As I sit in my room, drinking my double shot mocha, I ponder if the recent
trend of coffee popularity is important? Some would say coffee is not
important; it is a drink being mass-produced and exploited by big business.
For someone like myself coffee is an important part of my day. When I wake
in the morning, I have a cup of coffee, when I get home from school, I make
my self a mixed espresso drink, and I often have a black cup of coffee after
dinner for that last boost of energy prior to my late night studying. Today
coffee isn't just for the caffeine dependent; coffee is seen as trendy,
profitable, and often just something to do.
As of 1999, the United States had 180,000,000 coffee drinkers, spending
nearly 17.9 billion dollars on coffee alone, that is an average of $166 a
year per coffee drinker. In the year 2000 coffee consumption reached an all
time high. According to National Coffee Drinking Trends published by the
National Coffee Association, 25% of American adults drank coffee
occasionally, while another 54% of adults drank coffee on a daily basis.
What's more, studies indicate coffee consumption increases with age, which
means the coffee industry will benefit from a lifelong pattern (Coffees
We know that coffee is popular, but why? I believe that coffee shops are a
leading cause of coffee popularity. The many coffee shops providing fresh
ground coffee along with gourmet drinks, have led coffee to become more then
a morning wake up, it is now served all day long. Coffee shops have become
astoundingly common; an excellent example of this would be the 6 Starbucks,
3 Tully's, and 3 Seattle's Best Coffees within 3 miles of my home. With the
convenience of coffee shops on every corner, some with drive through windows
and advance phone ordering, it becomes increasingly easier to drink coffee
...