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It is 9 a.m. at Jazzman’s Cafe in the Social Sciences Building and the line of students and professors grows by the second. Some students look absolutely sluggish, in dire need of any source of energy before they collapse while others just tap their feet impatiently. This is a typical scene at Jazzman’s Cafe at any time of the week. People wait for their daily cup of steaming energy. Coffee is always brewing here, as the demand is steady throughout the day and for good reason.
Coffee is an utter necessity for many students and professors around KSU given the busy schedules they all lead. Some students even come to rely on it. Coffee becomes a crutch for those late night study sessions when students’ energy has withered and a caffeine kick is the only thing to keep them going.
Caffeine is a legal drug. Caffeine is a legal drug hich Americans rely heavily upon to get through the day. A typical cup of coffee can have 200 milligram of caffeine or more. To put this figure into perspective, Mayo Clinic advises that consuming more than 500 milligrams of caffeine per day is considered too much for a healthy diet. Americans on average drink three to four cups per day so it is no wonder that caffeine is a source of fuel.
Coffee drinking has become a major aspect of many people’s lives and as a coffee lover, I can’t deny that it has become an obsession since I started college. I’m on my second large coffee of the day as I type this.
“It makes me feel nauseous and shaky,” said Felicia Ibrahimi, junior at KSU. Ibrahimi stated she doesn’t understand the hype and obsession with coffee.
The side effects of caffeine aren’t always pretty, but the energy effects usually make up for it.The effects of caffeine consumption are no doubt the reason why people will pay up to $4 for a single cup of coffee. It’s certainly become an addition for many people.
“I see people around me talking about it like they can’t control themselves and every time someone’s tired they’re like ‘I NEED COFFEE’. It’s addict talk,” Ibrahimi said.
This addiction fuels a booming industry that has made way for a whole new type of shop dedicated to coffee products.
“I have around twenty or so regulars, people I recognize every time I work certain shifts and I have memorized their regular drinks that they get,” a barista at Starbucks said.
This shows how dedicated people are to coffee consumption, enough so to go somewhere to get it every day. Coffee has become a favorite fuel in America, and college students especially tend to rely on it as a main energy source. What other legal substances could keep someone going for 12 hours or more each day?