Coffee is one of the greatest morning pick-me-ups this world has ever seen…or at least that’s what I thought.
I’ve been drinking 3-4 cups of coffee every day for the past few years, and I always knew I had a problem with needing coffee, but I always thought it would be easy to quit coffee. Wow, was I wrong!
Let’s answer some common questions about coffee.
How much coffee is too much?
Honestly, if you need 3 cups or more of coffee a day to function, it’s becoming a problem. But I would (now) also argue it’s a problem if you need it to feel awake in the morning, as I did.
How can I quit drinking coffee?
You have two options: going cold turkey and cutting back slowly. If your goal is just to reduce the amount of coffee you’re drinking, it’s ok to just cut back slowly. Maybe having half the amount of coffee you normally have for a few days is a good idea. Then when you’re ready, drop down to half of that for a few days. Do that until you’re UNDER the amount of coffee you’d normally like to drink a day. And then, you’ve got to stay vigilant and make sure you don’t go above your new limit you’ve set for yourself.
The other option is quitting caffeine completely (or at least coffee) – this is called going “cold turkey,” and this is the method I used. If you’re truly addicted to coffee, days 2 and 3 will be a very painful experience. My withdrawal symptoms were worse than a most hangovers from alcohol I’ve ever had. But I used that as my motivation. “I never want to go threw these withdrawal symptoms again.” And so, I used that motivation to keep going. It’s been over a month now, and the only caffeine I have is green tea or chocolate on occasion.
What are the benefits of quitting coffee?
Unfortunately, the biggest benefit for me that I wanted is the hardest to see change on a daily basis. Are my teeth whiter than they used to be? I have no idea. But there are so many other benefits.
The greatest benefit I’ve noticed is that I’m more awake throughout the day. When I wake up in the morning, I don’t need a cup of coffee to feel like I’m ready to face the day – which is great when you’re always cutting it close to being late to work. I also don’t need that midday coffee to keep me going. It’s midday now, and I feel fine. I also noticed I can function better on less sleep. I guess my sleep is getting better now that my caffeine consumption has dropped dramatically. It takes a long time (6 hours half-life) for coffee to fully leave the body, so most people sleep with still plenty of caffeine in their body. I sleep better, and I am awake in a better state of mind.
Second, I’ve stopped going to cafes as much, and I’m saving a lot of money. I hate spending too much money in cafes, so going there just for a cup of expensive tea is not a great option. I only go now when friends want to meet me there. (Full disclosure, I’m at a cafe drinking 4,500 won ($4) tea right now. That price is gross.)
I stopped wasting paper and plastic. I probably added 700 to 1000 cups of trash to our waste facilities. It’s no always easy to recycle, and when you do, there’s no guarantee that the cups will go to a recycling facility. Sometimes, they just end up in the mounds of garbage that pile up.
My SKIN! I have less redness on my skin. That’s so nice ~ now I don’t need as much CC cream when I’m doing YouTube videos.
And another great benefit? I realized I can overcome something I thought for sure I couldn’t get over. That’s a confidence boost that I’ve never experienced before.
There are a few more great benefits in the video above, so if you have the time, please check it out. And if you like the video, let me know in the comments section if I should do another video about another question you have about quitting coffee.
Hope you’re all doing well out there, with or without coffee! No judgement coming from me. I’m happy I stopped drinking coffee, but I also miss it sometimes. Do what’s right for you.

All the best,
~ Alex ~