The smell and taste, of the strong, rich and creamy aromas slide smoothly down the back of your throat warming your insides as they filter through your body. It's the first thing you think of when your alarm clock goes off in the morning and the only thing that can get you through the day.
Coffee.
We all love it, we all crave it and we all can not get enough of it.
The amount we spend on coffee is horrific, but no one seems to mind and people are quite happy to hand over the right amount of change to support their forever growing addiction. Their coffee addiction. The amount of coffee we consume is expensive, addictive and can bring up many health issues both good and bad.
The hunt for the 'perfect' coffee is endless. Whether it be a standard flat white or a more adventurous soy double shot latte with an extra shot of vanilla we are all craving the same thing, coffee. Discretional spending on coffee is on the rise. Spending up to well over twenty dollars per day just on Coffee can not be justified.
How has it come to this? Socialising plays a huge part into factoring the amount of coffee we are consuming today. This is not only happening in New Zealand, but world wide. From experience, a customer is willing to pay the extra to get the 'perfect' coffee, going out of their way to drive further than their local coffee shop to guarantee a great coffee. This is now factoring in the price of petrol and the time they have taken out of their day only to purchase their perfect cup. This however is not only happening once or twice a week, but is happening up to four times a day.
How can any one possibly justify spending this kind of money on coffee when a bag of instant coffee from the supermarket can cost the same price as one cup from a café? Okay, it dose not taste as great but saving yourself this kind of money could go towards a lot more important things.
Discretional spending on coffee is turning into a world wide phenonomen. Business' like Starbucks have literally taken over the world with their well-known brand and chain-stores for their passion for coffee.
Coffee consumption is the social thing to do. Coffee consumption is the trendy thing to drink in todays world making it so popular world wide.
Has the need for coffee become an addiction?
Waking up to the thought of your first 'cuppa'. Craving another before lunch? Heading into the afternoon only to think time for a quick coffee before lunch! Then late afternoon hits. Those three coffee's you have had through out the day are about to hit four. This all could be adding up to well over twenty dollars a day. Have you thought about it that way... Twenty dollars a day, could lead to one hundred plus per week adding up to over four hundred per month, pushing well over five thousand a year. And I thought we were in a recession.
So it this an addiction? Health reporter Helen Briggs, BBC news states " According to new research, genetic factors could explain why some people consume large amounts of caffeine." ( 8 April, 2011)
Genetics factors, do we blame our parents for this consistant need for coffee. We cannot blame our genes for this addiction, but could use this if you are looking for an excuse.
However, the strong, smooth, aromatic smell of coffee could be more beneficial to your senses than you think. All this talk of how Coffee is bad for you may not be true. We all crave that cup of hot creamy coffee when we are feeling less energised. Daily Mail states "according to a study, it may be the aroma rather than the coffee itself that does the trick." (12 June, 2008) Drinking coffee is one thing, smelling coffee is a whole new level...
There are many theories about how coffee really affects your health. The debate is continuous and the search for the 'correct' answer may never be found. Although new studies are beginning to pick up health benefits, such as curbing memory loss, lowering risk of diabetes and heart disease and of course keeping you alert, nothing can steer us away from the negatives many of us experience from too much coffee. Anxiety leading to panic attacks, nausea leading to vomiting and head aches, dehydration and most of all addiction. If these side affects are disturbing us on a daily basis surley these negatives out-weigh positives we are still not certain on.
Although I wrote earlier how addiction versus genetic factors there are still the health issues of coffee addiction,leading to 'coffee intoxication'. CBS news provides information of high statistics on coffee intoxication.
"A recently-released report from University of Massachusetts Medical School noted 4,600 caffeine-related calls to the American Association of Poison Control Centers in 2005, the most recent data available. More than half involved people under 19, and 2345 required treatment in a health care facility." (11 February, 2009)
Poisioning yourself from the amount of coffee you are consuming is definetly a health risk. This goes back to the negatives out-weighing the positives. This again cannot be justified. If this was alcohol, poisioning yourself would not be tolerated and help would be activated straight away. This should be the case with coffee, consuming it is damaging.
In conclusion coffee is not bad. The amount we are consuming, and the amount we are spending is the problem. Consuming three or four cups and spending up to twenty dollars per day to support this habit is criminal.
The idea of the 'perfect' cup of coffee should be a reward or a luxury rather than daily routine.
Although there are health benefits there are also health negatives that we need to keep in mind. The constant need for coffee has now become more than an temptation, but an addiction. I am not saying to give up coffee all together but simply make some cut backs which will save you money, lower the risk of addiction and keep your body healthy.
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The Business On...Howard Schultz, chief executive, Starbucks. (2011). Retrieved September 27, 2011, from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/the-business-on-howard-schultz-chief-executive-starbucks-2312614.html
Cigana Coffee Homepage. (n.d). Retrieved September 27, 2011, from http://www.cigana.co.nz/site/default.aspx?pageid=7
Starbucks Coffee Company. (2011). Retrieved October 2, 2011, from http://www.starbucks.com/
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Walsh, J. (2011). Our coffee addiction's turning into worship. Retrieved August 31, 2011, from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10747625
Hickey, B. (2008, July 1). How much is your coffee habit costing you? [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/video.cfm?c_id=3&gal_objectid=10500690&gallery_id=547
Kurtzleben, D. (2011). Don't fear the Double-Dip Recession. Retrieved September 27, 2011, from http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2011/08/31/dont-fear-the-double-dip-recession
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12992374
Wake up and smell the coffee...yes, it's the best way to cure tiredness. (2008). Retrieved October 1, 2011, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1025849/Wake-smell-coffee--yes-best-way-cure-tiredness.html
