Quitting coffee?

So I want to do a small experiment and stop drinking coffee for a while. I have no idea for who long, we'll just see how this develops on the way. 

Why am I doing this? To have more room and time for alcohol! Actually, I don't have a strong reason or motivation for doing so, just wanted to give it try basically. One of the reasons I want do it are, that when you drink coffee regularly you need more to have the same energy effect. When we're awake adenosine is produced and bound to the receptor in our brains which makes us feel tired. Caffeine has a very similar structure to adenosine, so it binds with the brain receptors instead of adenosine making as feel more awake. With regular consumption of coffee, over time our brains develop more receptors and hence need more coffee for the same effect. Currently, I am not employed ot studying and I can use this time to relax and decrease my tolerance to caffeine, making it more effective when I really need coffee to stay awake. 

Recently, I've been drinking 1-2 cups of coffee per day, one in the morning and sometimes another in the afternoon. The most coffee I ever drank was probably 2 years ago in my first semester of master studies. I had lectures the whole day and a free coffee machine at the university. So I was having a cup of coffee every break we had. In total it was 3-5 cups of coffee per day. So when it happened that I just take 1 or no coffee at all, I had headaches. That ''addiction headache'' passed after few days.

So in no way am I trying to recommend not drinking coffee. Coffee has many benefits, as well as some downsides. I will only report my effects from trying to quit drinking coffee, temporarily I guess.

Day 1.

I miss the morning coffee ritual. I'm still having my cereals and a glass of water with lemon, but I miss the coffee. I don't recall me enjoying the taste of coffee that much when I drink it, but I miss it nevertheless.  
To decrease my craving for coffee, I had a cup of hot chocolate. I know it's not healthy, but I enjoyed it.
I had a hint of a headache during the day, but not a real headache.
I don't think I actually felt any more tired than I usually am. 
Hmm... for those of you really interested, bowel movement was the same.

Day 2. 

I am drinking a lot of herbal tea; I have a lot of dried leaves from different plants. Fresh ginger tea is an option I use often, with a slice of lemon. I love the British (at least their accents and sense of humour), but tea is nowhere near as satisfying as coffee. 
All the physical symptoms were absent. Then I ''went for a coffee''... Let me have a break here to explain. In my language the expression ''going for coffe'' is used for any type of going out, even when you go for a beer. Nevertheless, we do like going out for a coffee and we do it very often, and it lasts minimum one hour. Hear that, Italians? Coffe is not a shoot, enjoy it and make it last. 
So I was in the bar around 13:00 and when the waiter came by reflex I said ''one regular coffee, please''. 

Guess I'll be starting from day 1 again.

Day 1.

I still miss the coffee ritual, it makes me feel that coffee was actually delicious, even though it really wan't. I stopped drinking coffee with sugar 2 years ago. I went for hot chocolate again today. That was my last hot chocolate, I can't make anymore, so we'll se how I'll deal with it tomorrow.
One interesting thing I've noticed is that I have random energy spikes during the day. I can't remember did I have them before. Chances are I did, but didn't pay attention until now. I'm still sleepy and tired in the morning, but that was also the case when I drank coffee. 

Day 2.

As every other morning, this as well was difficult to focus and start learning. I am trying to learn something on my own, and I am not time limited and don't have a schedule. I am trying to spend most of my day on it. In reality I do practice every day, just not as much as I would like to. Without that psychological boost of bringing a cup of coffee next to my laptop, I am having difficulties starting the learning process before noon.
Around 13:00h today, my head started hurting. I have no idea what the reason could be. I was hoping it will pass soon on its own, but when it didn't I took a painkiller called Caffetine. One pill contains 50mg of caffeine; meanwhile one cup of coffee contains 100-200mg of caffeine on average. It had to be done. In short, there was a caffeine intake, but I will still count today as a success. 

Day 3.

The morning went well, but the rest of the day was chaotioc. I had a light headache from 14:00 until I went to sleep at 23.30  The headache wasn't that hard, so I didn't want to take a pill. However even a light headache is a problem if you have to put up with it for 10 hours. I don't know if it's the coffee withdrawal that caused the headache or something else, but it's  a notable remark. 

Day 4.

Again, I started having a headache around 14:00, but this time they disappeared quicker, in a few hours. Everything else seemed fine. My day went quickly by. I prepared some materials for the next German lesson I'll be teaching, did some housework and went to my grandmother's for lunch. After lunch I've meet with a friend for some microbrews and pizza, so coffee wasn't really on my mind. 

Days 5-8.

Since, my headaches are gone and coffee craving have disappeared I haven't been writing less. 

From this point of view, I do believe those headaches were from coffee withdrawal. After 3 days they were gone. My desire for coffee in the morning is also gone.

It is still tricky when I go out. It beginning of March, so I can still order tea when I'm out, but not sure what to do in the summer. That is if I continue with the no coffee experiment by the beginning of summer. 

I'm thinking decaf would be a nice option to enjoy the ritual of having coffee with friends, which you might have as a option in your countries, but it's not usual in Bosnia. 

Day 9-10.

This experiment is turning out to be successful. I don't have coffee craving out of the blue anymore, but I do feel tempted when someone directly offers me coffee. For example, in the afternoon after lunch, when I'm feeling sleepy, if someone asks do I want coffee, it is hard do decline. I have been taking afternoon naps, but I did that before as well, so I won't count it in as a change with respect to quitting coffee. 

Also this morning when I was making coffee for my day, it smelled really nice. Coincidentally, my mom stopped drinking coffee at the same time as I did. Due to stomach problems she somehow ended up not drinking coffee for 5 days. Now, she still drinks tea instead of coffee in the morning and sometimes has a coffee in the afternoon. Never by her own, instead only on social occasions, with guests. 

Bosnian socializing heavily relies on coffee consumption. If anyone comes to your house that's the first thing you'll offer them or probably already have it prepared if you're know they're coming. Furthermore, drinking coffee is strongly present among youth as well. The reason being is, students don't have a lot of money, but they still go out with friends very often and sit in coffe shops. The cheapest beverage in any coffee place, bar or pub is coffee. Coffee used to be 1 Bosnian mark (0.50€). Nowadays, in the capital, it is 1.5-3 Bosnian marks (0.75-1.5€). Tea is the same price, but it's reserved for winter time. Coffee is the cheapest drink consumed throughout the whole year. 

Day 11-15.

So it's been 15 days since I had coffee. Is it a long or a short time depends on your perspective. 

These past days, I haven't had any coffee cravings or felt the desire to drink because I'm tired. However, I do get random thoughts how Ive proven I can do it and cured my addiction, and than now I can start ocassionally having coffee or cappuccino. Those thoughts make me feel that my process is not over yet and that I should wait it out more, i.e. that coffee still has some tricks up its sleeves to deceive me.