why I questioned coffee, and what I drink instead

You wake up and pour yourself a cup of golden liquid.
The smell fills the kitchen. The first sip lands instantly: warmth, familiarity, clarity.

Your engine turns on.
You’re ready to take on the day.

For years, this felt like a harmless ritual. Even a productive one.

But at some point, something changed.

 

when coffee stops feeling supportive

Instead of calm focus, I started to feel overstimulated.
Not alert in a grounded way, but wired, restless, always “on.”

My thoughts felt urgent rather than clear.
My gut became increasingly irritated, sending me to the bathroom more often than I’d like to admit.
And after the initial lift came the familiar crash… followed by the impulse for another cup.

Stopping for a day didn’t feel like an option either.
A splitting headache would show up right on schedule, as if my body was protesting the absence.

None of this happened overnight.
It crept in slowly, and because coffee is such a normalized ritual, I barely questioned it.

coffee as a stimulant

Coffee isn’t evil.
It tastes fantastic, smells incredible, and delivers a fast kick of energy.

But it is a stimulant.

And for some systems (especially sensitive, stressed, or already depleted ones) that stimulation comes at a cost. The lift is borrowed. The crash is the repayment.

What struck me most wasn’t that coffee gave energy…
It was how aggressively it demanded more.

looking for a different kind of energy

When I started questioning my relationship with coffee, I wasn’t looking for a “better caffeine hit.”
I was looking for something more sustainable, something that supported focus without urgency.

That’s when I began experimenting with green tea and functional mushrooms.

Not as a hack.
As a different way of working with the body.

why green tea feels different

Green tea contains significantly less caffeine than coffee, but more importantly, it contains L-theanine: an amino acid that promotes a calmer, more balanced state of alertness.

The result is a smoother rise in energy:

• Less jitteriness
• Less cortisol spike
• Less crash

Focus feels present, not forced.

the role of functional mushrooms

Functional mushrooms don’t stimulate.
They don’t “push” energy.

Traditionally used in Eastern wellness practices, they are often experienced as supportive to focus, stress resilience, digestion, and nervous system balance.

The effects aren’t instant or explosive.
They’re subtle. Cumulative. Grounding.

And that’s precisely why they pair so well with green tea.

what changed when I replaced coffee

This wasn’t a magic overnight switch.
The first days felt flatter. Less dramatic. Even a bit underwhelming.

But over time, a few things became noticeable:

• Energy became steadier throughout the day
• Focus felt calmer and more sustained
• Mood felt less reactive
• Digestion settled instead of being constantly provoked

• Evenings felt more relaxed, with better sleep quality
  
  

But most of all, I no longer felt like I was borrowing energy from tomorrow to survive today.

 

this isn’t about quitting coffee forever

This isn’t a manifesto against coffee.
Many people tolerate it just fine.

But if you’re sensitive, stressed, dealing with gut issues, or feeling perpetually wired-but-tired, it might be worth asking a simple question:

Is this still supporting me, or am I just repeating an old habit?

Coffee itself isn’t the problem.
Unconscious consumption is.

Once you understand that stimulation always comes with a cost, you can make more intentional choices about how you fuel your body, mind, and energy. Not just for productivity today, but for resilience in the long run.

Lex Zimmermann, Founder Veda Vana