tired most of the time, you may be eating toxic food, and you may not retain a lot of information or think clearly, but here’s a trusted friend to make it all better for the next couple of hours. Coffee became my trusted confidant from that moment up until about a year ago. And I’m happy to say, today I only microdose coffee.

coffee & reading

Why I microdose coffee: 

Here’s the thing — it took me many years to ‘get off’ coffee. Even though I was noticing more and more throughout the years that I was feeling extra jittery from my joe, I’d have ups and downs in my energy throughout the day with chronic acid reflux, (not to mention I couldn’t go to bed before 11pm or midnight), I was unwilling to let it go. I even had an acupuncturist tell me, ‘your issues literally could just be from the coffee’, and still, I wouldn’t, couldn’t, EVER fathom prying it from my cold, dead fingers. 

In my journey of wellness and health for the past decade, I’ve let a lot of things go: processed food, binge snacking at night while watching Netflix, spicy food, alcohol, and even now, I’m on an animal-based diet sans bread and even most vegetables (that was triggered in fact by getting sick from coffee). 

I knew I couldn’t go cold turkey, nor did I want to — but I also knew my natural state wasn’t this anxiety-ridden. I started to realize, after years of learning how to slow down from my yoga practice, meditations and good amount of time spent outdoors, that I didn’t have to move so fast like the rest of the world. That my natural state didn’t want to operate with so much electricity constantly shocking my nervous system, so I chose to call on the help of an amazing company that makes herbal coffee with a very small amount of organic coffee mixed in to its Ayurvedic blend: Rasa. I’d still add a bit more organic coffee to my brew, as well as Ashwagandha (my beloved adaptogenic herb I use daily), plenty of cream, and maple syrup. It was a treat. And now, I hardly add any coffee to it (maybe some chai) — proving that small baby steps can lead you to your goal.

Yes, it took me THAT many years to unwind the toxic, fast-paced cultural narrative in my own body. When I started to get closer to my own body’s natural baseline, I realized coffee didn’t have much of a place anymore.

Coffee: a medicine or poison?

Now I’m not saying everyone should stop drinking coffee, or that coffee is bad. I do believe, that when used in moderation, coffee can be medicine when you need it: late night trips to the hospital, pulling an all-nighter studying, or heck, making your morning commute to your job that much more pleasurable. Some people don’t show any symptoms or issues with it and I think that’s fantastic if it makes them feel happy and healthy. Also, a little Ayurvedic tip: if you don’t want to part with your dearly beloved, add fats and cream and make sure to eat some protein before you imbibe. 

However, for my fellow sensitive Sallys out there… coffee can be a poison. (I also want to break here for a second and say this principle of medicine or poison can be applied to any food or substance out there, it just depends on how you use it). Coffee doesn’t actually make you more awake, it blocks receptors in your brain that tell you you’re tired, essentially giving you a sense that you’re more awake than you actually are. It gives you a big energy lift for awhile, but causes energy crashes later. It’s dehydrating (it’s a diuretic), it messes with your adrenals and nervous system and can even cause heart palpitations. It’s highly acidic on the body (that can create inflammatory responses like diarrhea, acid reflux and headaches), and it can create serious energy crashes and mood swings. 

And when we’re trying to repair what our culture has put on our nervous systems, the ‘get up and go and achieve’ narrative, it’s not exactly an ally. 

So, how do we repair?

coffee alternatives: cacao, chai, tea, coffee alternative blends (this is cacao with rose petals)

First thing’s first: we have to align with nature 

If you are considering dropping coffee or decreasing its use, you first must study and align with nature. Just like the sun rises slowly in the morning and comes to its peak around noon, our bodies do the same. With coffee, we’re essentially going from 2 to 10 in just a few sips, which isn’t natural. It gives us a high and that ‘get shit done’ feeling, but it can cause repercussions later. This is why people often need a ‘come down’, whether that’s alcohol, marijuana, or something else. I even noticed I smoked far more weed when I’d drink coffee because I felt totally stressed out after a cup (unknowingly for awhile). It’s all about attuning your body with nature, and noticing its subtle messages.

Here’s the thing: if you’re noticing your sensitivity increasing, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing. It means your body is finding its natural baseline and is telling you: ‘hey I don’t really want these substances anymore’. 

Treat everything as sacred

I don’t love labels in general, but there is a word I truly resonate with, and that is animism: the acknowledgement that there is life and soul in every living thing: from animals to trees to what we consume. There’s a difference between consuming something out of habit vs. something that will truly give you delight. And if we slow down enough to connect with our food or beverage of choice, we can feel the energy of it, and maybe even, hear it speak to us. Is there life in your apples from your garden and in your McDonalds french fries? Yes, but the energetics will likely be far different. If you consume coffee everyday just because you’ve been doing it for the sake of habit, I invite you to question it. Ask, what does coffee give me? And see, if coffee is bothering you, if you can find that elsewhere. 

Maybe it’s a morning lift, can you try tea instead? 

Maybe it’s the taste, can you try another beverage? 

Maybe it’s the ritual, can you create a new one? 

This article could be written about anything else: alcohol, cannabis, or even a certain type of food. It doesn’t really matter — but what does matter is what we put our awareness on, and what choices we make. I’ll admit it — I can be very slow sometimes, and it took me far longer than I’d like to make this change. Now, I’m going to bed in between 1030–1130 instead of midnight to 1, I feel balanced and calm throughout the day, and I have far less gastrointestinal symptoms. 

When you think of coffee, (or anything you love or are attached to here), what energetics come to mind? Can you assign some adjectives and feelings it gives you? And if you’re ready to part ways with your beloved substance, what’s the first right step? (Maybe it’s going from two cups to one). 

In my humble opinion, the gentle way is the best way. In Ayurveda, we call removing what we don’t need: viyoga, and moving toward what serves us as: samyoga. So instead of thinking ‘ugh I have to give this up’, think of it as a viyoga, removing what doesn’t serve you, and your samyoga as something you’re gaining: like feeling more rested, balanced and calm in your nervous system, for example.

If you need support around your eating habits, daily routines, or spiritual life, I’m here to help! I offer 1-1 consultations now as well as group programs (in the future).

Visit my Ayurvedic website here: and follow me on Instagram here: earth__intuitive.