True story: historically, I’ve never been a coffee drinker.
A Lifetime on the Outside of Coffee Culture
In fact, I’ve never really cared for hot drinks in general. If I’m drinking something, it’s because I want to be refreshed. I want to be cooled off. Because my system is so wired for cold beverages, I never developed an enduring taste for hot drinks; even when I do have one, I sip it very gingerly. I would drink hot cocoa when it was particularly cold outside—specifically during the heaviest days of a Michigan winter—but that was about it. I almost never drink hot tea, even though people tell you it’s great to have when you’re sick. To me, it just tastes like boiling water without enough flavor. With this in mind, it should come as no surprise that I never caught onto coffee culture.
Instead, I’ve always gotten my caffeine fix from soda. But the thing is, sodas like Pepsi and Coke contain an obscene amount of sugar. They are super high-calorie, and they probably played the biggest part of anything in giving me the “dad bod” I carry today. I eat like a little kid sometimes, but I knew I couldn’t keep consuming soda at that rate forever.
Still, coffee felt like a foreign language to me. For years, the women in my life tried to convert me. My ex-wife was big into coffee. Jessica, whom I dated a few years back, had an entire counter in her house dedicated to being a “coffee bar,” complete with a rack of different flavored creamers. I would drink a hot cup out of courtesy just for the morning social interaction, but I never got it. Even Veronica today is absolutely gaga about it—she’s not the type to post photos of her food to social media, but she will absolutely post a picture of her morning brew.
I was past fifty years old. I figured if I was ever going to start drinking coffee, it would’ve happened by now.
But I always viewed it all from the outside looking in. Until one day, something happened at my school that was completely unexpected.
The Cart That Changed Everything
The southern half of my building is a dedicated space for special education students. These are kids on a different educational track, earning a completion certificate as opposed to a traditional high school diploma. They have varying degrees of special needs, but to be quite honest, they are a hell of a lot sweeter than most of the students on the general ed side of the building.
One morning this past fall, a teacher and two students from the south side came down the hall selling coffee from a mobile cart. They had hot water, ice, cocoa mix, and a multitude of different creamers, selling cups for a dollar each on Tuesdays and Thursdays. One day—and I think I was just doing it to be polite—I decided to buy an iced cup. I figured the iced variety was worth a shot since it matched my preference for cold drinks. They had one particular creamer flavored like a Kit Kat bar.
I said, “I’ll try that.”
I took a sip and was absolutely floored. Because it was ice-cold, my palate could actually process the flavor instead of fighting the heat. That sugar-to-coffee ratio was incredible. It was truly my gateway drug. I looked over at the teacher with whom I shared a class and said, “Has iced coffee always been this good? Why didn’t anyone tell me?!”
Needless to say, Tuesdays and Thursdays quickly became the best days of the week, thanks to the students from the south side of my building.
From there, my new addiction escalated. I started trying iced coffee everywhere—McDonald’s, Starbucks, Dunkin’, Burger King, Tim Hortons. McDonald’s became my reliable go-to because of its consistency, but the five-dollar sticker shock at places like Starbucks got me thinking.
That’s when I discovered that McDonald’s brand Keurig cups actually exist.
Breaking Beans and Finding My Routine
Funny thing about life: things often come along exactly when you least expect them, or when you finally need them. Years ago, back when X2 and I were still together, a mini Keurig coffee maker had been brought into our lives. It eventually found its way to my classroom, where I remember looking at it and thinking, What the hell am I gonna do with this? I don’t drink coffee! It sat there collecting dust. But once I found those iced mocha pods, I dug the machine out of storage. It has now officially joined my microwave and refrigerator as a regular, indispensable fixture in my room.
Lately, it has completely changed my morning routine. I’ve always been one of the first teachers to arrive in the building. I like getting to a place first; I don’t want to walk into that “fishbowl” level of attention where all eyes are on me as I walk down the hall. Getting to work as early as I do gives me plenty of time to fix myself an iced coffee and jumpstart my day.
I’ve always liked getting a head start on the rest of the world. Now, while my students and even some of my coworkers are still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes during first hour, I’m up and about with a spring in my step, running circles around them. (At least until I run out of gas around 10 AM).
The best part? I’m drinking significantly less soda. Between the coffee swap and hitting the gym a few times, I’ve already noticed I’ve lost about six pounds.
I recently wrote a post called “The Spark, the Multiverse, and the Glazed Donut” where I described the experience of finally understanding the ancient, undeniable power of the “coffee and donuts” duo. To make a simple answer into a very complicated one: coffee—specifically iced coffee—is a small thing in life that has brought some incredibly positive, unexpected changes to my days.
Rebuilding a life takes grit, consistency, and a lot of ‘Option C’ thinking. Whether I’m closing in on 1,000 consecutive days of blogging or reflecting on the decade of work that brought me here, the mission remains the same: No glitz. Just the work. New to the blog? Start your journey here to see the blueprint and the ‘Tricorder’ perspective behind the rebuild.
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The article “The Rise N Grind Sensation (or: How I Learned to Start Breaking Beans)” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.
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