Meditating with Coffee

If you love coffee and already practice meditation or want to start then these words are for you. Don’t love coffee? Feel free to substitute tea, hot chocolate, or whatever hot drink you enjoy.

Focusing on the breath is the most common way to practice meditation but may not be ideal for you. It’s simple, sure, but may be getting in the way of you developing a daily practice the lasts until the end of time. Instead of focusing on your breath, focus on thoughts, emotions, sensations on your body, noises, or a physical object that’s close by.

Or, focus on coffee. I’ve practiced meditation with coffee hundreds of times.

The smell, taste, and feeling of coffee

Make your coffee as usual and pour it into your mug of choice. Instead of going about your day or getting distracted, become fully aware of your coffee. Become intimate with how it smells, tastes and feels.

Move closer to your coffee. Be with it. Feel the steam rising into your nostrils. What does it smell like? What flavor hints do you smell? What emotions do the smells stir up? Smile. Be grateful for the wondrous joy that coffee brings into your life.

Take one sip. How does it taste? Does it taste as good as it smells? Is it too watery or just right? Make a mental note so that you improve the taste when making coffee tomorrow. Take another sip but hold it in your mouth for a second or two.

Savor the taste.

Upon swallowing, feel the coffee traveling down your throat and the rest of your body. Feel the heat being transferred from the mug to your hands. Is it warming your hands or is it too hot to the touch? Are your hands moving around to avoid the heat or staying put to breathe in the warmth?

5 minutes (or less) is all you need

Continue this process for as long as you wish. I’ve been drinking coffee out of 6 oz mugs and meditating with this amount for about 5–7 minutes. In comparison to other meditation sessions, my mind gets lost in thought for shorter durations. Every sniff or sip of coffee brings me back to the present.

Practicing meditation with coffee makes it easier to be mindful during other waking moments.

Are you ready to meditate with coffee?