Why I love a Slow Morning with Coffee

If you know me, you know I love coffee.

And when I say I love coffee, I mean I really love coffee. I love drip coffee,      espresso, lattes, cold brew, French press, etc. I will drink any type of coffee.    My new obsession is my moka pot. I also love to try new coffee places and go out for coffee, even if I have plenty at home…

While I am probably addicted to the caffeine, my love for coffee goes so much further than the caffeine. To me, coffee is the base of something more meaningful, a slow morning and quality time. It’s the one ritual that reliably talks me into slowing down in a world that rarely allows us to do so.

 

Every morning starts the same way. Before I do anything or start thinking about everything I need to get done that day, I make coffee. There’s something incredibly calming about my brain feeling quiet and drinking my warm cup of coffee. It feels like a reset button.

For those few minutes, nothing else is really running through my brain. I’m not rushing to class or worrying about anything. And that’s usually where the rest of the slow morning starts to unfold, whether I plan it or not. Sometimes it’s a short walk or reading the news or a few pages of a book. But to be honest, usually at this time in the morning all I am doing is sitting looking out the window or sitting outside. Just thinking about it makes me feel calm.

None of this is productive in the way we usually mean the word, but that’s sort of the point. For a lot of us, our slow unbothered morning is the only real quiet we’ll get all day. After that, it’s constant noise and stimulation. The slow morning isn’t just pleasant, it’s often the single moment where nothing is being thrown at you. You’re not behind or late. And usually if I am behind or late, I still take my 10 minutes of peace in the morning. Oops!

What I love most about coffee, though, is not actually about drinking it alone. Some of the best times I’ve had have started with one simple question: “Do you want to grab coffee?” It creates its own invitation. It does not mean let’s go get caffeine, it means let’s go sit and get a yummy drink and chill, catch up, and talk whether it is for 30 minutes or 3 hours. Sometimes 5 if you are with your bestie.

There’s a French word that captures this feeling: “convivialité”. It describes the warmth and joy of spending time together, the comfort of sharing conversation, food, and experience with other people. There isn’t a perfect English translation, because it’s more of a feeling. I actually just looked up this word, and it does in fact exist in English as well. “Conviviality”. Good thing I am not an English major.

Whether it’s catching up with an old friend after months apart, meeting someone new at school, studying with people before an exam, or sitting across from a family member, coffee somehow makes the conversation feel more meaningful. Maybe it’s because we’re both holding some version of the same thing. Maybe it’s the vibe of the coffee shop, but even making coffee at home feels like this to me. Whatever it is, coffee has a way of bringing people together the same way a slow morning has a way of calming you down.

I’ve always admired cultures where sharing coffee is treated as an experience rather than just another part of the day. In many places around the world, coffee isn’t something you drink while speeding down the highway or multitasking through emails. Except I have heard in Italy they stand and drink their espressos quickly.

I think we’ve lost a little bit of that, with mornings in general, not just coffee. Our lives move so quickly that even the start of the day has become another thing to check off the list. We order coffee through an app, grab it through a drive-thru, and drink it while we’re already thinking about the next thing. There’s nothing wrong with convenience. I do it too, but sometimes I wonder what we’re missing when we never slow down long enough to enjoy it.

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I also love the experience of going out for coffee. It sounds funny, but getting coffee feels like a small luxury. It turns an ordinary Tuesday into something slightly more exciting. You pick a coffee shop, maybe put on a cute outfit, and order something you probably wouldn’t make at home. Like banana syrup? Hello SO yummy and not something I could ever pull off at home. What could have been just another afternoon feels like an outing.

There’s something special about sitting by the window of a café with a warm drink while people pass by outside. Every coffee shop has its own personality with different types of coffee. Some become places where students practically live during finals week, while others are where people gather to catch up after work. No matter where you go, they all create an opportunity to pause and enjoy.

Some of my favorite moments happen over coffee with friends. And on all different spectrums, whether it be taking a long walk to my favorite coffee shop in Columbia with my roommate or sitting and analyzing something with my best friend for hours, good or bad. It is always a conversation that we would normally not have, but when we have the chance to sit down and go in depth about a topic, it can completely change how I feel.

At the end of the day, I don’t think coffee is really about the drink, and a slow morning was never really about the schedule. Both are about the warmth you feel in your hands and the warmth of feeling calm and zen, either by yourself or with another person.

It’s about taking a break from the constant rush of life and remembering that not every part of the day needs to be earned or productive. Some of it can just be slow.

Maybe this is all just what I tell myself to feed my love of coffee and make it feel okay to have another cup.

****This article is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and is not a substitute for a conversation with a qualified healthcare provider. Individual health needs vary. If you have questions about your health, we invite you to schedule a consultation with one of our providers.