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The time came to wrap up my experiment in caffeine deprivation.
是时候结束我的咖啡因戒断实验了。
I was eager to see what a body that had been innocent of caffeine for three months would experience when subjected to a couple of shots of espresso.
我很想知道，一个三个月没有摄入咖啡因的身体，在喝下几杯浓缩咖啡后会有什么感受。
I had thought long and hard about what kind of coffee I would get, and where.
我花了很长时间思考该喝哪种咖啡，去哪里喝。
I opted for a “special”, my local coffee shop’s term for a double-?shot espresso made with less steamed milk than a typical cappuccino; it’s more commonly known as a flat white.
我点了一杯“特调咖啡”，这是我们当地咖啡店的说法，指的是一种双份浓缩咖啡，用的蒸奶比普通的卡布奇诺少；它通常被称为淡咖啡。
My special was unbelievably good, a ringing reminder of what a poor counterfeit decaf is; here were whole dimensions and depths of flavour that I had completely forgotten about.
我的特调咖啡令人难以置信地好喝，提醒着我假冒的无咖啡因咖啡是多么难喝；它有我已经完全忘记的味道维度和深度。
Everything in my visual field seemed pleasantly italicised, filmic, and I wondered if all these people with their cardboard-sleeve-swaddled cups had any idea what a powerful drug they were sipping.
在我的视野中，所有东西看起来都是令人愉快的斜体，像电影一样，我想知道所有拿着包裹着纸板的杯子的人们是否都知道他们在饮用的是多么强大的药品。
But how could they? They had long ago become habituated to caffeine, and were now using it for another purpose entirely.
可他们怎么可能知道呢？他们早就习惯了咖啡因，现在饮用它完全是为了另一个目的。
Baseline maintenance, that is, plus a welcome little lift.
为了维持日常，再加上一点喜闻乐见的醒神功能。
I felt lucky that this more powerful experience was available to me.
能感受到这种更强大的体验，我觉得很幸运。
This – along with the stellar sleeps – was the wonderful dividend of my investment in abstention.
这一切——加上酣睡——是我在戒断投资中带来的美好回报。
And yet in a few days’ time I would be them, caffeine-tolerant and addicted all over again.
然而，几天后，我又会像他们一样，对咖啡因耐受，并再次上瘾。
I wondered: was there any way to preserve the power of this drug? Could I devise a new relationship with caffeine?
我想知道：有没有办法能保持这种药品的效力？我能与咖啡因建立一种全新的关系吗？
Maybe treat it more like a psychedelic – say, something to be taken only on occasion, and with a greater degree of ceremony and intention.
也许更应该把它当作迷幻剂来看——比如，只是偶尔服用的东西，而且要有更大程度的仪式和意图。
Maybe just drink coffee on Saturdays? Just the one.
也许只在周六喝咖啡？只喝一杯。
When I got home I tackled my to-do list with unaccustomed fervour, harnessing the surge of energy – of focus! – coursing through me, and put it to good use.
回到家时，我以异乎寻常的热情处理了待办事项清单，利用了全身涌动的精力——专注力！——对它好好加以利用。
I compulsively cleared and decluttered – on the computer, in my closet, in the garden and the shed.
我强迫自己去清理和整理——电脑上的东西，壁橱里的东西，花园和棚子里的东西。
I raked, I weeded, I put things in order, as if I were possessed.
我耙了地，除了草，整理了东西，好像鬼使神差一样。
Whatever I focused on, I focused on zealously and single-mindedly.
不管做什么，我都是一心一意地专注于它。
Around noon, my compulsiveness began to subside, and I felt ready for a change of scene.
大约在中午的时候，我的强迫症状开始消退，我感觉自己准备好换个环境了。
I had yanked a few plants out of the vegetable garden that were not pulling their weight, and decided to go to the garden centre to buy some replacements.
我把菜园里几株无法正常生长的植物拔掉了，决定去园艺中心买些替代品。
It was during the drive that I realised the true reason I was heading to this particular garden centre: it had this Airstream trailer parked out front that served really good espresso.
在开车的过程中，我才意识到我要去这个特别的园艺中心的真正原因：它前面停有一辆Airstream敞车，那里卖的浓缩咖啡很不错。
