– by Steve Sheppard –
When I was a teenager, a group of six or seven of us would meet up after dinner at a local restaurant to talk and drink cup upon cup of coffee (when refills were free and the coffee tragic). We would add lots of cream and a couple of sugars, when our metabolisms were kinder and gentler and we didn’t know about good coffee. We would pay for one cup and sit in a big booth for hours talking with friends about what we thought were, at the time, HUGE problems (little did we know) and we never used the word “stressed” as it didn’t exist in the context of life pressures at the time.
I’ve spent a lot of time in coffee houses since then and I’ve noticed that there are fewer “gaggles” of young people sitting together talking and laughing. It seems that most young people sit in smaller groups, and even more seem to sit alone with their face buried in their smart phones and laptops. I can’t help but wonder what will become of their ability to “debate” the important things of life in group settings, working through the normal processes of learning to defend your position in live conversation. I mean, communicating through Facebook and typing a comment to someone’s post is not the same thing as having the ability to speak up to someone face to face.
I’m not suggesting that teenagers aren’t bringing something to the table in terms of intelligence, and I’m under no illusion that some are far more advanced in areas than I ever was at their age, maybe even now. Despite the individualism of today’s teenager, there is a growing trend towards coffee and the teenagers who drink it. According to the National Coffee Association, young people are now the fastest growing population of coffee drinkers. Whether the enthusiasm is fueled by the social aspect; the caffeine craving to make up for lack of sleep and too much time in studying, sports and late nights; the idealism of pop culture, or a thousand other possible influencing factors, the numbers all say the same thing: teens are drinking more coffee every year and continually starting at a younger age.
Teenage Coffee Statistics:
• The number of teenagers drinking caffeinated beverages has tripled since the 1970s.
• Teens purchasing coffee in cafés or restaurants jumped by 12% since 2010.
• 10% of all visits to gourmet coffee shops were by consumers under 18 years of age.
• In 2002, 24% of 18 to 24-year-olds drank coffee. By 2010, that number was at 37%.
For teenagers, it’s like coffee is becoming one of the Five Food Groups! Next month I will deliver the second part of the teenage coffee culture consumption topic, and you might be surprised … Steve out.
