5 ms·

I catch a lot of flak for all the money I waste by buying coffees at coffeeshops, but it's my way of rate limiting. If I want a cup of coffee, I first have to m

I catch a lot of flak for all the money I waste by buying coffees at coffeeshops, but it's my way of rate limiting. If I want a cup of coffee, I first have to make myself presentable, go for a walk, and pay a cost. I also feel a bit weird about going back to the same place twice in one day, so that usually dissuades a follow-up trip, or at least makes me go on an even longer walk. Caffeine plays with everyone differently, but it's a technique that's worked for me. I'll probably never get a full setup at home as long as I live in a city.

agumonkey 5y ago
real life and society as rate limiting balancing mechanism :)
nikanj 5y ago
Wait you have to presentable to get coffee from a coffee shop? I've made a terrible mistake
- onemoresoop 5y ago
  It is solely up to you. At least you want to jump into some clothes and not go there in your PJs but that depends on you as well.
dr_orpheus 5y ago
I like to rate limit with my own coffee snobbery. Free pots of coffee at work? No thank you, I don't want any of that swill. I'm going to use my mini hand-pumped espresso maker for a single shot of espresso. I did used to drink the coffee at work and ended up drinking a lot of it. Crappy coffee, better drink it fast cause I just need the caffeine. Or my cup is not warm anymore so better chug the rest of it, or add more hot coffee to the mug. Rinse and repeat.
- globular-toast 5y ago
  I'm similar, except I'm not even that much of a snob any more. The only thing I really insist on is I grind the beans myself and make it in a cafetière. When I was a student I drank coffee fairly randomly. Any time of day really, whenever I felt like it, but it was never too much. Then I started at a workplace that had a bean-to-cup espresso machine. It got a bit out of control. Coffee was not only nice but also an excuse to spark up a conversation. I was drinking something like 6-8 cups a day. Interestingly, I don't recall having any kind of withdrawal on the weekends when I would drink much less. At some point several years ago I decided 6-8 cups is too much, and I also read about the bad effects caffeine has on sleep. So I decided to have two cups per day: one in the morning and one at lunch time. It has become so normal now that the thought of drinking coffee at any other time seems absurd.
- TAKEMYMONEY 5y ago
  Except a real snob would have a better espresso machine at home. My handpresso is ok for travel but even compared to pleb machines like my Pasquini Livia 90 the quality is bad. (Yes I'm using freshly ground beans that were picked and processed by virgins under moonlight, etc)
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
vmception 5y ago
I do something similar only because I’m a social caffeine drinker. I only go to cafes when on a walk or date, in prior times it would be during a break at the office with coworkers walking around the neighborhood. Nowadays that would be like 1 cafe latte every other week. But the only reason I have any setup at home at all is because I occasionally wake up next to people that believe they need coffee in the morning. I dont really know how to operate the machine. Adaptations.
AnotherGoodName 5y ago
Any excuse you can to go outside, walk around and interact during the work from home environment is a good idea. Posting this while waiting for my coffee :)
oneplane 5y ago
I used to drink a lot of the crappy stuff as well but as soon as you know the taste of real coffee (be it an excellent 3-minute 1:15 V60 single origin or a double shot espresso fresh from the machine from a local specialty roasting place) it just doesn't go down anymore. While it wasn't really much of a caffeine thing for me, I did simply like the taste and the fact that it's warm, but once you see it for the watery slurry from a marginal blend of "we found some beans on a boat" factory that it is, your taste in coffee gets upgraded and as a result you end up drinking less because the good stuff is not always within reach. Most people I meet at high quality espresso places have had a similar journey, generally from the crappy supermarket pre-ground stuff, to paper coffee pads to metal coffee pods to actual coffee at which point even the memory of an amazing Costa Rica natural at 93°C from a week ago is better than whatever an automatic machine can give you. For me, the caffeine doesn't do the whole 'boost' thing, doesn't impede sleep either. Coffee does make me dry out faster and that's something other people tend to forget, mistaking a headache for coffee-related instead of dehydration. But I can often taste the difference in decaf processed coffee and I general it does a disservice to the bean. On top of everything else, you don't really need a lot of coffee, and if large volumes of warm liquid is a joy in itself, we have things like infusions (ginger, mint, fruits, but also Rooibos) that doesn't really "do" anything but definitely make for a tasty hydrating drink. Right now I just manually grind my coffee at home (weighing it of course and making sure the grind size is correct - coffee snobbery makes it more work to get a cup you like), and pour a V60 or make an aeropress. Whenever I do want an espresso I'll go outside and visit my favourite espresso bar that can pull shots I'll never be able to make myself (unless I become a full-time barista I suppose).
- credit_guy 5y ago
  > as soon as you know the taste of real coffee De gustibus non disputandum est. I am one of those who tasted "real coffee". I read books about "real coffee", I bought equipment, I tried this and that, I went to coffee shops with stellar reviews (I live in NYC). I just apparently don't like what aficionados rave about. Instead, I used to love the ordinary Peet's coffee that I could buy in my office building. They don't sell it anymore, and I switched jobs anyway. Now I'm fine with Starbucks. I simply drink the coffee for the caffeine and not the taste. I guess 90% of the people do the same.
niklearnstodev 5y ago
I have a similar habit getting similar flak, but with another added reason. As a remote worker, going to a place every day (often leading to small interactions with others) helps replace replace some elements of working from an office (commute, small chats with other frequenters, the getting presentable ritual you mentioned, etc). I'll append a gripe to this and say that employers should allow "work-from-home budgets" to be put towards credit at local coffee shops.
- Guest42 5y ago
  Pre-COVID this was my exact approach. I felt like there was a certain sense of randomness and adventure that was inspiring towards whatever I was working on.
- bduerst 5y ago
  I've heard nicotine addiction described the same way by more than one person. It's not about the cigarettes, it's about the smoke break, which gets you away from your desk, outdoors, and socializing with strangers.
  - jimmygrapes 5y ago
    Adding one more data point for your anecdote. These are the exact reasons I started smoking, and the same excuses I use to continue (along with the newfound addiction of course). It weighs heavily into my cost/benefit analysis for smoking despite all known and experienced bad things about it.
  - Fnoord 5y ago
    I never liked the socializing part, it was more some kind of FOMO with the smokers. The other ones stand. But the way it should be is that everyone gets a break, and that you can do smoking during the break or something else. Something like smoking a cigarette was something to hold in my hands and something to do when nervous. I know a better way to get some exercise: do a warming up, put on a podcast or music, and go run (cardio). You do two in one, and you don't have to go to a coffee shop (I find the idea of a coffee shop ridiculous, like a pub, because these goods are perfectly affordable and reachable at home but then again I'm not into the socializing aspect).
hffftz 5y ago
> but it's my way of rate limiting caffeine aint that bad... why do you kneed to do that?
- wbobeirne 5y ago
  Everyone's got their own personal tolerances and limits. Did you read the blog post? Sounds like OP was having a pretty bad time.
  - hffftz 5y ago

agumonkey 5y ago

real life and society as rate limiting balancing mechanism :)

nikanj 5y ago

Wait you have to presentable to get coffee from a coffee shop? I've made a terrible mistake

onemoresoop 5y ago
It is solely up to you. At least you want to jump into some clothes and not go there in your PJs but that depends on you as well.

dr_orpheus 5y ago

I like to rate limit with my own coffee snobbery. Free pots of coffee at work? No thank you, I don't want any of that swill. I'm going to use my mini hand-pumped espresso maker for a single shot of espresso. I did used to drink the coffee at work and ended up drinking a lot of it. Crappy coffee, better drink it fast cause I just need the caffeine. Or my cup is not warm anymore so better chug the rest of it, or add more hot coffee to the mug. Rinse and repeat.

globular-toast 5y ago
I'm similar, except I'm not even that much of a snob any more. The only thing I really insist on is I grind the beans myself and make it in a cafetière. When I was a student I drank coffee fairly randomly. Any time of day really, whenever I felt like it, but it was never too much. Then I started at a workplace that had a bean-to-cup espresso machine. It got a bit out of control. Coffee was not only nice but also an excuse to spark up a conversation. I was drinking something like 6-8 cups a day. Interestingly, I don't recall having any kind of withdrawal on the weekends when I would drink much less. At some point several years ago I decided 6-8 cups is too much, and I also read about the bad effects caffeine has on sleep. So I decided to have two cups per day: one in the morning and one at lunch time. It has become so normal now that the thought of drinking coffee at any other time seems absurd.
TAKEMYMONEY 5y ago
Except a real snob would have a better espresso machine at home. My handpresso is ok for travel but even compared to pleb machines like my Pasquini Livia 90 the quality is bad. (Yes I'm using freshly ground beans that were picked and processed by virgins under moonlight, etc)

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

vmception 5y ago

I do something similar only because I’m a social caffeine drinker. I only go to cafes when on a walk or date, in prior times it would be during a break at the office with coworkers walking around the neighborhood. Nowadays that would be like 1 cafe latte every other week. But the only reason I have any setup at home at all is because I occasionally wake up next to people that believe they need coffee in the morning. I dont really know how to operate the machine. Adaptations.

AnotherGoodName 5y ago

Any excuse you can to go outside, walk around and interact during the work from home environment is a good idea. Posting this while waiting for my coffee :)

oneplane 5y ago

I used to drink a lot of the crappy stuff as well but as soon as you know the taste of real coffee (be it an excellent 3-minute 1:15 V60 single origin or a double shot espresso fresh from the machine from a local specialty roasting place) it just doesn't go down anymore. While it wasn't really much of a caffeine thing for me, I did simply like the taste and the fact that it's warm, but once you see it for the watery slurry from a marginal blend of "we found some beans on a boat" factory that it is, your taste in coffee gets upgraded and as a result you end up drinking less because the good stuff is not always within reach. Most people I meet at high quality espresso places have had a similar journey, generally from the crappy supermarket pre-ground stuff, to paper coffee pads to metal coffee pods to actual coffee at which point even the memory of an amazing Costa Rica natural at 93°C from a week ago is better than whatever an automatic machine can give you. For me, the caffeine doesn't do the whole 'boost' thing, doesn't impede sleep either. Coffee does make me dry out faster and that's something other people tend to forget, mistaking a headache for coffee-related instead of dehydration. But I can often taste the difference in decaf processed coffee and I general it does a disservice to the bean. On top of everything else, you don't really need a lot of coffee, and if large volumes of warm liquid is a joy in itself, we have things like infusions (ginger, mint, fruits, but also Rooibos) that doesn't really "do" anything but definitely make for a tasty hydrating drink. Right now I just manually grind my coffee at home (weighing it of course and making sure the grind size is correct - coffee snobbery makes it more work to get a cup you like), and pour a V60 or make an aeropress. Whenever I do want an espresso I'll go outside and visit my favourite espresso bar that can pull shots I'll never be able to make myself (unless I become a full-time barista I suppose).

credit_guy 5y ago
> as soon as you know the taste of real coffee De gustibus non disputandum est. I am one of those who tasted "real coffee". I read books about "real coffee", I bought equipment, I tried this and that, I went to coffee shops with stellar reviews (I live in NYC). I just apparently don't like what aficionados rave about. Instead, I used to love the ordinary Peet's coffee that I could buy in my office building. They don't sell it anymore, and I switched jobs anyway. Now I'm fine with Starbucks. I simply drink the coffee for the caffeine and not the taste. I guess 90% of the people do the same.

niklearnstodev 5y ago

I have a similar habit getting similar flak, but with another added reason. As a remote worker, going to a place every day (often leading to small interactions with others) helps replace replace some elements of working from an office (commute, small chats with other frequenters, the getting presentable ritual you mentioned, etc). I'll append a gripe to this and say that employers should allow "work-from-home budgets" to be put towards credit at local coffee shops.

Guest42 5y ago
Pre-COVID this was my exact approach. I felt like there was a certain sense of randomness and adventure that was inspiring towards whatever I was working on.
bduerst 5y ago
I've heard nicotine addiction described the same way by more than one person. It's not about the cigarettes, it's about the smoke break, which gets you away from your desk, outdoors, and socializing with strangers.
- jimmygrapes 5y ago
  Adding one more data point for your anecdote. These are the exact reasons I started smoking, and the same excuses I use to continue (along with the newfound addiction of course). It weighs heavily into my cost/benefit analysis for smoking despite all known and experienced bad things about it.
- Fnoord 5y ago
  I never liked the socializing part, it was more some kind of FOMO with the smokers. The other ones stand. But the way it should be is that everyone gets a break, and that you can do smoking during the break or something else. Something like smoking a cigarette was something to hold in my hands and something to do when nervous. I know a better way to get some exercise: do a warming up, put on a podcast or music, and go run (cardio). You do two in one, and you don't have to go to a coffee shop (I find the idea of a coffee shop ridiculous, like a pub, because these goods are perfectly affordable and reachable at home but then again I'm not into the socializing aspect).

hffftz 5y ago

> but it's my way of rate limiting caffeine aint that bad... why do you kneed to do that?

wbobeirne 5y ago
Everyone's got their own personal tolerances and limits. Did you read the blog post? Sounds like OP was having a pretty bad time.
- hffftz 5y ago