For the past four years or so, I was a coffee addict. Almost every day I would need to buy a cup of coffee in order to function properly. I was a loyal Dunkin' customer for a while, until they started messing up my order. Every. Single. Time. I got so annoyed and dissatisfied with the taste of my coffee that I decided I needed a change.
During my Dunkin' days, Starbucks was unfamiliar territory to me. All of the complicated ways of ordering confused me, so I stuck to ordering Frappuccinos, the fun, frozen drink often topped with whipped cream. One day, determined to try new things and be adventurous, I tried coffee from Starbucks. Then I fell in love. I had no idea how much worse my coffee addiction would get when I switched from Dunkin' to Starbucks. I would finally be able to drink coffee the way I liked it (and ordered it). I quickly found a wide range of my favorite drinks, from a hot Pike Place to Iced Caramel Macchiatos. Starbucks’ amazing customer service is also worth noting. The baristas act like they actually want to help you. This makes a big difference, especially if you've had bad service before. Another plus is that Starbucks has that coffeeshop vibe that many people find comfort in.
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Not only was my mind and body dependent on Starbucks, but so was my happiness. A full day at work without any coffee was nearly impossible. I stopped at Starbucks before heading to school so I could stay awake during all of my classes. I even drank coffee as a way to unwind after a stressful day. Whatever time of day it was, coffee made me a happier person.
Eventually, I started noticing how much money I was spending at Starbucks. Each drink usually costs about $5, and I was buying one almost every day. I had big dreams to travel, and I thought about how I could be saving that money instead. I was also realizing how dependent I was on coffee. While it did make me happier, I would be miserable if I didn’t drink coffee on any given day. As much as I loved it, I was envious of anyone who did not rely on coffee to get them through the day. Around this time I had also discovered that I enjoy drinking tea. I tried to replace coffee with tea instead, but it only worked for about a week.
When the new year was approaching, I decided that reducing my coffee intake would be my resolution. I was going to limit myself to getting coffee only three times a week. In the beginning, I cheated a bit because I convinced myself that it didn’t count if I wasn’t buying the coffee myself. Once I realized how easy it was to only drink it three times a week, I bumped it down to twice a week. Now, there have been full weeks without coffee. Most of the time I only have Starbucks once a week. I do treat myself to a nice cup of coffee every once in a while. The difference in my mood is so drastic compared to when I constantly had coffee withdrawals. Water is refreshing enough to wake me up now. I would've never imagined that switching from Dunkin' to Starbucks would cause me to stop drinking coffee. I didn't think I would be able to do it, but I did.
