Crazy For Caffeine —

Should NHS Students Take A Coffee Break?

By Andrew Rote

“I don’t like [coffee], I just drink it,” admits Sean O’Mahoey, a freshman. Coffee has become a very popular drink for kids as young as 14 and 15.

Whether the reason is for taste, caffeine, or image, the popular adult drink is now part of many young teens’ lives. The average student who drinks coffee started drinking it in middle school.

According to Silver Chips Online, about 49 percent of all Americans drink 3.3 cups of coffee a day.

“Once you start, you can’t stop drinking,” explains Mike Sobo, a sophomore at Newtown High School. Like most other students, Mike didn’t like coffee at first. He developed a taste for it.

Mike Pressmar, a freshman, uses a lot of sugar and cream in his coffee. He drinks it mainly to stay awake.

Few teens will admit it, but the leading reason for drinking coffee is for the image. It’s in vogue, and most kids drink it with their friends or in public places.

Gretchen Furse, who works at Starbucks, estimates that about 10 percent of the business is from high-schoolers. The students usually stop in after school or on weekend nights. They normally hang out in groups and come to visit friends who work there.

According to ReporterNews.com, a six-ounce cup of brewed coffee has about 100 milligrams of caffeine. A 12-ounce soft drink contains between 30 and 55 milligrams of caffeine. Caffeine is considered to be a dangerous drug that can cause many side effects and increased heart rate and blood pressure.

They also say that caffeine can decrease iron absorption by 40 percent when it is consumed with, or one hour after, a meal. This could hurt teens, especially those with poor nutritional habits.

Chris Johnson, a freshman, has been drinking coffee for five years. He has a cup every morning on a regular basis. He says he drinks it for the taste and the energy that it gives him.

Many people claim that anyone who uses a lot of cream and sugar is not a true coffee drinker. Does this mean teens are not really drinking it for the taste?

Kristine Ryan, a freshman, says she uses barely any sugar or cream, if any at all. On the other hand, Charles Rosentel, a sophomore, uses a lot of sugar. Ashley Leahy, another sophomore coffee drinker, uses sugar and cream.

Dan Phillips is a sophomore who has been drinking coffee for three years. He only has about a cup a week, which many sources say is not unhealthy. Most adults can drink up to three cups a day without side effects as long as they are not pregnant.

Mike English, a sophomore who works at Dunkin Donuts, says he uses a lot of cream and sugar on average. He drinks it mostly for taste, but a little for the image.

Tom Ragusa, a sophomore, says he has been drinking coffee for about a year. He said it’s an acquired taste. Jack Rafter, a freshman, agrees and says he developed a taste for the drink. He drinks it mostly for the caffeine.

Over the past few years, a lot of teens are jump-starting their days with coffee. It is the wine of the new millennium. The question is, why do teens feel the need to acquire a taste?

(Andrew Rote is a sophomore journalism student at Newtown High School who writes sports and feature stories for the school’s paper, The Hawkeye)