Coffee has clearly won our hearts as a society. When you wake up and have those first few sips, you can practically hear Bill Withers iconic tune “Lovely Day” in the background starting to play and you just know it’s going to be a good one.

Let’s pause here and listen to ol’ Bill. Tell me he’s not that first sip of coffee embodied in a melody.

Damn, that was good.

I digress.

Sometimes I will take your pulse and ask, “Did you have coffee this morning?” I ask because coffee is a stimulant, it affects the heart, and I can feel it in your blood vessels. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We should talk about it though.

The next question I always ask—if you haven’t already volunteered the answer—is how much coffee are you drinking? For almost all of you, the answer should be one cup of high quality coffee per day, not per hour. I do have a couple patients who can drink the juice all day and it’s fine, but that’s probably not you. I know it’s not me!

The reason for this need for moderation is that in Chinese medicine we always emphasize the middle ground. Abstinence would be too harsh and would take the Bill Withers out of your life, but several cups of coffee per day is going to burn out your adrenal system and we don’t want that either. So, one cup of high quality coffee per day, for most people, is good.

I say high quality because coffee is often grown with loads of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Remember how we said coffee goes to the heart? You don’t want that stuff there. You want that heart-opening effect that coffee is so famous for, without anything toxic along for the ride. Most higher quality coffee roasters will fit this bill, but you can also look for outfits that specifically cater to pesticide-free. Here in San Diego you can check out Cafe Virtuoso or Bird Rock. Both are excellent. I prefer the former for espresso drinks at their roastery and latter for beans at home.

One instance in which you may need to pause and reevaluate your coffee practice is if you are experiencing anxiety or agitation. Coffee can turn up your sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) and that’s just a cold, hard fact. That’s okay though. If you are feeling anxious or agitated with coffee, take some time off. Switch to a darker roast (less caffeine). Decrease the amount you drink. Find some way of drinking or not drinking coffee that is balanced that works for you.

Another little trick for mitigating that increased amperage that might give you some jitters is to add a tiny bit of pearl powder to your coffee. This will take the edge off but still give you that open-heart-to-the-world feeling.

In rare cases, some patients will need to stop drinking coffee altogether. But for the rest of you I give my full blessing to enjoy in moderation. Be a weekend warrior with it, have a cup a day even… just enjoy yourself with your own best interests at heart.

See you at your next appointment.

—Jaime

Coffee

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