I swapped coffee for Nuun Energy. Here’s what happened:

Let me just start by saying that if coffee and I have a relationship it would be best described as “it’s complicated”. In 2019, when I was still driving into the office every day, I was a daily consumer of the office coffee. Would I say that I loved the office coffee? No, not really. But it was there, it was free, and it gave me a reason to get up from my desk and hang out in the kitchen for a bit.

In 2020, when my firm switched to working from home, a coworker was RAVING about her new espresso machine on Zoom. I bought into the hype and I bought an expresso machine. Then began the long process of actually learning to make my own espresso (and steam my own milk which was the hard part). One bean grinder upgrade later I came to the startling conclusion that I don’t actually like espresso drinks. Having that much milk in the morning does not agree with me. I’ll spare you the details, but trust me… 

So, I decided to cut out coffee all together for a week. This was a bad idea. My week without caffeine lasted exactly 4 days. I legitimately thought I was having an emotional crisis—my productivity at work evaporated, my girlfriend constantly thought I was mad at her, and my sleep schedule became weirdly erratic. I didn’t feel awake until my lunchbreak and then I ran out of steam immediately after dinner.

I’m not proud of this next decision, but in the spirit of honesty I feel I need to share it with you. I started drinking soda with my breakfast. I knew it was bad for me. I knew it didn’t make me feel great. I even switched to diet soda, but it was just bad all around. I’d say my soda drinking lasted for about two weeks and when my teenage acne came back in full force, I knew it was time to make a serious and dramatic change but I didn’t know what other options would work for me.

While all of this was happening, my girlfriend was complaining about it to anyone who would listen. Luckily for both of us, her sister works at Nuun. That’s how I ended up with a box full of Nuun Energy. I had always thought of Nuun as something for athletic people (not me) or people who really like camping (also not me), so I wasn’t really sure how a sports drink was going to help make my mornings less terrible. Still, I was desperate, so I gave Nuun Energy a try.

Here’s what I’ve learned: Nuun Energy is the best. It’s not like any other energy drink I’ve ever had (and I had plenty in college). It’s got none of their weird chemical taste or intense sugar volume. It tastes just like regular Nuun. Seriously!

Now, I want to be real with you: when I first made the switch, one tablet of Nuun Energy was not enough to kick my brain into gear in the morning. Each serving has 80mg of caffeine which is less than a cup of coffee but more than a soda. So, I started my switch with two Nuun Energy tablets in the morning. Then, I tapered down to 1.5. Now I have one tablet in the morning and sometimes a half tablet a little later in the day if I’ve been up late the night before. I’d estimate the process of finding my Nuun Energy routine has taken about a month.

My girlfriend’s sister asked if I was interested in sharing my story on the Nuun blog and I said “Nah, I’m not much of a writer.” But then she told me she would send me an extra 6 tubes of Nuun Energy, so here we are.

Long Story Short: I don’t like espresso drinks. I love Nuun Energy. It’s easier, tastier, and better for my digestion. If you want to try Nuun Energy as a substitute for your morning coffee I say, go for it! Maybe start with 2 tablets? That’s what worked for me.