Today, I saw the following tweet on Twitter:

This made me smile—not because of how creepy my friend Dave Redding is (very creepy), but because of how true the sentiment is. At least, it's true for me. Coffee is an addiction that I've fully embraced. It's difficult for me to start a day without that bold flavor. Some developers might choose to get their buzz in another way (and a smaller percentage choose to have none at all), but I've picked coffee as my caffeine-delivery system of choice.

I've really become quite the coffee snob. For me, only the very best coffee will do. I buy my coffee whole bean from Grounds for Thought in Bowling Green, OH. Of all the roasts they produce, Kenya "Gazelle" AA and Papua New Guinea "Mile High" Estate AA+ are definitely my favorites. The Kenya has a nice bite that wakes me up while the New Guinea is smooth all the way down.

But what is it about caffeine that causes many developers crave it so? I mean, aside from the fact that it helps wake us up in the mornings. It certainly doesn't make me a nicer person to be around. In fact, too much makes me downright grouchy. However, the right amount seems to put my brain in a zone that sees problems more clearly. It's almost as if the caffeine gives my think meat the extra zip that it needs to solve problems. Perhaps caffeine unlocks areas of our minds that allow us to be better developers, if only for a moment.

Then again, maybe that's just the coffee talkin'.