I have mixed feelings about the stuff, I composed the OP while sitting in Peet’s. I wish they were as ubiquitous as Starbucks as I prefer them.

If you can score a viewing of the video, it’s interesting. Pollan is a bright light in the field of that which we put in our bodies IMO. He gets into the history a little bit, some of it I already knew, such as many people routinely drank weak beer and other alcoholic beverages as it was usually safer than drinking water. Children as well. People were frequently slightly buzzed. With the arrival of coffee and tea, things started to change. As those require boiling of water, the same water safety service is performed. Only then people were mildly buzzed in a different direction.

I don’t think coffee is all that bad, but there is a downside to it. It leads to weakened bones and marrow. It also interferes with sleep. Pollan mentioned that he slept better during his time away.

The hellacious headache you get when you quit coffee is not a withdrawal symptom, it is a symptom of the toxicity of coffee, no longer masked by the stimulant effect, which wears off more quickly. During my times of most serious coffee addiction, I found it annoying that I had to have a cup by noon or 1 PM to keep the humongous headache away.

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