Coffee during Shacharis

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

This question involves two issues: one, drinking during davening, and the second, saying a bracha during davening.

With regard to drinking: drinking itself is not considered a hefsek, so me’ikar hadin it would be permitted. However, we do not drink during davening out of respect for the davening.

With regard to the bracha: reciting a bracha during davening is considered a hefsek, as we find in the Mishneh Berurah, Siman 494 se’if katan 10, relating to the question of whether it is permitted to smell spices while praying. Doing so would require one to interrupt one’s prayers in order to recite the required blessing before smelling the spices. The Mishneh Berurah writes that it is forbidden to do so, because almost any interruption in the course of the prayers is forbidden, including an interruption for another prayer or blessing.

Therefore, in practice, if one knows he will need to drink during davening, he should recite the bracha on the drink before beginning to pray. This is because, in most cases, the blessing one says over food or drink remains valid as long as one does not leave the room where the blessing was made.

In a case where one must drink for medical considerations, he may even recite the bracha “between paragraphs,” besides between Ga’al Yisrael and Shemoneh Esrei.

Wishing you much success.

See:  Shulchan Aruch Harav, OC 494:17; Magen Avraham 494:9; Kaf Hachaim, OC 494:57