Strengthening The Bonds Of Friendship Through Coffee
Today we’re pondering the power of friendship, celebrating and honoring the bond between besties.
When I think of this type of relationship, I count myself blessed to have a handful of true friends in my life, yet, when I seek to accurately describe such friendships, I’m at a loss to accurately convey this beautiful, wonderful thing.
So, I hope you’ll permit an out-of-the ordinary beginning to our discussion, because I’d like to share a variety of thoughts regarding this abundantly special relationship.
As you think of your best friend(s) right now, I hope you can echo the following sentiments:
“Friends are the family you choose.” - Jess C. Scott
“I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.” - Helen Keller
“Best friends understand when you say ‘forget it,’ wait forever when you say ‘just a minute,’ stay when you say ‘leave me alone,’ and open the door before you can say, ‘come in.’” - Unknown
“There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.” - Thomas Aquinas
“The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” - Anais Nin
“Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.” - Elie Wiesel
“Friend is someone to share the last cookie with.” - Cookie Monster (Sesame Street)
And, we’ll build off of Cookie Monster here, adding…a best friend is someone to share your last cup of coffee with.
Friendship and coffee, this is what we’d like to look at in the remainder of our time.
What’s it mean to be a friend, how is your life enriched through meaningful friendships, and of course, what are some creative ways to spend time with your bestie over coffee.
The Importance Of Friendship
A true friend, a best friend, brings so much joy and happiness to life.
Such a relationship can also offer wisdom, reason, companionship, and comfort, with medical experts even ascertaining that friendships are a vital help in times of grief, illness, sorrow, and burden.
But, this really only scratches the surface when it comes to all the ways friendships aren’t simply a blessing, but a need as we travel life’s road.
When you have good friends in your life…
Your physical health improves.
- Friends can help you make healthy choices for your body, supporting or encouraging necessary lifestyle changes. In other words, your bestie always has your back, wanting what’s best for you, encouraging healthy behaviors.
- The negative effects of stress on your health are vast, with stress contributing to brain fog, sleep deprivation, high blood pressure, heart disease, increased instances of pain, etc. Friendships, or specifically spending time with friends, has been proven to reduce stress and its negative outcomes on health.
According to the Harvard School Of Medicine, “social connections help relieve levels of stress which can harm the heart’s arteries, gut function, insulin regulation, and the immune system.”
- When you encounter negative experiences in life, these can take a toll on your health, especially when it’s hard to escape those people or circumstances which may have contributed to or caused such experiences. But, the presence of a best friend has been proven to “buffer” the effects of such experiences.
- Loneliness can be a killer, leading to many chronic diseases and even early death. Having a friend dispels loneliness. Some studies have even found that people with strong relationships reduce their risk of premature death (from all causes) by nearly half!
- Friends serve as a needed support system. With this in mind, friends serve to improve your self-esteem. Having a true friend, or multiple friends, provides validation, and this boosts your ability to love and appreciate yourself.
- Friendships are proven mood boosters, reducing depression and increasing feelings of happiness.
- Having a best friend improves your sense of belonging and gives you purpose.
- Friends provide perspective and reason, keeping us grounded and helping us refrain from intrusive, negative thoughts.
- Your emotional health improves.
- While mood can affect mental health, happiness is also an emotion, and the happiness provided and shared amongst best friends is a proven benefit.
- Having friends improves social skills, and in turn this can make you feel more confident.
- Friendships improve happiness overall, but such relationships also provide help and support in emotionally challenging times. From grief/loss to relationship troubles, financial stress, parenting woes, and more, having a good friend helps us through these difficult times, even lessening the negative impact such events can have on our health.
And, one of the best ways to further friendships is simply by spending time together.
Now, I’m sure you and your bestie already enjoy various adventures together, from late night talks, shopping trips, dinners, family gatherings, beach vacations, and more.
But, one point of connection that can not be understated is a simple meeting for coffee - a time to step away from the hectic nature of life and stop for a few moments to enjoy a cup of joe, great company, and good conversation.
This simple act of coming together over coffee is a timeless treasure; however, today we wanted to insert a bit of creativity and cover a few other ways you can include coffee in your bestie bonding time.
And, while those certainly can be put to good use when meeting someone for the first time or as you seek to build a new friendship, the type of relationship we had in mind here today needs no ice breaker.
Your best friends are those folks who know your heart. Your best friends are those individuals who walk alongside you through life’s ups and downs.
Best friends need no filler for awkward silences, nor do they need introduction after time spent apart due to life’s inherent busyness.
Just the thought of your bestie, best bud, or true friend likely floods your mind with memories and your heart with joy, peace, and gratitude.
In other words, when meeting up or hanging out with anyone you could rightly call a best friend, conversation is the last thing that needs a nudge.
So then, I guess that just leaves us with…coffee!
How can you creatively infuse a bit of java into your one on one or friend group gatherings?
There’s definitely the obvious, tried and true, simple, yet profoundly beneficial meeting for a cup of joe.
Whether it’s at a local cafe or right in your (or your friend’s) home, meeting with your bestie for a cup of coffee has great value.
Just being in the presence of friends can be uplifting, but taking a break from life’s duties to share your heart, joys, trials, and daily life over some delicious java also serves to strengthen the bond you already have with your bestie.
Then, past this typical coffee-friend connection, there’s actually a variety of creative, unique ways to include coffee in your bestie bonding times.
1- Coffee Bar
And, in times’ past when I’ve had a large number of recipes to create, try, and evaluate, I’ve used this as an occasion to invite my coffee-loving bestie over to aid in the sampling.
To describe our time together in a few words…we had a blast!
All I had to do was ask if she’d like to sample some coffee recipes with me, and she rearranged her schedule immediately.
I had the ingredients bought, prepped, and ready to go, but you could also include a little shopping trip if you had some extra time to gather ingredients together.
Then, to enjoy an-home barista day with your bestie, here’s a few tips:
- Have your friend find a few recipes he/she would like to try, and you do the same. (You can check out the recipe section of our blog to get started.)
- Look for unique recipe options to spice things up - from cocktails and fanciful ingredients, to those recipes which incorporate a few extra steps that you might not normally consider when you’re preparing a cup as you rush out the door in the morning.
- Make a grocery run (together or separately) for all the items you’ll need.
- Make unique, tasty, and fun coffee treats with your bestie.
- Laugh a lot, take pics, enjoy this time with your friend(s).
2- Coffee Barbeque
You can also use coffee when barbecuing!
While we certainly don’t want to leave the ladies out, pitmasters, grill pros, and smart smokers are titles generally applied to the guys.
So gentlemen, when you’re hanging out with your buddy, smoking or grilling your favorite meat selection, be sure to include coffee in your mugs and your meat rub!
That’s right, coffee makes a great addition to dry rubs and barbecue sauces for your perfectly grilled meats.
Coffee can also be used as a tenderizer and/or seasoning for meat as it serves to bring out the rich, deep flavors in each cut…especially steak!
Of course, we know that bros enjoy sharing their tried and true tips for best barbecuing, so diversifying your grilling game with a coffee rub could really make you stand out at your next gathering.
And, since using a dry meat rub that includes coffee necessitates roughly 30 minutes of rest time prior to grilling, allowing the meat to tenderize and absorb the flavors in the rub, you can use this time to catch up with your best bro, enjoying a cup of joe or a coffee stout, while you wait to sink your teeth into that coffee-infused steak, brisket, or rack of ribs!
3- Spa Day
The caffeine content of coffee, when used in a facial rub or mask, can stimulate healthy blood flow, reduce inflammation or puffiness around the eyes, reduce cellulite, and naturally tighten skin.
And, the antioxidant content of coffee may help to treat acne.
Of course, you can buy skincare products with coffee in them to use and gain these benefits, but you can also, easily, make such products at home.
Even better, you can make and use such items with your bestie!
So, the next time you want to share a spa day with your friend, instead of going to a salon, consider planning a day when you can make some skincare products together then try them out for a relaxing afternoon or evening.
In doing so, you’ll not only get to spend some quality time with your bestie, you’ll also improve the health of your skin in the process…with coffee!
4- Cafe Rotation
There are more than 25 coffeehouses and cafes within a twelve mile radius in Lexington, and this doesn’t simply mean there’s delicious coffee readily available for Lexingtonians, it also means that friends catching up over a cup is a very common theme around these parts.
One day while I was waiting on my order in one of these cafes, I sparked up a conversation with one of the baristas. And, while we were chatting she pointed out three ladies sitting at a table nearby.
She said, “I just love this. Those three ladies come in like clockwork…once every 3 months.”
“Only once every three months?” I questioned.
She said, “yeah, they said they meet every Thursday morning, but they make their rounds through their favorite cafes in town. There’s about twelve coffee shops on their rotating cafe schedule, and they meet at a different one each week, swinging back around after they’ve gone to all twelve on their list.”
So, I must echo that barista - I just love this!
What a neat idea to not only have some scheduled quality time with your besties each week but sample a variety of cafes and coffee creations in the process, putting a slight spin on the classic ‘meet a friend for coffee’ routine.
5- Make A Difference, Together, With Coffee
Here at Lifeboost, many of our leading ladies have shared wonderful hours together serving their local communities by donating coffee. They’ve even spent time together volunteering at a food bank as well as serving meals to those in need.
In these instances, they’ve delivered coffee donations to local organizations, and then stuck around to lend a hand, which is a great way to spend some constructive time with friends.
And, while this may be a little outside the box:
- if you and your bestie work together, you could spend your day off preparing and delivering coffee to your coworkers
- if you and your bestie have children in the same school system, you could work together to prepare and deliver coffee to your kids’ teachers/administrators
- if you and your friend live in the same neighborhood, consider preparing and delivering cups of coffee to the elderly (or others) in your subdivision
Any activity that involves serving others can bring great joy to you, and you can experience this joy in an even greater way when sharing such experiences with your friend(s).
Of course, we just happen to think including coffee in such endeavors can enhance the entire experience/act of service.
At the end of the day, no matter the circumstance or occasion, spending time with your best friend, especially when there’s coffee involved, is sure to be a great time…one which not only strengthens your bonds of friendship but also enhances your well being and enriches your life as a whole!
So, here’s to great friends and great coffee!
Check out Lifeboost Coffee Grata Medium Roast.
References:
- https://www.awarenessdays.com/awareness-days-calendar/national-best-friends-day-2024/
- https://www.prevention.com/life/a43541874/friendship-quotes/
- https://www.proflowers.com/blog/friendship-quotes
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/friendships/art-20044860
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/meditation-modern-life/202107/the-importance-friendship
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-health-benefits-of-strong-relationships
- https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fa0025401
- https://glenora.net/the-value-of-friendship/
- https://www.verywellmind.com/the-importance-of-friendship-3024371
- https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/a-z-topics/friendship-and-mental-health
- https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/purduetoday/releases/2022/Q4/friendship-matters-to-mental-health,-well-being.html#
- https://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/social-support.aspx
- https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-loneliness-and-health#
- https://www.artisancoffeeco.com/blogs/news/why-coffee-will-make-you-happy#
- https://espresso-works.com/blogs/coffee-life/coffee-rubbed-steak#