Coffee - by Talia

Coffee.

A few nights ago I walked home with a lovely lady, known for her generosity and delightful tea brewing at our Yoga studio. I asked her how to correctly say: "꿀잠 주무세요" (kkaljam jumuseyo), which translates to: have a honey sleep. That got us chatting about coffee. 

{See notes below for some interesting finds about the Korean coffee culture.]

She confessed that if she drank two espressos after 12pm, she would be unable to sleep until 2am. I had had a similar experience if I took even a sip after 4pm. However, there were occasional instances where I drank coffee much later in the evenings, and sometimes I fell asleep as normal. I noticed that when I could fall asleep well, I was not preoccupied with the time. I had simply enjoyed my coffee and the company around me; in the moment.

Einspänner coffees and pound cake at Coffee Philosophy, Daegu.

(Photo by Georgeanna Hall)

On other occasions I have experienced an unpleasant sensation of anxiety for 2 or 3 hours after drinking coffee . Usually it happened at work after lunchtime (which was especially stressful at my kindergarten job). Yet, during my vacation, it started to arise at my yoga studio too after eating meals together. I began to pick up on thoughts I had after lunch: thoughts of needing to do something 

- was it really okay just to sit down and rest? (whether at work, the yoga studio or even alone at home?)

Returning to work, I watched carefully. On days I expected even a hint of stress, I would avoid coffee. But soon I was experiencing the anxiety without coffee!

It came to a point where the anxiety did not last just a few hours - I was experiencing it every minute of the day except for during yoga class and Kapalabhati breathing meditation. It was almost unbearable. I would even try sneak some Kapalabhati during work hours - but then that wasn't meditation at all. I felt guilty for doing it. In fact, I felt guilty all the time at work, like I wasn't doing enough, or perhaps simply: well enough. The same feeling followed me to the Yoga studio. It even followed me home.

**Once you become aware of something, it doesn't simply go away. You have to watch it as it comes up. It is like a seed, and each thought is a drop of water, each action is a ray of sun. Is your water polluted, is your sun scorching hot or covered with clouds?

I began to sense unease in my chest just before the guilt would fully rise. There would be a thought. The thought could be a little different every time, but all of it led to: 'I should feel bad (about this)'.

I created this belief each time.

I created my own suffering. 

In the situation at work, I felt guilty for 'not doing something'. By choosing to avoid something I believed unpleasant, I had essentially doubled its weight. 

Master has said: "guilt is in place of action".

In that case, I confronted the issue. 

Truthfully, the guilt returned eventually. Now when it comes up, I question whether I need to feel bad (about something) - and there is nothing that warrants such suffering. Guilt is just holding onto the past, creating your misery -  do what you need and let go of it. 

Be happy in this moment, then it doesn't matter if you are drinking coffee at midnight or not 😉

Notes:

• In Korea, most coffee stores and cafes only open at 10am, despite earlier work hours
• Except for street vendors selling sweet breads, cafes are the only places for baked goods and desserts (restaurants are specialized for certain traditional dishes)
• It seems justifiable that cafes then usually stay open until 10-11pm
• The cultural trend is to visit cafes on the weekends
• Many cafe owners keep their potential customers in mind when designing special areas or frames worthy of "photoshoots"
• There are even cafes inside of traditional Korean "handooks", or part of art galleries or farm house!
• Many cafes have unique signature coffees and teas that can change with the seasons, which are usually most delicious and worth the try!

There is a lot more to Korean coffee culture than one might expect, and more than what is written here. I hope you find this interesting. 

Feel free to leave comments below!