Letter #5: Decaf talk

Tonight is the 13th night. A night we appreciate the autumn moon and harvest. So says the internet. I didn’t know. I’ve recognized this day as a day to look at the moon and eat dangos.

It’s cloudy and I can’t see the moonlight tonight, but I made dangos anyway. I think I like making dangos.

It’s been a year since I started to drink decaffeinated coffee.

First, it was just a temporary replacement. I forgot to buy my usual coffee, and there was a decaf coffee in the pantry, so I tried it. I thought it would taste different or weaker than regular coffee, but it tasted the same. I usually add a lot of milk to my coffee, and maybe that’s why. But I definitely noticed the difference at night.

I used to feel discomfort (not pain) in my stomach at night for several years and thought it was due to stress or some kind of chronic issue. However, that discomfort disappeared a few days after I stopped drinking regular coffee. To test it, I switched back to regular coffee to see if the discomfort would return, and it did. So I decided that caffeinated drinks are no longer good for me.

As I started looking around, I noticed there are actually many decaf options available. My local supermarkets carry at least 2-3 decaf coffees, and I even found decaf versions of Lipton, PG Tips, and cold brew. I usually drink Genmai or Hoji tea (which have less caffeine than black tea), so if I can replace my coffee and black tea with decaf options, I won’t have any issues…

Have you already had coffee today? 

Cheers,
Setsuko