Blurry eyed and disoriented, a Middletown high school senior stretches her arm out from under the warm covers to slam her hand on the snooze button, silencing the demonic sound that woke her up from her sound sleep. Sitting up and stretching her stiff muscles, she gradually pulls herself off the bed. Unaware of her heavy footsteps, she marches down the stairs, too tired to care if she wakes anyone up. Dragging her body to the kitchen, she begins to prepare her coffee. The strong aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans wafts around the house as she sluggishly gets ready for school. Grabbing the only thing that will get her through the long day, she takes a quick sip of her coffee hoping to feel a surge of energy rush through her veins. She slips through the door, to begin a new day in Middletown valley.
Coffee is considered to be the universal medicine for waking up. Along with the rich flavor of the coffee beans, this drink has antioxidants to wake students up and keep their brains alert.
Caffeine can be blamed for that. Just a single 12 ounce cup of Starbucks’ favorite brewed coffee can contain 260mg of caffeine.
It could be the flavor or the feeling of awareness that people get, as to the reason why the crowds are always flocking to a cup of coffee.
Maybe it’s the commercial aspect of it, the image of a warm, delicious cup of coffee is marketed for the student body to see. It’s a trend, like a new pair of boots that society wants to have.
“My parents have always drank coffee and I’ve seen people at school and at the mall and stuff drinking it and I thought, you know, if everyone’s always drinking it, it must be good,” said Brianna Pickhardt, MHS junior.
“My dad got me interested in coffee because he drinks it every morning,” said MHS sophomore,Theresa McMunn.
Influence is a big key to the spread of this drink, just walking into a classroom at MHS, mugs and travel cups could be found sitting on desks in classrooms and they aren’t just from the students.
Dinking out of his disposable cup “once a day,” MHS Athletic Director, Michael DeSimone gets his coffee from “LDS mostly” or his “Keurig at home,”
A Keurig is a single cup coffee brewing system used by people at home. People can brew anything from hot chocolate and chai tea, to coffee of almost any flavor. It’s an effortless way to get a favorite brand name coffee in the comfort of their home.
This makes it easy for students who have to be at school as early as 7:30 to get what they need to help jump start their day, especially if they struggle with staying awake.
“It keeps me awake in the morning,” said junior Jack Littrell, “and helps me stay focused during my early classes,”
It’s known that coffee wakes people up, and it’s obvious that people are influenced by others; causing coffee to become a trend, but those can’t be the only contributors to the obsession.
With limited edition and holiday specials plastered all over windows and walls of local coffee shops, there are tempting new flavors begging to be tasted.
Featured seasonal flavors include the infamous Pumpkin Spice, Peppermint Mocha, Gingerbread Latte, and Eggnog Latte. All these flavors can be tried at Starbucks, just for the holiday season.
“My favorite flavor is caramel vanilla,” said MHS senior Grace Stokes.
“I drink hazelnut coffee or whatever my mom makes every day,” said MHS junior, Lauren Langworthy.
It doesn’t matter what time of the year it is, people still drink their morning coffee. In the summer heat, most people make the switch to refreshing iced coffee.
As more people hop on board the coffee bandwagon, there are still some who don’t enjoy the drink as much as the others.
“When I was a kid I was stuck in a car with four adults drinking coffee from Pennsylvania to New Hampshire. The smell made me nauseous and grumpy so I’ve never even tried it,” said MHS mathematics teacher Cynthia Anderson. “I can’t get past the smell, it’s just gross.” Maybe not all influences are a good first impression.
“I’m not obsessed. I used to drink soda and hot chocolate. Then it went to coffee,” said DeSimone.
Depending on personal interest, different people have different rituals to wake up. But the majority need the jump start usually found in their daily cup of coffee.
“I’m addicted to it. I drink it every day, it wakes me up,” Stokes said, elaborating more on her love of coffee.
“I drink coffee once or twice a week. It’s not an everyday thing, but it’s often enough,” said Pickhardt. It gives her a “nice boost in the morning,” when getting ready for school.
For many students, coffee is a great way to start the day, while others don’t need it at all.
Continuing her trek to school, the MHS senior shuffles into the school cafeteria, where she is greeted by her friends, all holding a similar mug to the one gingerly held in her hand. They all stand and sip out of their warm mugs full of coffee, chatting with each other. The bell rings. Time to go to class.
