I'm one of those people who stopped taking 5-6 Espressos a day (an average amount for a Portuguese person, given that we imported Cimbalino machines from Italy a few decades ago and just couldn't kick the habit nationally).
I did that for around 20 years (with occasional breaks), then progressively petered out to 2-3 cups a day and, last year, I finally removed the last Espresso (the breakfast one) from my diet.
I switched to one cup of black tea in the morning (I'm partial to Earl Grey) and one or two mugs of barley 'coffee' a day (in Winter time, typically zero in Summer) and lots of water. I will occasionally have non-black tea during the Winter time as well - mostly mint and ginger.
Now drinking a can of diet Coke (which I typically do in two doses, whenever I feel like I'm struggling through the day) gives me a good enough buzz, and I _know_ coffee will work if I need to stay up late (which I usually don't anymore).
But, in general, ditching coffee improved my well-being a _lot_. I sleep better, I don't have (the same kind of) headaches, and I don't push myself beyond what my body can take and spend 2-3 days recovering from a particularly intense day.
I do miss the flavor and enjoy a hot beverage (hence the barley), but I don't miss the stress it induced, or the crutch it was.
I did that for around 20 years (with occasional breaks), then progressively petered out to 2-3 cups a day and, last year, I finally removed the last Espresso (the breakfast one) from my diet.
I switched to one cup of black tea in the morning (I'm partial to Earl Grey) and one or two mugs of barley 'coffee' a day (in Winter time, typically zero in Summer) and lots of water. I will occasionally have non-black tea during the Winter time as well - mostly mint and ginger.
Now drinking a can of diet Coke (which I typically do in two doses, whenever I feel like I'm struggling through the day) gives me a good enough buzz, and I _know_ coffee will work if I need to stay up late (which I usually don't anymore).
But, in general, ditching coffee improved my well-being a _lot_. I sleep better, I don't have (the same kind of) headaches, and I don't push myself beyond what my body can take and spend 2-3 days recovering from a particularly intense day.
I do miss the flavor and enjoy a hot beverage (hence the barley), but I don't miss the stress it induced, or the crutch it was.