This CBD Cold Brew Helped Me Beat the Jitters and Get Back Into Coffee

When it comes to being a millennial, some of the clichés are, well, painfully true. Yes, it took me an embarrassingly long time to be weaned off of skinny jeans and side parts. Yes, social media has ruined my attention span. And yes, I am often riddled with existential anxiety. But until very recently, there was one stereotype that I didn't embody in the slightest, and I was kind of proud of that: I didn't drink coffee. 

While my peers in San Francisco, New York, and LA—the trifecta of cities I've spent the last decade hopping between, all of which are coffee-obsessed—devoted countless walks, weekends, and even careers to finding the best coffee ever, I abstained. Admittedly, though, it wasn't out of any actual belief system; I just couldn't handle caffeine. I drank coffee all through high school, but in my late teens, I started experiencing panic attacks, and I came to realize that caffeine was triggering (or at least contributing to) them. Worse yet, there was an incident way back in 2008, when I was in a college art class, drank a huge iced coffee, and realized that I literally could not just STFU. I was sweating and jabbering like a speed freak, unable to control myself as I compulsively asked the instructor a thousand questions about illuminated manuscripts. The panic attacks sucked, but after that, the risk of social embarrassment was too great, and so I quit drinking coffee 13 fateful years ago. 

Still, at hangover brunches and in airport cafes, I kinda missed coffee sometimes. The ritual, the buzz, and even the taste. I caught a little caffeine kick from my favorite black tea or from other alternative drinks and resigned to a coffee-less future, but part of me always wondered if I might someday be able to enjoy it again. 

But a few months ago, I was clued in to the existence of Jibby, a new brand of cold brew coffee that is infused with 25 milligrams of CBD per can, and I found myself super intrigued. A while back, I successfully halted an oncoming anxiety meltdown by drinking another CBD beverage called Vybes (which I also recommend), so I knew that CBD has the power to bring my brain back to The Good Place when it's short-circuiting and trying to convince me that everyone hates me or that I might suddenly forget to breathe—and for me, 25 milligrams is the perfect dosage for staying functional but chill. Jibby seemed like my first chance in a while to let coffee back into my life—so I ordered a case. 

Lo and behold, when the Jibby arrived, I was simultaneously dazzled by its ridiculously cute branding, hopeful that it might be the answer to my problems, and terrified of the possibility of giving myself an instant panic attack for the first time in years. I started off by pouring a third of a can at a time into a glass and mixing it with a little bit of half-and-half and agave nectar. Then, I sat back and waited for… whatever. 

OK, I did get a crazy buzz the first time—yes, from a mere third of a can. But I didn't freak out; I felt very eNeRgiZeD, but also lucid and in-control. After making it through a few cans that way (i.e., in increments), I eventually graduated to half a can, and then finally, a full can.

Y'all, I can drink coffee again. This stuff is magic. And furthermore, I can't believe that all of you have been this alert and productive my entire adult life while I was hauling azz to keep up without the help of any powerful stimulants. (Make no mistake: Coffee is powerful.) I’m very close to buying a box of Jibby’s cold brew on tap and keep it in my fridge at all times.

So if you're a twitchy little freakazoid like me who has ruled out coffee forevs, I dare say that maybe you, too, have a friend in Jibby. The only bummer is that now I love coffee, and am well on my way to being addicted to caffeine again. Oh, well; nobody's perfect. 

Jibby is available at jibbycoffee.com.

The Rec Room staff independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story.