Espresso's Good, But Why Decaffeinated Coffee?

Summary: I love above all else to drink coffee, but I am still totally baffled why anyone would drink decaffeinated varieties. What about the needed and pleasurable caffeine rush? What would possess anyone in his or her right state of mind to give up on a good espresso for that dribble? Does this not take away the whole reason for drinking a decent cup of delicious coffee? I was soon to learn why this drudgery even existed. As I discovered pregnancy, I quickly developed a new tas...

I love above all else to drink coffee, but I am still totally baffled why anyone would drink decaffeinated varieties. What about the needed and pleasurable caffeine rush? What would possess anyone in his or her right state of mind to give up on a good espresso for that dribble? Does this not take away the whole reason for drinking a decent cup of delicious coffee? I was soon to learn why this drudgery even existed. As I discovered pregnancy, I quickly developed a new taste for it. In fact, strangely enough, I actually really started to like it for the flavor alone. Weird, right? Hormonal reaction, maybe? That may have been a possibility, but you should read the rest. Unfortunately, for everyone else, I cannot resist the insatiable urge to learn absolutely everything there is to know about pregnancy and how to avoid all known complications, diseases and anything, even the bubonic plague. Science said to avoid aspartame because how much of it was harmful was unknown. Luncheon meat was out because of a possible infection from listeria. Caffeine was the biggest fear – possible miscarriage. The fact is that you have to consume a minimum of three portions of normal coffee each day to do this, but it frightened me enough to settling for decaffeinated drinks and simple sodas. Then, reaching my half-term point, I was horrified to discover through some television coverage that some decaffeinated varieties from coffeehouses may not be as caffeine free as they had claimed. Of course, it is obvious that there was some fractional amount of caffeine left in my drinks. However, I never dreamt that I was consuming close to that in the regular drinks. Then I discovered something else. In almost 60% of cases, the caffeine concentration in decaf was no different from the regular. As if that wasnt enough, scientists discovered that the problem lay in a cross-brewing process or the very brewing machines that had not been cleaned properly after the last batch. Normally that would not be a problem. However, in my case that was out of the question. I understand now that during pregnancy my instincts to protect my unborn child left me now mad enough to eliminate any coffee types from my diet altogether, unless I made it myself. My pregnancy was to go undisturbed with any hint of decaf and that it frankly didnt help my moods during my last trimester.