How Seattle’s Best Helped Me #TakeBackMyMorning

I have a long and complicated relationship with coffee. It started in college where I started with the gateway lattes as a way to train myself to like coffee because everyone cool was hanging at the Blue Moose Cafe having coffee so I’d better learn how to tolerate it.

Then in my adulthood, I drank it black, just like my mom, with a touch of sugar to kill some of the acid. Speaking of acid, I had a time where I thought I’d have to give up coffee because it was tearing up my stomach. Now, I am not a snob about anything, music, wine, beer etc. The cheaper the better I say. But for some reason coffee really affected the way I felt if I dared by too discounted a pound. I struggled for a while with my desire to be budget conscious and my need for a Cup o’ Joe. I finally settled into just the right level taste for the buck and all was right with my world. My morning coffee when my kids were little would often go cold as it sat ignored all morning and then was reheated and savored when everyone was down for a nap. I quickly learned the value of a thermal carafe.

When my kids got older,  there was nothing better than a hot mug as soon as I returned from the morning school carpool. It was like the beginning of the day, my day,  was that first sip of coffee. All morning was spent bustling and shuffling, packing and corralling children out the door. So, by the time I tilted that hot mug back it was time to reset to Cristie time.

It’s meant to be savored, not tolerated. See?

Delicious.

Then, I gave up caffeine, for a variety of health reasons and my whole world went crazy. First, I thought I just needed the ritual so tried to substitute with tea. I quickly learned any old warm drink will not do. I love coffee. Rich, black coffee. So I switched to decaf coffee, figuring even if there was a little in there, it was better than 100%. The problem with this is that it’s hard to find decaf versions that taste good. Sure, you can find any of the big-can coffees in decaf version at just about any grocery store. But those are the coffees that feel like paint thinner to my stomach lining so they were out. I had to spend a bit more money on the expensive brands and even then I wasn’t ever thrilled with the taste. I tolerated my morning coffee which made my mornings, meh.

Soon, I discovered half and half. Nothing flavored or fancy just good old-fashioned coffee-cream, and I was hooked. No wonder I have such a hard time getting clients to kick this stuff. I thought it would be a short run. Then, like a cigarette fiend I just kept buying and stashing more. It was shameful. Now, if you like cream in your coffee, more power to you. But, I am more and more lactose intolerant and this stuff literally makes me ill. And yet, I could not stop drinking it! Every time I tried to kick the habit my once beloved black tasted bitter and gross. There was no amount of sugar I could add to get back to loving it again. So I drank, never savored it,  and then felt ill. What kind of morning is that?

It’s a sickness, people!

What was a girl to do?

I bought Seattle’s Best Coffee to try. (You can see all about my trip to buy the Seattle’s Best at Walmart in this shop Google+ album.)  I expected it would be another fine decaf as I’d always like Seattle’s Best in the past but remembered it as strong. I figured I’d hang on to my now beloved stomach-killing half-and-half. Then I saw that Seattle’s Best now makes their beans on a scale. The coffees range from 1-5- light to dark with their decaf falling squarely in the middle at number three. This could be good.

Beautiful, black cuppa.

Hallelujah! Might I dare to say I’ve kicked my creamer habit? It’s been nearly a week now and the compulsive part of me has had two cup with cream (because I hate throwing away perfectly good groceries) but for the most part I’ve had all black coffee again this week.

I’m so thrilled that I rediscovered Seattle’s Best. It’s good for my budget, good for my taste buds and because I can drink it black, it’s best for my belly! Most importantly, I’ve taken back my mornings, my way.

You can visit Seattle’s Best Take Back My Morning website to tell them how you’re taking back your morning and enter to win a special surprise. I’m hoping I do!

I’m a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insight study for Collective Bias® and Seattle’s Best Coffee®. All opinions are my own. #cbias, #SocialFabric