Originally posted on Blogcritics Culture.

For many adults, the whistle of the espresso machine is the alarm clock that rouses them from half-consciousness, gets them shuffling on their feet and out the door to start another working day. It's a common occurrence to see local coffeehouses packed with suits and briefcases before the mad rush to taxis and trains. This frees up the space for university students, coffee patrons armed with their two-cents' worth of Nietzsche and their few dollars to spend on an Italian brew. A legitimate disciple of cosmopolitan culture is never spotted without a cup of caffeine tucked comfortably in the palm of one hand before a long day at the production line.

Coffeehouses have been manufacturing the morning person for decades thanks to regular fixes of warm loving cups of this legal, addictive stimulant which comes in attractive, environment-friendly packaging. Caffeine has always been touted as the secret weapon of the working class and traditionally, the age bracket for frequenters of these coffee establishments ranges from 18 to 80. This is all beginning to change as doors are now swinging open to the new denizens of the cafes – the teenagers.

A few decades back, parents would never condone their children’s coffee-drinking habits. That opinion changed just about 180 degrees when despite the restriction, children began to get their caffeine from soft drinks and chocolate. Even the medical profession debates the effects of caffeine on kids. The present recipe calls for more dairy and other sweeteners and much less caffeine than in the past. Forgetting about the downward spiral into diabetes and obesity, parents who would rather have their kids into caffeine than drugs or alcohol choose coffee, the lesser evil relative, as the better substitute. With this approval, teenagers gained the freedom to enjoy the many variations of warm and cold beverages the enlivened coffee industry now offers.

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