Schools awaken to coffee's popularity

Many children were forbidden from touching it. The caffeine could stunt your growth, some said. Later, many of these youths discovered coffee's power in college, when they were trying to stay up until 3 a.m. writing term papers.

That's no longer the case. Today, teens fill coffee shops at night, sipping mochas and lattes as they laugh with their friends. They want their drinks frothy. Sweet. Cold. Flavored.

They're shuffling into the coffee shops in their own schools, ordering drinks before going to class or during lunchtime.

Walking into school in the morning with a cup of coffee is the popular thing to do. Adults who come into work with their cup might understand. "There's quite a few people who show up for first period every day with Java Crew in their hand," said Claire Allen, a West Salem High School senior.

Teens say coffee helps them wake up in the morning or stay up late to study. It tastes good, they say, although it might be difficult to taste the coffee when it is hidden in a chocolate drink with extra caramel.

But more than anything, teens see coffee - and the comfortable, warm, inviting shops where it is sold - as a social connector, something they turn to for fun or when there's nothing else to do. "I think a coffee culture has definitely developed," said Tiffany Bulgin, who manages the coffee shop at the IKE Box. "The coffee shop has become the place to hang out."

Coffee at school

When the lunch bell rings students start streaming into their campus shop. They plop down on the couch to talk about the day. Melanie Rau, a freshman, orders her usual: a mint Italian soda. Behind the counter, Brenna Ryan, a senior, mixes a zebra mocha -- half milk chocolate and half white -- with a shot of caramel. A group of boys come in to tease the baristas and turn the packages of gum at the counter into a Jenga game. Having a place to congregate during lunch, something different from the cold, bright, commons area, is attractive to these students.

The shop doubles as a teaching tool for North's economics students, who for seven years have been learning how to run a corporation by taking care of Coffee Shack. Students gain work experience by becoming baristas there. Profits are paid back to student and teacher "stockholders" who buy stock in the "corporation."

When Scialo was in high school in the 1980s, she had an occasional cup of joe. But she thinks the widespread popularity of the drink among teens came later with the institution of Starbucks and the coffee shop as a hangout. "In the Northwest, we are a coffee culture, and I think the teens are a byproduct of that," Scialo said. South Salem High School also runs a coffee-selling space, serving up drinks in the morning and during lunch. The Salem-Keizer School District's food-service provider, Sodexho, offers coffee products during lunchtime at some schools.

At West Salem High School, The Wake Up Call Café is run by students in an employment-training and work-experience program. Profits help pay for their program. On a recent day, Miranda Holman was one of the first bleary-eyed students to shuffle into the café at 7 a.m. "I'll have a cup of hot chocolate with a shot of coffee and three shots of marshmallow," she said. "I need to wake up." Rinku and Navrit Kaur, cousins who both are seniors at West Salem High, were among the teens that morning to order cold, blended drinks. "They're smooth. They're sweet. They're good," Rinku Kaur said.

Teens like the way they can personalize their coffee drinks, add their own shot of this or that, make the drink their own. They're not always drinking actual coffee, either; Italian sodas are popular. "They rattle off five different ways they like their drink," said Matt Martin, who works at Governor's Cup Coffee Roasters. "People like a sense of control over what they're getting."

Allen, from West Salem High, sees it as the trendier, newer thing for teens to do. "You can get skinny, no-fat, soy, whatever, and make it personalized and froufrou." 'It's kind of a social thing' Head to downtown Salem at night, and you'll see teens flooding the inside of coffee shops and the sidewalks in front of them - studying, chatting, meeting.

The coffee shop is the place to meet with friends before heading elsewhere. The place to return to during the evening for a quick drink, or to hear one's favorite band play. The place to study for the upcoming test. The place to take your date when you want pleasant conversation without spending $40 on dinner. I think it's more about the social aspect," said Kevin Jentzsch, the owner of the Governor's Cup. "When you think, 'What are the main places for kids of that age group to socialize in?' it would be coffee shops, at least in Salem."

One evening last week at the Governor's Cup, laptops glowed and textbook pages rustled as youths studied for tests. Danae Craig, Shayna England and Bernice Soto had driven from Aumsville to study together. There aren't any coffee shops in their town that they enjoy, they said. Craig, 17, a senior at Cascade High School, said coffee is her wake-up elixir. "I drink it at night when I procrastinate and need to stay awake to do homework," she said. Her classmate Soto, 17, just had finished a mocha with added sugar. "I only drink coffee when I'm with you guys," she told her friends. Emily Page, a Sprague High School senior, sat by herself nearby as she sipped a raspberry vanilla Italian ice and read a textbook. Later, friends planned to join her. "It's kind of a social thing to go and get a cup of coffee, especially in Salem," said Page, 18.

Here is a quick guide to some of the popular drinks youths can buy in coffee shops:

Americano: A beverage made by adding hot water to espresso.

Cappuccino: A mix of espresso, steamed milk and frothed milk.

Chai: A spiced, milky tea drink.

Espresso: Brewed by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee.

Italian soda: A creamy, sweet, flavored, carbonated drink.

Latte: A mix of espresso and steamed milk.

Mocha: A beverage made with espresso and cocoa.

Steamer: A hot, flavored milk drink.

Addicted to caffeine?

Page began drinking coffee in middle school. Her parents made it every morning, and she would grab a cup. Now, she's trying to limit her intake. "I've been cutting back because I don't like being addicted to stuff," she said. "I was getting headaches." She's not the only one who recognizes the sometimes-addictive nature of coffee. "A few people like caffeine and how it affects them," said Anthony Lamaster, a senior at North Salem High. "Then they kind of feel they need it."

Many physicians and scientists agree that the theory of caffeine stunting growth is an old wives' tale. But there can be other negative health effects for those who ingest too much caffeine, no matter what age, said Dr. Sarah Wright, a Salem pediatrician. Regular drinkers can get headaches when they stop sipping coffee. The fancy, flavored drinks many teens choose are filled with calories and sugar, Wright said. And sometimes teens substitute coffee for breakfast. That worries Wright and others in the medical field.

"If they're just getting a quick cup of coffee on the way to school, is that really enough? Is that proper nutrition? Probably not," Wright said. "You're taking advantage of caffeine reducing your appetite, but you're not giving your brain anything to work with in the morning."

Several of those teens, including Claire Allen from West Salem High, said they felt that the draw of coffee was strong for many students. If they can't buy their drink at school, they'll go elsewhere, Allen said.

"Coffee is a huge deal in high school," Allen said. "Way more than soda, I think."