Arriving at school everyday with an iced coffee in hand, Madeleine Donald, sophomore, said it’s a necessity in her everyday life.
“I like caffeine, mostly because I get a headache if I don’t have it,” Donald said.
Donald is one of the many students that consumes iced coffee daily. As 26% of teens in the U.S. drink cold coffee compared to 18% that prefer it to be hot, iced coffee is steadily increasing in popularity among Gen-Z, according to CNBC.
Brescia University found that among 166 young people, 44.6% drink some form of caffeine one to six times a week, according to Medical News Today.
As the popularity of iced coffee increases among teens, students are finding new ways to enjoy the drink, at home and also at cafes.
Donald said that although she prefers ordering her coffee from Starbucks, she enjoys making it at home, as she can add in a lavender syrup to flavor it.
“It has to have the right amount of everything.. There can’t be too much sugar or milk because then you can’t taste the coffee, but I don’t like when it tastes straight like coffee,” Donald said.
Raj Gudavalli, senior, inspired by his parents, makes an iced coffee every morning.
“I love the taste, I love how I can drink an iced coffee regardless of the day,” Gudavalli said. “I drink them for energy, for homework, and to get started in the morning.”
Even during Winter, Gudavalli enjoys an iced coffee, preferring it over hot coffee.
“I don’t like how hot coffee burns on my tongue, and I would never drink hot coffee during the summer,” Gudavalli said. “Cold coffee is good to drink whenever. It’s refreshing and reminds me to be productive.”
Gudavalli said teens are starting to drink iced coffees more frequently because it’s trendy, modern and easy. He recommends Panera, Dunkin Donuts, Kaldi’s and Starbucks to get an iced coffee.
“When I make coffee at home, I use the Coffee Mate French vanilla creamer and it tastes just as good as the ones at cafes,” Gudavalli said.
Samson Schneider, junior, is a coffee lover and serves coffee at Wake Up MHS every morning and during Ac Lab. Wake Up MHS, located across from the library, serves about 20 to 30 drinks per day, the most popular order being iced coffee.
“I like coffee because it tastes like hot chocolate,” Schneider said.
French vanilla, pumpkin and peppermint are popular creamers Schneider uses in the drinks.
He likes working at Wake Up MHS because he meets new people in the morning and enjoys socializing while making drinks.
Wake Up MHS currently offers reward cards where if you buy five coffees, you get one for free.
