I'm 25 and I've just now truly discovered the wonders of caffeine.

Well yes and no. I realized long ago that drinking a cup of coffee could easily send me into an anxiety filled episode (I don't usually deal with anxiety so it does strike me as strange). Apart from the fact that anxiety sucks, the waves hit me long after I've finished the drink and I'm left wondering why the hell I feel a sense of impending doom.

On the morning of my 21st birthday, I was sitting in Costa in Muscat and soon after drinking a caramel macchiato I had the most wonderful quarter-ish life crisis. It was lovely. Just this past Sunday night I was crying on and off for about 20 minutes reflecting on my job, my future, all of the above. Yes, I did look manic. It didn't help that I was watching a 10 year old YouTube video of a sweet 93 year old woman cooking Depression Era meals. Cue the reflections on age, death, world poverty, and humanity. All because I couldn't resist drinking the most delicious vanilla iced coffee in existence (Sunny's Bagel and Deli on Barrett Parkway). Oh my gosh it's so good. As my sister put it, "It's like I'm drinking satin."

sausage egg & cheese everything bagel, cuban sandwich, and the best damn iced coffee

I know some of you may say, "but Melissa- on more than 73 occasions I've seen you throw down a large Dunkin' Donuts iced coffee like it ain't no thing". Relax ✋, I've also asked myself why I can manage when it comes to DD. I've come to the conclusion that the cream and sugar contents just overshadow the amount of coffee in the drink (and that's probably while I love it so much #DunkinDonutsOrDeath).

But, there is good news! I've discovered my caffeine threshold and *gasp* it increases my productivity at work (although I'm still debating on whether it's really affecting me or I have a placebo effect going on- probably the first one).

I was at work one day and just thought I could really go for an iced black milk tea or Thai tea right about now. Soon after, this little light bulb just went off in my head. So I stepped into the break room, placed a black tea k-cup in the Keurig, brewed it and added a little sugar and a creamer single and voila ..... black milk tea. It took me a fraction of a second to go from "oh my god my wonderful invention" to "oh my god this is literally just how your average Brit takes their tea."

Regardless, I haven't looked back and that cuppa is my perfect recipe for a boost of energy without the jitters. I don't drink it daily because deep down I still fear it, but I am very satisfied.

ignore my huge stirrer

Another source of caffeine deliciousness has been from the mobile espresso bar pop up we've had at our building for the last month or so. They were only in our building once a week for the month of October, but due to demand they will be there about 2 or 3 days out of the week- yay! I always get their chai latte, it's so creamy, rich, and always the perfect temperature. I can't describe it, it's a total pick me up. A few weeks ago I went to Starbucks because I was thinking about a chai latte and . . . . I couldn't even drink it- it was SAD. But with Fuel Coffee's chais I genuinely have to stop myself from getting a second before they leave at 2PM. As a mobile bar, Fuel Coffee does all kinds of events and I'm really just thinking of any occasion I can host so that I can book them (thank you Carlos for existing and making my morning each Thursday).



Coming Soon- My Podcast Playlist