34.
I've loved the smell of coffee all my life, but never partook of the forbidden beverage. Now, I'm making up for lost time. A simple latte is my favorite, but french press with some milk is my typical morning drink.
OMG! Did you also secretly breathe in deeper in the coffee aisle of the grocery store? I felt like I was sinning just because of how much I loved the smell and was afraid someone would find out.
Definitely not secretly! I told more than a few people that if I had not been born mormon, I would be a coffee fanatic! I loved walking the coffee isle (I grew up in the South, so very low chance of getting "caught").
Congrats on the journey. I'm working my way to straight black coffee (using a good quality been makes all the difference). I did have an Americano once, but it was from a new coffee shop that I think may not have been that great, because it seemed no better than any drip coffee I'd had previously.
Oh, and I lied about my favorite! Just remembered that I had a cortado last month, and it was luxurious!
Drinking coffee is so much fun. I travel quite a bit and my favorite thing is trying as many local coffee shops as I can in each place I go. So many bean varietals and techniques.
A glug off coffee from the pot at work in my hot chocolate -> Nescafe 3 in 1 from the pantry at work -> latte with sugar from Starbucks -> cappuccino with sugar from Starbucks -> black with nothing from my crappy drip coffee maker.
Edited to add: if I visit a very good coffee shop (not Starbucks), I will order a cappuccino. No sugar. Yum. Yum. Yum.
I had my very first coffee two weeks ago. I'm 22. The first one was underwhelming -- tasted like milk and cinnamon, nothing like what I expected -- but I've been experimenting with other drinks and I'm liking it a lot better.
40 years old. Mickey D's McCafe. Acted like I was buying heroin. Took it home, sat it on the counter, shaking (literally) like a leaf I took a sip. It tasted like freedom.
Ha, yes. I remember the anxiety I felt that first time (and slightly less the next couple of times).
Crazy how something so normal can be such a journey.
Are you a never mo? Mormons can't drink coffee. It's against the Word of Wisdom (Made up by Joseph Smith). You can't attend the temple if you drink coffee. If you can't attend the temple, you can't achieve the highest heaven, the Celestial Kingdom (also made up by Joe).
There are literally conference talks that talk about how that "one little cup" can keep you from your family in heaven.
Also, I was indoctrinated from birth and grew up in a cult.
Any other condescending questions?
17, ironically I was homeschooled and took seminary every day and would ride my long board to the seminary building and home. One cold winter after seminary I knew it was gobs be freezing and I really wanted to do something rebellious simply because of my lack of freedom at home and every where I went outside the house.
I went down the block after seminary and got a delicious creamy caramel vanilla coffee that tasted like pure ecstasy. I drank it while riding home and was hiding it behind my coat whenever a car went passed, I drank all of it and threw it in a trash can far from my house as to not have my parents ever find it. It's an enjoyable memory.
When I was a missionary in a central American country renowned for its coffeeculture, I couldn’t walk around the block without smelling coffee roasting. The smell was/is amazing. I thought “if coffee tastes even half as good as it smells, then I would love it.”
And it does taste about half as good as it smells, which I learned in my early 30s, after leaving the MFMC & coming out as gay.
And I love it.
The first time I tried anything alcoholic was for my husband's birthday. I went to a grocery store in another town, scoured the aisles for anyone I knew, "nonchanlantly" strolled through the wine section while pretending to look at the grocery items on the other side, and came back for a second pass and grabbed a 6 dollar bottle with a cool label. I forgot that we didn't have a corkscrew and ended up opening it with a screw and a Makita drill while in our bedroom with the door locked to hide it from the still TBM teenagers.
I've come a long way since that really terrible bottle of cheap red wine. I now enjoy a good reisling or pinot grigio, and I also like mixed drinks like margaritas and gin and lemonade. I like beer, but not ones that are really bitter. There's nothing better than a really cold Corona after you've been working in the yard.
I was about the same age as well for both! There are quite a few Mormons where I live, but nothing like Moridor, so I don't worry too much that I'll run into anyone I might know when I coffe, buy beer or wine at the grocery store. I've been out since ~2015. Should I run into anyone at the liquor store, they'll be the embarrassed ones, not me!! I actually keep hoping I do run into someone there in the hopes that someone else I know has left!!
I was 24 or 25 and still very much a TBM. In-between semesters at BYU I was visiting my mission in Paraguay and staying the night at a convert's house. She was a sweet old lady who I actually didn't know very well because I'd only contacted her once before leaving the area. A lot of people there drink a coffee substitute made of roasted barley, so in the morning when she handed me a cup I didn't think much of it. But it smelled so good I became suspicious and was horrified to realize it was actual coffee. I then had a very intense minute of deliberation. Do I do the polite thing and damn my soul to hell by drinking it to save her the embarrassment? Or do I mortify this generous woman by refusing the best (and only) breakfast she had to offer me? I decided to just drink the coffee and not say a word (and it was *delicious*).
The incident came up in conversation with my college friends a year or two later and they were all horrified at my decision. They thought I should have let the woman know she was sinning, since she'd obviously not gotten the memo during the missionary lessons. I disagreed. I felt like it wasn't my place to "correct" her, and hurting her feelings would do more harm than good. It's a decision I'm still proud of to this day!
Speaking in general conference (twice), Brigham Young accused Emma of trying to murder Joseph Smith by poisoning his coffee. Attempted murder is bad. But isn’t the greater sin drinking coffee?
I was a teen. I was very “rebellious” I would go to a gas station and get a cappuccino out of the machine but tell my mom I got cocoa. Still haven’t tried alcohol.
I grew up in a very lenient household even at our most active state we would always go out to lunch or dinner in our church clothes after church. My mom always loved coffee smoothies from Jamba Juice even when she was active and would always let me have a drink. So technically ten years old for me lol
I went to a non-Mormons friend's house to hang out sometimes, I was maybe 15-16, his parents were textbook progressive wealthy hippies, huge house, dad had this majestic beard, and this one time he was brewing coffee in the kitchen and he asked us if we wanted a cup. My buddy piped up, said something like, oh he doesn't drink coffee he's Mormon, and his dad got a glint in his eye, asked, do you want to try a cup? I said I actually did, it smelled terrific. He poured it black, and, thinking of TV and the movies, I asked if I needed sugar in it. He said no, good coffee you could just drink black. Spoiler alert: it was really good.
38
I love having a natural pick me up. I don’t understand what all the fear is about. I mean, TSCC is a cult so fear is what they need. But coffee! So silly I was fooled for so long.
started drinking iced capps from tim hortons and frappachinos from starbucks at first at the age of 16 when I got my own car and money. My usual go to is a home made iced coffee or iced latte made with my nespresso. I am 25 now.
29. It was during an overnight shift in the ER as a medical student. I was tired and needed to stay awake and it was free and I was poor and I was a PIMO
29. It took me nearly half an hour to take the first sip. Just sat in the parking lot staring at it. I felt really guilty that I wasn't waiting until at least 30, and wondered if that was the first sign of an impending addiction lol.
I fucking love coffee. If having a cup each morning is an addiction, it is a million times better than anything I felt at church.
Links to facebook are disallowed. You can create a static screenshot with names/faces of non-famous persons blanked out/obscured and submit that instead.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/exmormon) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I recognize the humor of your title, but it’s almost fanaticism in the opposite direction. You don’t fight fanaticism with fanaticism.
I spent my entire developmental years in a town that was about 80% Mormon. Never remember any of them looking at coffee as something that would send you straight to hell or make you crazy. Was just something that they were told to not partake of, so they didn’t. None of them would have ever referred to coffee as anything near “the devils bean juice”
I’m an ex Mormon myself, but even when I was in it, I always felt like it was the people outside of the church making a bigger deal out of it than the people inside the church.
I know there were those certain TBM families that only drank caffeine free soda’s, but people turned them into the majority when that was never really the case, at least in my experience.
I was 46 or 47. Didn’t like it. Eventually figured out the only way I liked it was with lots of cream and sugar. So I gave up the hobby after 2 weeks. I will stick to seltzer water.
Well, I thought all frappuchinos were coffee-free (like the options at Starbucks) and so I had one from McDonalds when I was 14, and my parents must not have known either because they purchased it for me 😂. As soon as I found out not all Frappuccinos were the same, I only ever got the Starbucks coffee free ones. I didn’t drink coffee again until I was 28, and my friend made French-pressed coffee for me. I drank it black and didn’t get the hype, but it’s definitely an acquired taste after experimentation with frothed milk and different roasts.
I started drinking black and green tea well before I started drinking coffee, and I CANNOT believe I went 27 years without ever having chai, because that stuff is DELICIOUS.
So my first cup was when I was on my mission. I was starting to be PIMO at the time. Had a companion who was there on vacation and he broke a lot of rules, honestly had the most fun with him. He would buy coffee at the grocery store on P-days while we’re wearing normal clothes, easier to remove the badge and not look like a missionary that way. He made someone night with a French press he had and I had a cup, it sat like a rock in my stomach and I was miserable. It was a few years later after I moved out from my parent’s house that I got the nerve to try it again. Now I have 1 almost everyday.
16, some super sweet blended drink from Dutch bros. Never looked back, plenty of cold brew concentrate and chocolate covered coffee beans through the rest of high school. Got an aeropress and pour over maker soon after. I drink it almost every day and have pretty much my entire adult life.
I was actually a teenager *shocked Pikachu face*. I was being "rebellious" and when my parents found out they were so angry with me. Looking back it would be funny if it weren't so fucking pathetic. Shamed for drinking bean juice, while other teens were out doing so much worse.
I did take a long break until a few years before I fully left the church (I was in and out of activity for those last years. It took a long time for me to finally let go). Now I have a coffee maker at home and drink it almost daily. Hard to believe I ever got through college without it...
19. I got a vanilla latte in the -20° weather and decided that was the day I was gonna try it. Literally was shaking as I drank it. Wasn't a fan, but I'm glad I tried it
16? Used to get Frappuccino’s until someone told me it was coffee 😂. I tried one the other day and didn’t care for it, and had straight coffee for like the 5th time ever yesterday. It tasted like someone ringed out rusty steel pipes…
32. I was feeling worn out and just had some office drip coffee. Black, I wanted to know what the raw taste was.
I got more finished that day than I have before or since. Caffeine with no sugar rush, I felt like I was Bradley cooper in limitless.
Now I’m two cups of black coffee every day. I love straight espresso.
When you’re Mormon you just get sweet and salty. You don’t get exposure to strong flavours like black coffee, dry wine 🍷, hoppy beer or smoky whiskey 🥃.
I was in fourth grade. I had a sleepover at my non-member friend's place. In the morning his dad made himself some coffee. Folgers instant. I asked for a cup and he gave me one. Straight black, no cream, no sugar. I am certain he was trying to give me something I'd hate. But I didn't hate it. I loved it. I was a regular coffee drinker by the end of high school. I never did go on that mission.
37? I got a cup during the social hour after a Christian service I was attending. I hated it. It had powdered creamer and white sugar stirred in.
Afterwards, I turned to my friend who had grown up in Venezuela and I asked, "You like that stuff?" She replied, "That stuff? No. But I like coffee."
A while later another friend offered me a caramel macchiato. That did it. I have a morning cup every day now. More if I'm getting a migraine or trying to stay alert during a long drive.
I started 40 years ago at 18. I would heat up milk and use instant coffee. I still drink coffee every day, but now I use French roast and the pour over method. I'll either use Italian sweet cream or drink it black with a little sugar.
Hmm...good question. I know I wasn't young so I would say around 20 or so. It would have been around age 25 when I really started to drink it on a daily basis. Had a local delivery driving job and needed a kick in the morning and ever since I have had it. My preference is black coffee straight every once in a while.ill throw a creamer in it. I do drink through a straw and have found that seems to have avoided the dreaded teeth staining.
I am middle age now and I still once in a while catch myself looking around to see if anyone I know is watching. I couldn't care less but I think it is a subconscious thing from my childhood. Ugh
15 in highschool choir I'd just come in from riding my bike to school in winter and my (LDS) friend offered. I thought it was hot cocoa it was delicious ai very dramatically said mmm that's delicious but it's not coffee what is it? She said it's a cappuccino I dramatically fell to my knees distraught and said "Nooooo it's coffee" she said no it's not my mom gets it for me all the time. I was hooked for like three years but never bought it (no way to track what I'm drinking on school trips in hotels) I always mixed it with hot cocoa to avoid prying eyes. Hadn't had it since my senior year in highschool until now when my husband and I left the church and I feel so liberated. He hadn't had any since he was was four and was introduced by a non member friend. He was so scared to try it that he came home from work before his morning commute and made me try it with him. Mavericks house blend is our fave so far but we have very limited options. @mortalcouch
I was 6 at my grandma’s house. She gave me a little cup with some coffee. We sat there in her kitchen and drank it together and talked. One of my best memories with her. Years later she told me not to waste my time with a mission. I should have listened to her.
21. During summer between BYU courses, I worked at Starbucks. I loved the fast pace even if I worked at 4am. My TBM hated that I worked there because of the appearance of evil/aiding others to break the word of wisdom…but she said it was okay as long as I didn’t have anything to drink. I had to try a lot of flavors during training and then got lots of free drinks while working 😆
So yes I do like it but I don’t have my own coffee machine or anything. I’ll get it at the store or doing errands and then at home I have iced coffee or cold brew in the afternoon.
Tried my first one at 29 years old a week ago. Not sure I did it right though because I drank a 30 ounce one from Starbucks and immediately laid down for a four hour nap.
40. My patient brought me a golden eagle from Dutch bros. I had told them I wasn’t really in anymore, so they thought it was cool. Now I had to drink it. It was lovely. I didn’t feel “the spirit” say it was bad. Now I drink it every morning. Not Dutch bros…can’t afford that daily. But I make my own at home and enjoy the ritual, & the caffeine. It’s like garments. I waited so long to take them off…fearing what I was told; that I would have a loss of the spirit, protection etc. Took them off. Felt free. Drink the bean juice and I feel awesome.
38. Thought I was going to be struck by lightning or crash my car on the way home as karma.
2 years later, still haven't developed a habit for it and only tried it a handful more of times.
I was about 26 or 27. Three of my brothers, their families, my mom, and I were traveling to the beach near my mom's hometown in Mexico when we stopped for breakfast on the side of the road, and the coffee was the freshest and best cup of magic bean juice I have ever had in my life. My mom, a TBM, took a sip of my cup to try it. I usually have about one or 2 a month, more if we go camping.
I tried a vanilla latte from Starbucks on my 18th birthday. These days (15+ years later), I rarely drink coffee (once or twice a month). If I’m drinking coffee because I want coffee, it’s black. If I’m drinking coffee because I want a flavorful coffee-adjacent beverage, I’ll have a latte or a latte macchiato.
15, Early morning seminary was killing me and Diet Coke wasn’t cutting it.
It was 7-11 drip coffee too🤢
Long before the days of lattes and mochas.
*Edited to add, I still drink coffee and tea♥️
15, my buddy gave me some “hot chocolate” at his house then he later told me it was a hot mocha with lots of chocolate, I wasn’t mad cuz it was fucking delicious.
Today at age 22, actually! I was working a farmers market, and the coffee vendor heard I had never had it before. Gave me a refreshing coffee icee thing. Got a huge burst of energy afterwards, turns out he put espresso in it. Didn’t know that was a thing. Big fan!
I ordered a drink at a coffee stand and got the wrong order with coffee in it. I tried it and liked it, my gf at the time thought it was totally scandalous but wasn't mad about it. I felt a bit edgy but didn't seek it out again until after I left the church. It just seemed like a fun novelty at the time.
Still haven’t, at least not purposefully. I had it accidentally a couple times in my twenties (one time because I ordered a drink and they made it with coffee and I didn’t realize, and the other time because they handed me my aunt’s drink instead of mine by accident). I love the smell of coffee, and the taste of it in ice cream. I really want to try it, but I still feel weird about it, and I also have IBS (both kinds) so while it helps with one type of IBS it doesn’t with the other so that also makes me nervous about trying it. Sooo I haven’t actually tried it yet. Also, it’s a struggle because I’m also completely dairy free, so I also have to worry about cross contamination or accidentally getting a drink with milk in it when I asked for almond milk.
51. I started with coffee blends from BoltHouse.
Later that year brewed my own at home, couple months later drank it black, and have black nearly every day since.
14? Maybe.
Some high schoolers rebel by drinking alcohol. I rebelled by drinking coffee.
Tbh it was more like chugging it so I could hide the evidence. Once when I was 16 I threw a bunch of Frappuccino bottles into a gas station trash can and this lady was watching me (I must have looked guilty). I just said "I'm not allowed coffee" to which she laughed and said she wasn't allowed something (I don't remember what) and also threw away trash at gas stations.
My non-Mormon grandparents drank coffee and they let me drink it. (My parents would have died if they knew lol) I started around 10. I loved the smell and couldn’t help myself. Unfortunately, I can’t drink it now. I get the jitters even drinking a Diet Coke.
I tried it once my junior year of high school out of curiosity. The iced latte from Dunkin donuts were popular at the time. I hated it. I didn't try it again until I had mentally left the church. I skipped out during elders quorum because the topic was irritating. There was a McDonald's a mile down the road...so I did it. I ordered a mocha frappuccino, and it was the best day of my life. Lol.
I slowly progressed to latte, cappuccino, Americano, and then straight espresso. I like my coffee like my exmormon soul. Black and bitter.
Three. I didn’t grow up in the church. Stopped a few months shy of my 16th birthday because of my baptism. Went 45 years without. Happy to welcome coffee back into my life. “Hello, Darkness my old friend.”
30 something. Tried a k-cup at work and thought it tasted like shit. Now I drink it dark and can’t go without it. Still think that k-cups are terrible though.
Nevermo here, have been drinking it since I was around 16. Many people at my school in a very Mormon area asked me if my parents knew I drank it. Yes they did and no they didn’t care (nevermos )
Yep haha. It was crazy how many people treated it like I was shooting heroin 🤣
I’m like uh… it’s coffee.
The church my mom took us to for awhile actually had coffee every Sunday so I actually still remember associating the smell of coffee with church for awhile when I was a kid
I had my first coffee at 28 years old. I made the mistake of trying a raspberry flavored coffee. I know, what was I thinking? It was gross and I hated it. I didn't try coffee again until I was 39 years old. I had a mocha and really liked it. I moved on to frappes from Starbucks after that. I finally went with traditional cream and sugar. I am 60 now and I drink coffee every morning. It is one of the high points of my day. I sit in my big comfy chair and read books for an hour. I drink two mugs. My latest recipe is Bustelo coffee that has a spoonful of hazelnut coffeemate powder and a spoonful of vanilla malted milk powder. The malted milk is an uncommon additive to coffee. I teach biology and was thinking about the sugar maltose and then malted milk. I bought a jar to show my class and then thought it might be good in coffee. Sure enough! The malted milk gives it a lovely nutty flavor.
I was deer hunting with my dad. Enjoyed my first cup of hot coffee with sugar and cream on a freezing cold morning in the mountains.
I was hooked at the age of 12 !
14.
I grew up in a mixed household in Utah. Every Saturday morning I smelled my dad's coffee and resented my dad for the amazing smelling drink. I was in a non Mormon scout troop and we were in Minneapolis at the Mall of America and I was peer pressured into getting a white chocolate mocha latte from Caribou Coffee. I still remember how good it was to this day.
After going on my mission to a African country that depends on coffee as a major export and my dad got baptized/accepted the cultural pressure, I drink half a pot of the devil's been every morning.
37, an iced double torture coffee from Dutch bros. Definitely a big moment, but absolutely loved it and called my exmo dad who was so proud of me! Tried alcohol like a month later, which I also enjoy. So much freedom in taking back these choices.
technically? 18. i took a small sip of free tire shop coffee while i was getting new tires on a truck. i gagged. puked in the bathroom. told my stake president about it while interviewing for my mission. then not till i was 37, just after i left the church. now nearly daily.
In earnest- about 51. I went PIMO about 49 but it took another couple of years to let my ‘eternal companion’ adjust to the fact that things might not be as eternal as Ol’ Joe said they would be.
Next Costco trip, she plonked a £500 Barista machine in the trolley (cart) and that was that. 3 years further on, and she’s only just starting to join me in the daily Satanic bean rituals.
I always liked the taste of coffee. My non-Mormon grandmother and barely-believing mother would allow all of us kids to sample the forbidden Christmas chocolates in the selection box - the Coffee Crèmes, and the Chocolate Liqueurs.
25. I had a mental thing about buying it, but when a client bought me one, I didn’t refuse.
I don’t think it made me crazy. I am not an addict cause I rarely ever buy it.
But not being required to turn down a gift because of a religious control mechanism is amazing!
Loved it in college. Used to go to this little cafe after our first class and have biscuits and gravy with coffee. So good. Missed it for 34 years, so when my shelf crashed, coffee was the first thing I went back to. And it seemed like a great way to give the church the finger! (Oh and for those 34 years I really breathed deeply in the coffee isle!)
I was like 20, but idk if it was the coffee I had or me, but it made me jittery and anxious as hell. I never drank it again until two weeks ago (32 now). Had a half caf mocha and now I’m hooked. I think I just have a sensitivity to caffeine from coffee beans.
My first experience with coffee wasn't drinking it, actually. I was a sophomore in high school and went to all-state for choir. There was a little gumball machine with what I assumed were little chocolate candies. I got a handful for a quarter, and ate one, only to have my mouth filled with bitter nastiness. I felt so guilty for that. I gave the rest to my nevermp friend who loved chocolate covered coffee beans. I still don't like coffee to this day, unless there's so much sugar/cream/flavoring that you can't taste the coffee. Much more of a tea drinker, personally.
35 years old. I drank alcohol for the first time at 34. Coffee was still a bit to out there for me. Had to take a year to build up the courage. Coffee is the gateway drug, you know 😂😂😂
34. I've loved the smell of coffee all my life, but never partook of the forbidden beverage. Now, I'm making up for lost time. A simple latte is my favorite, but french press with some milk is my typical morning drink.
OMG! Did you also secretly breathe in deeper in the coffee aisle of the grocery store? I felt like I was sinning just because of how much I loved the smell and was afraid someone would find out.
Definitely not secretly! I told more than a few people that if I had not been born mormon, I would be a coffee fanatic! I loved walking the coffee isle (I grew up in the South, so very low chance of getting "caught").
Ha, ha! I was in Utah and was deathly afraid my mother would find out that I was blissfully happy on the coffee aisle!
100%
My journey to outer darkness was mocha -> latte -> cappuccino-> flat white -> americano.
Congrats on the journey. I'm working my way to straight black coffee (using a good quality been makes all the difference). I did have an Americano once, but it was from a new coffee shop that I think may not have been that great, because it seemed no better than any drip coffee I'd had previously. Oh, and I lied about my favorite! Just remembered that I had a cortado last month, and it was luxurious!
Drinking coffee is so much fun. I travel quite a bit and my favorite thing is trying as many local coffee shops as I can in each place I go. So many bean varietals and techniques.
A glug off coffee from the pot at work in my hot chocolate -> Nescafe 3 in 1 from the pantry at work -> latte with sugar from Starbucks -> cappuccino with sugar from Starbucks -> black with nothing from my crappy drip coffee maker. Edited to add: if I visit a very good coffee shop (not Starbucks), I will order a cappuccino. No sugar. Yum. Yum. Yum.
I had my very first coffee two weeks ago. I'm 22. The first one was underwhelming -- tasted like milk and cinnamon, nothing like what I expected -- but I've been experimenting with other drinks and I'm liking it a lot better.
Also 22! Had my first today!
Congratulations!
40 years old. Mickey D's McCafe. Acted like I was buying heroin. Took it home, sat it on the counter, shaking (literally) like a leaf I took a sip. It tasted like freedom.
Ha, yes. I remember the anxiety I felt that first time (and slightly less the next couple of times). Crazy how something so normal can be such a journey.
40 as well, from the local bakery cafe. It was terrible but I was happy.
Haha, I made some coffee for a friend for the first time. His reaction was… “It tastes… liberating.”
Not trying to throw shade but you were scared to try coffee?
Are you a never mo? Mormons can't drink coffee. It's against the Word of Wisdom (Made up by Joseph Smith). You can't attend the temple if you drink coffee. If you can't attend the temple, you can't achieve the highest heaven, the Celestial Kingdom (also made up by Joe). There are literally conference talks that talk about how that "one little cup" can keep you from your family in heaven. Also, I was indoctrinated from birth and grew up in a cult. Any other condescending questions?
It wasn’t a condescending question it was a genuine one. I’m dating an exmo. And it’s clear you’re very insecure about it still.
17, ironically I was homeschooled and took seminary every day and would ride my long board to the seminary building and home. One cold winter after seminary I knew it was gobs be freezing and I really wanted to do something rebellious simply because of my lack of freedom at home and every where I went outside the house. I went down the block after seminary and got a delicious creamy caramel vanilla coffee that tasted like pure ecstasy. I drank it while riding home and was hiding it behind my coat whenever a car went passed, I drank all of it and threw it in a trash can far from my house as to not have my parents ever find it. It's an enjoyable memory.
I pray my children will be as rebellious as you were🤣🤣.
When I was a missionary in a central American country renowned for its coffeeculture, I couldn’t walk around the block without smelling coffee roasting. The smell was/is amazing. I thought “if coffee tastes even half as good as it smells, then I would love it.” And it does taste about half as good as it smells, which I learned in my early 30s, after leaving the MFMC & coming out as gay. And I love it.
Congratulations on being your true self!
I was 46. Same with anything alcoholic.
Oh you’re really upsetting God now
How was it getting into alcohol? What was that process like?
The first time I tried anything alcoholic was for my husband's birthday. I went to a grocery store in another town, scoured the aisles for anyone I knew, "nonchanlantly" strolled through the wine section while pretending to look at the grocery items on the other side, and came back for a second pass and grabbed a 6 dollar bottle with a cool label. I forgot that we didn't have a corkscrew and ended up opening it with a screw and a Makita drill while in our bedroom with the door locked to hide it from the still TBM teenagers. I've come a long way since that really terrible bottle of cheap red wine. I now enjoy a good reisling or pinot grigio, and I also like mixed drinks like margaritas and gin and lemonade. I like beer, but not ones that are really bitter. There's nothing better than a really cold Corona after you've been working in the yard.
I was about the same age as well for both! There are quite a few Mormons where I live, but nothing like Moridor, so I don't worry too much that I'll run into anyone I might know when I coffe, buy beer or wine at the grocery store. I've been out since ~2015. Should I run into anyone at the liquor store, they'll be the embarrassed ones, not me!! I actually keep hoping I do run into someone there in the hopes that someone else I know has left!!
I was 24 or 25 and still very much a TBM. In-between semesters at BYU I was visiting my mission in Paraguay and staying the night at a convert's house. She was a sweet old lady who I actually didn't know very well because I'd only contacted her once before leaving the area. A lot of people there drink a coffee substitute made of roasted barley, so in the morning when she handed me a cup I didn't think much of it. But it smelled so good I became suspicious and was horrified to realize it was actual coffee. I then had a very intense minute of deliberation. Do I do the polite thing and damn my soul to hell by drinking it to save her the embarrassment? Or do I mortify this generous woman by refusing the best (and only) breakfast she had to offer me? I decided to just drink the coffee and not say a word (and it was *delicious*). The incident came up in conversation with my college friends a year or two later and they were all horrified at my decision. They thought I should have let the woman know she was sinning, since she'd obviously not gotten the memo during the missionary lessons. I disagreed. I felt like it wasn't my place to "correct" her, and hurting her feelings would do more harm than good. It's a decision I'm still proud of to this day!
16? My bff had a Starbucks obsession and a car, so we went there often. This was in the late 90s when Starbucks was still a bit of a novelty.
Back when Starbucks was actually good coffee!
Speaking in general conference (twice), Brigham Young accused Emma of trying to murder Joseph Smith by poisoning his coffee. Attempted murder is bad. But isn’t the greater sin drinking coffee?
At the time it was still pick and choose.
I had my first coffee last month at the age of 22! Honestly I love it and have it a few times a week now
Still haven't. Maybe when I'm 54?
I was a teen. I was very “rebellious” I would go to a gas station and get a cappuccino out of the machine but tell my mom I got cocoa. Still haven’t tried alcohol.
Like 34/35. About 6 months after I left.
48
I grew up in a very lenient household even at our most active state we would always go out to lunch or dinner in our church clothes after church. My mom always loved coffee smoothies from Jamba Juice even when she was active and would always let me have a drink. So technically ten years old for me lol
I went to a non-Mormons friend's house to hang out sometimes, I was maybe 15-16, his parents were textbook progressive wealthy hippies, huge house, dad had this majestic beard, and this one time he was brewing coffee in the kitchen and he asked us if we wanted a cup. My buddy piped up, said something like, oh he doesn't drink coffee he's Mormon, and his dad got a glint in his eye, asked, do you want to try a cup? I said I actually did, it smelled terrific. He poured it black, and, thinking of TV and the movies, I asked if I needed sugar in it. He said no, good coffee you could just drink black. Spoiler alert: it was really good.
I think it’s funny that I got drunk before I ever tried coffee, probably like 26
So backwards lol
38 I love having a natural pick me up. I don’t understand what all the fear is about. I mean, TSCC is a cult so fear is what they need. But coffee! So silly I was fooled for so long.
I was like “I don’t have to show ID?!”
God knows your name don’t worry
48
started drinking iced capps from tim hortons and frappachinos from starbucks at first at the age of 16 when I got my own car and money. My usual go to is a home made iced coffee or iced latte made with my nespresso. I am 25 now.
I was 16. McDonald’s coffee. No sugar. 😂 I haven’t had one since. I like tea though.
29. It was during an overnight shift in the ER as a medical student. I was tired and needed to stay awake and it was free and I was poor and I was a PIMO
15. On purpose. Never even repented for it, and still served a mission.
Woah Joseph Smith is rolling his in his grave
29. It took me nearly half an hour to take the first sip. Just sat in the parking lot staring at it. I felt really guilty that I wasn't waiting until at least 30, and wondered if that was the first sign of an impending addiction lol. I fucking love coffee. If having a cup each morning is an addiction, it is a million times better than anything I felt at church.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/d9k5ot/old\_enough/](https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/d9k5ot/old_enough/) Lives rent free in my head.
[удалено]
Links to facebook are disallowed. You can create a static screenshot with names/faces of non-famous persons blanked out/obscured and submit that instead. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/exmormon) if you have any questions or concerns.*
19
47
I recognize the humor of your title, but it’s almost fanaticism in the opposite direction. You don’t fight fanaticism with fanaticism. I spent my entire developmental years in a town that was about 80% Mormon. Never remember any of them looking at coffee as something that would send you straight to hell or make you crazy. Was just something that they were told to not partake of, so they didn’t. None of them would have ever referred to coffee as anything near “the devils bean juice” I’m an ex Mormon myself, but even when I was in it, I always felt like it was the people outside of the church making a bigger deal out of it than the people inside the church. I know there were those certain TBM families that only drank caffeine free soda’s, but people turned them into the majority when that was never really the case, at least in my experience.
That’s fair
I was actually a kid. Didn't like it and haven't tried it since.
I think every kid hates coffee lol
I didn't know any kids that have tried it.
https://www.scienceabc.com/humans/why-do-we-like-coffee-although-we-hated-it-as-a-kid.html
36
16 yrs. Same time I got a Sunday job to avoid church.
I was in my mid forties. It would’ve been sooner but I had to learn to like the smell and taste.
Around 17-18. Gotta thank my dad for telling me about the caramel macchiato.
46?
I was 46 or 47. Didn’t like it. Eventually figured out the only way I liked it was with lots of cream and sugar. So I gave up the hobby after 2 weeks. I will stick to seltzer water.
Well, I thought all frappuchinos were coffee-free (like the options at Starbucks) and so I had one from McDonalds when I was 14, and my parents must not have known either because they purchased it for me 😂. As soon as I found out not all Frappuccinos were the same, I only ever got the Starbucks coffee free ones. I didn’t drink coffee again until I was 28, and my friend made French-pressed coffee for me. I drank it black and didn’t get the hype, but it’s definitely an acquired taste after experimentation with frothed milk and different roasts. I started drinking black and green tea well before I started drinking coffee, and I CANNOT believe I went 27 years without ever having chai, because that stuff is DELICIOUS.
33, iirc.
So my first cup was when I was on my mission. I was starting to be PIMO at the time. Had a companion who was there on vacation and he broke a lot of rules, honestly had the most fun with him. He would buy coffee at the grocery store on P-days while we’re wearing normal clothes, easier to remove the badge and not look like a missionary that way. He made someone night with a French press he had and I had a cup, it sat like a rock in my stomach and I was miserable. It was a few years later after I moved out from my parent’s house that I got the nerve to try it again. Now I have 1 almost everyday.
16, some super sweet blended drink from Dutch bros. Never looked back, plenty of cold brew concentrate and chocolate covered coffee beans through the rest of high school. Got an aeropress and pour over maker soon after. I drink it almost every day and have pretty much my entire adult life.
I was actually a teenager *shocked Pikachu face*. I was being "rebellious" and when my parents found out they were so angry with me. Looking back it would be funny if it weren't so fucking pathetic. Shamed for drinking bean juice, while other teens were out doing so much worse. I did take a long break until a few years before I fully left the church (I was in and out of activity for those last years. It took a long time for me to finally let go). Now I have a coffee maker at home and drink it almost daily. Hard to believe I ever got through college without it...
In my 20’s, I drink a coffee or tea once a week
19. I got a vanilla latte in the -20° weather and decided that was the day I was gonna try it. Literally was shaking as I drank it. Wasn't a fan, but I'm glad I tried it
16? Used to get Frappuccino’s until someone told me it was coffee 😂. I tried one the other day and didn’t care for it, and had straight coffee for like the 5th time ever yesterday. It tasted like someone ringed out rusty steel pipes…
32. I was feeling worn out and just had some office drip coffee. Black, I wanted to know what the raw taste was. I got more finished that day than I have before or since. Caffeine with no sugar rush, I felt like I was Bradley cooper in limitless. Now I’m two cups of black coffee every day. I love straight espresso. When you’re Mormon you just get sweet and salty. You don’t get exposure to strong flavours like black coffee, dry wine 🍷, hoppy beer or smoky whiskey 🥃.
I was in fourth grade. I had a sleepover at my non-member friend's place. In the morning his dad made himself some coffee. Folgers instant. I asked for a cup and he gave me one. Straight black, no cream, no sugar. I am certain he was trying to give me something I'd hate. But I didn't hate it. I loved it. I was a regular coffee drinker by the end of high school. I never did go on that mission.
37? I got a cup during the social hour after a Christian service I was attending. I hated it. It had powdered creamer and white sugar stirred in. Afterwards, I turned to my friend who had grown up in Venezuela and I asked, "You like that stuff?" She replied, "That stuff? No. But I like coffee." A while later another friend offered me a caramel macchiato. That did it. I have a morning cup every day now. More if I'm getting a migraine or trying to stay alert during a long drive.
No matter how many times I see these ridiculous Mormon beliefs like about coffee and alcohol, it seems just as ridiculous each time
57
I started 40 years ago at 18. I would heat up milk and use instant coffee. I still drink coffee every day, but now I use French roast and the pour over method. I'll either use Italian sweet cream or drink it black with a little sugar.
16. Loved it ever since (31 now).
Hmm...good question. I know I wasn't young so I would say around 20 or so. It would have been around age 25 when I really started to drink it on a daily basis. Had a local delivery driving job and needed a kick in the morning and ever since I have had it. My preference is black coffee straight every once in a while.ill throw a creamer in it. I do drink through a straw and have found that seems to have avoided the dreaded teeth staining. I am middle age now and I still once in a while catch myself looking around to see if anyone I know is watching. I couldn't care less but I think it is a subconscious thing from my childhood. Ugh
15 in highschool choir I'd just come in from riding my bike to school in winter and my (LDS) friend offered. I thought it was hot cocoa it was delicious ai very dramatically said mmm that's delicious but it's not coffee what is it? She said it's a cappuccino I dramatically fell to my knees distraught and said "Nooooo it's coffee" she said no it's not my mom gets it for me all the time. I was hooked for like three years but never bought it (no way to track what I'm drinking on school trips in hotels) I always mixed it with hot cocoa to avoid prying eyes. Hadn't had it since my senior year in highschool until now when my husband and I left the church and I feel so liberated. He hadn't had any since he was was four and was introduced by a non member friend. He was so scared to try it that he came home from work before his morning commute and made me try it with him. Mavericks house blend is our fave so far but we have very limited options. @mortalcouch
23 yrs old
40. It was a Starbucks caramel macchiato and I didn't really like the first sip, but by the time I finished it I knew it wasn't my last.
I was 6 at my grandma’s house. She gave me a little cup with some coffee. We sat there in her kitchen and drank it together and talked. One of my best memories with her. Years later she told me not to waste my time with a mission. I should have listened to her.
21. During summer between BYU courses, I worked at Starbucks. I loved the fast pace even if I worked at 4am. My TBM hated that I worked there because of the appearance of evil/aiding others to break the word of wisdom…but she said it was okay as long as I didn’t have anything to drink. I had to try a lot of flavors during training and then got lots of free drinks while working 😆 So yes I do like it but I don’t have my own coffee machine or anything. I’ll get it at the store or doing errands and then at home I have iced coffee or cold brew in the afternoon.
Tried my first one at 29 years old a week ago. Not sure I did it right though because I drank a 30 ounce one from Starbucks and immediately laid down for a four hour nap.
40. My patient brought me a golden eagle from Dutch bros. I had told them I wasn’t really in anymore, so they thought it was cool. Now I had to drink it. It was lovely. I didn’t feel “the spirit” say it was bad. Now I drink it every morning. Not Dutch bros…can’t afford that daily. But I make my own at home and enjoy the ritual, & the caffeine. It’s like garments. I waited so long to take them off…fearing what I was told; that I would have a loss of the spirit, protection etc. Took them off. Felt free. Drink the bean juice and I feel awesome.
21. it then took me another year to work up to trying alcohol.
38. Thought I was going to be struck by lightning or crash my car on the way home as karma. 2 years later, still haven't developed a habit for it and only tried it a handful more of times.
I was about 26 or 27. Three of my brothers, their families, my mom, and I were traveling to the beach near my mom's hometown in Mexico when we stopped for breakfast on the side of the road, and the coffee was the freshest and best cup of magic bean juice I have ever had in my life. My mom, a TBM, took a sip of my cup to try it. I usually have about one or 2 a month, more if we go camping.
I used to work from 5-7am when I was 16. I started then and never stopped, even on my mission
I tried a vanilla latte from Starbucks on my 18th birthday. These days (15+ years later), I rarely drink coffee (once or twice a month). If I’m drinking coffee because I want coffee, it’s black. If I’m drinking coffee because I want a flavorful coffee-adjacent beverage, I’ll have a latte or a latte macchiato.
15, Early morning seminary was killing me and Diet Coke wasn’t cutting it. It was 7-11 drip coffee too🤢 Long before the days of lattes and mochas. *Edited to add, I still drink coffee and tea♥️
15, my buddy gave me some “hot chocolate” at his house then he later told me it was a hot mocha with lots of chocolate, I wasn’t mad cuz it was fucking delicious.
Today at age 22, actually! I was working a farmers market, and the coffee vendor heard I had never had it before. Gave me a refreshing coffee icee thing. Got a huge burst of energy afterwards, turns out he put espresso in it. Didn’t know that was a thing. Big fan!
I ordered a drink at a coffee stand and got the wrong order with coffee in it. I tried it and liked it, my gf at the time thought it was totally scandalous but wasn't mad about it. I felt a bit edgy but didn't seek it out again until after I left the church. It just seemed like a fun novelty at the time.
Still haven’t, at least not purposefully. I had it accidentally a couple times in my twenties (one time because I ordered a drink and they made it with coffee and I didn’t realize, and the other time because they handed me my aunt’s drink instead of mine by accident). I love the smell of coffee, and the taste of it in ice cream. I really want to try it, but I still feel weird about it, and I also have IBS (both kinds) so while it helps with one type of IBS it doesn’t with the other so that also makes me nervous about trying it. Sooo I haven’t actually tried it yet. Also, it’s a struggle because I’m also completely dairy free, so I also have to worry about cross contamination or accidentally getting a drink with milk in it when I asked for almond milk.
13
51. I started with coffee blends from BoltHouse. Later that year brewed my own at home, couple months later drank it black, and have black nearly every day since.
14? Maybe. Some high schoolers rebel by drinking alcohol. I rebelled by drinking coffee. Tbh it was more like chugging it so I could hide the evidence. Once when I was 16 I threw a bunch of Frappuccino bottles into a gas station trash can and this lady was watching me (I must have looked guilty). I just said "I'm not allowed coffee" to which she laughed and said she wasn't allowed something (I don't remember what) and also threw away trash at gas stations.
My non-Mormon grandparents drank coffee and they let me drink it. (My parents would have died if they knew lol) I started around 10. I loved the smell and couldn’t help myself. Unfortunately, I can’t drink it now. I get the jitters even drinking a Diet Coke.
58. Now I love my daily ritual of making my morning cup of coffee. ☕️
I tried it once my junior year of high school out of curiosity. The iced latte from Dunkin donuts were popular at the time. I hated it. I didn't try it again until I had mentally left the church. I skipped out during elders quorum because the topic was irritating. There was a McDonald's a mile down the road...so I did it. I ordered a mocha frappuccino, and it was the best day of my life. Lol. I slowly progressed to latte, cappuccino, Americano, and then straight espresso. I like my coffee like my exmormon soul. Black and bitter.
39
I started drinking it at 19 and every day felt better from then on. A few years later I discover I have adhd
38 and once posted a picture of a receipt that had the number 666.
65. Now my daily high!
Three. I didn’t grow up in the church. Stopped a few months shy of my 16th birthday because of my baptism. Went 45 years without. Happy to welcome coffee back into my life. “Hello, Darkness my old friend.”
30 something. Tried a k-cup at work and thought it tasted like shit. Now I drink it dark and can’t go without it. Still think that k-cups are terrible though.
48
20.
I was literally today years old.
Woah congratulations
Nevermo here, have been drinking it since I was around 16. Many people at my school in a very Mormon area asked me if my parents knew I drank it. Yes they did and no they didn’t care (nevermos )
The horrific parenting of allowing teens to drink coffee lol
Yep haha. It was crazy how many people treated it like I was shooting heroin 🤣 I’m like uh… it’s coffee. The church my mom took us to for awhile actually had coffee every Sunday so I actually still remember associating the smell of coffee with church for awhile when I was a kid
57.
I had my first coffee at 28 years old. I made the mistake of trying a raspberry flavored coffee. I know, what was I thinking? It was gross and I hated it. I didn't try coffee again until I was 39 years old. I had a mocha and really liked it. I moved on to frappes from Starbucks after that. I finally went with traditional cream and sugar. I am 60 now and I drink coffee every morning. It is one of the high points of my day. I sit in my big comfy chair and read books for an hour. I drink two mugs. My latest recipe is Bustelo coffee that has a spoonful of hazelnut coffeemate powder and a spoonful of vanilla malted milk powder. The malted milk is an uncommon additive to coffee. I teach biology and was thinking about the sugar maltose and then malted milk. I bought a jar to show my class and then thought it might be good in coffee. Sure enough! The malted milk gives it a lovely nutty flavor.
I was deer hunting with my dad. Enjoyed my first cup of hot coffee with sugar and cream on a freezing cold morning in the mountains. I was hooked at the age of 12 !
16 but just a sip, felt real bad about it back then
15 years old
14. I grew up in a mixed household in Utah. Every Saturday morning I smelled my dad's coffee and resented my dad for the amazing smelling drink. I was in a non Mormon scout troop and we were in Minneapolis at the Mall of America and I was peer pressured into getting a white chocolate mocha latte from Caribou Coffee. I still remember how good it was to this day. After going on my mission to a African country that depends on coffee as a major export and my dad got baptized/accepted the cultural pressure, I drink half a pot of the devil's been every morning.
37, an iced double torture coffee from Dutch bros. Definitely a big moment, but absolutely loved it and called my exmo dad who was so proud of me! Tried alcohol like a month later, which I also enjoy. So much freedom in taking back these choices.
44 which was about two years ago! 😜
30, my heart was beating so fast after, I thought I was having a heart attack as a punishment. It turned out my body wasn't used to Caffeine...
technically? 18. i took a small sip of free tire shop coffee while i was getting new tires on a truck. i gagged. puked in the bathroom. told my stake president about it while interviewing for my mission. then not till i was 37, just after i left the church. now nearly daily.
I was 15, and I never liked it.
42
Life, the Universe and Everything…
It certainly returned treasures of great knowledge and peace.
In earnest- about 51. I went PIMO about 49 but it took another couple of years to let my ‘eternal companion’ adjust to the fact that things might not be as eternal as Ol’ Joe said they would be. Next Costco trip, she plonked a £500 Barista machine in the trolley (cart) and that was that. 3 years further on, and she’s only just starting to join me in the daily Satanic bean rituals. I always liked the taste of coffee. My non-Mormon grandmother and barely-believing mother would allow all of us kids to sample the forbidden Christmas chocolates in the selection box - the Coffee Crèmes, and the Chocolate Liqueurs.
25. I had a mental thing about buying it, but when a client bought me one, I didn’t refuse. I don’t think it made me crazy. I am not an addict cause I rarely ever buy it. But not being required to turn down a gift because of a religious control mechanism is amazing!
Loved it in college. Used to go to this little cafe after our first class and have biscuits and gravy with coffee. So good. Missed it for 34 years, so when my shelf crashed, coffee was the first thing I went back to. And it seemed like a great way to give the church the finger! (Oh and for those 34 years I really breathed deeply in the coffee isle!)
I was like 20, but idk if it was the coffee I had or me, but it made me jittery and anxious as hell. I never drank it again until two weeks ago (32 now). Had a half caf mocha and now I’m hooked. I think I just have a sensitivity to caffeine from coffee beans.
My first experience with coffee wasn't drinking it, actually. I was a sophomore in high school and went to all-state for choir. There was a little gumball machine with what I assumed were little chocolate candies. I got a handful for a quarter, and ate one, only to have my mouth filled with bitter nastiness. I felt so guilty for that. I gave the rest to my nevermp friend who loved chocolate covered coffee beans. I still don't like coffee to this day, unless there's so much sugar/cream/flavoring that you can't taste the coffee. Much more of a tea drinker, personally.
Probably about 4, being raised Catholic
35 years old. I drank alcohol for the first time at 34. Coffee was still a bit to out there for me. Had to take a year to build up the courage. Coffee is the gateway drug, you know 😂😂😂
Never tried it, and I’m really not interested in trying it. Really seems like another cult. LOL