LadyAnn Holderzwink – In Motion Special
In an era where over 40% of college students drink it daily, coffee is a hot topic, especially on campus. There are millions of unique ways to have a cup made and there are as many variations on what is served as there is on how it is served.
From an extremely elaborate coffee order to standard latte, cappuccino or espresso, everyone has their favorite coffee, milk and sugar combination. It’s gotten so out of hand that the New York Times ran a story recently advising people to not listen to the advice of finance guru Suze Orman, who told her followers to quit spending money on store-bought java because “you are peeing $1 million down the drain as you are drinking that coffee.”
That pronouncement was far from the only consumer advice that considers coffee the source of all evil in personal finances. If you think Americans have a problem, take a trip to Italy, where coffee is not just king, it is a dictator over the daily lives of its citizens. “CBS Sunday Morning’ devoted a segment to “A Perfect Cup of Espresso,” where reporters chronicled the exacting science of calibrating coffee. Airing on May 19, the piece offered some astounding factoids: Italy’s coffee powerhouse, Illy, runs the University of Coffee in Trieste, which teaches its students 140 ironclad “rules” regarding the making of espresso, which was invented by the Italians around 1900. The average Italian drinks cappuccino at breakfast and espresso the rest of the day, up to 10 cups.
Espresso, while it packs a punch, won’t pack the pounds on like a lot of the specialty coffees college students prefer. There are tips and tricks to cut back on the calorie and sugar intake and make drinking coffee more exciting.
At an 8 a.m. lecture, there is no doubt someone will be drinking coffee, either from a commercial coffee shop or straight from the Keurig. Some students may purchase Starbucks sponsored drinks from The Bean, the coffee shop on the DSC Daytona Beach campus.
Lorri Connors, a barista at The Bean, sees many students daily, and even has her regulars. Her favorite coffee order is simple — a “drip” coffee. A drip coffee is straight black coffee, which is not the same as a shot of expresso, which is created by putting the ground beans under high pressure. Although it is the healthiest option, it is not the most common. Flavored coffees are the choice among many college students.
And among those, Connors says the most common syrup flavor purchased at The Bean is mocha, which is loaded with sugar and calories. One pump of any of the syrups contains 20 calories and five grams of sugar. Being that the average number of pumps for a grande (medium) is three, that is an extra 60 calories added. Syrup, of course, is just flavored sugar in liquid form. It was created to replace sugar, but Connors said some students add sugar packets in a coffee that already has liquid sugar.
On top of that sugar overload, if a student orders 2%, half and half or whole milk, their coffee can be a caloric nightmare. To avoid this, says Connors, “Students can substitute dairy milk with almond milk, soy milk or coconut milk. These replacements can come in handy, too, for students that have a lactose intolerance.”
According to Connors, another very popular drink is the iced caramel macchiato. “What is causing high calories in drinks is the milk to coffee ratio. There is way more milk than coffee in a macchiato. The baristas are taught one shot for a small, two for a medium and three for a large. Then we are supposed to fill the milk to the middle of the cup.”
Today, there is a surplus of milk substitutions and these substitutions are becoming more and more popular everyday. DSC student Marcos Izqueirdo, who is also a barista at a freestanding Starbucks, is an avid almond milk drinker.
He believes it tastes better in the coffee as well, especially paired with hazelnut flavoring. “Almond milk is indeed the most common plant milk ordered, but not for the right reasons. Some customers pair it with excessive amounts of syrup or sugar. That is taking advantage of its good taste, not to be healthy.”
The most common syrup order at his store, as with Connors, is mocha. Izquierdo encourages students to try and drink a more unique coffee.
“With all the coffee products offered these days, students forget about being healthy. Especially when coffee is just used to get through the morning, it may fall into a harmful routine.”
Some fast food restaurants are working towards selling milk substitutions to address customers who are demanding when it comes to their health.
Eliza Philbin, manager at a Chick-Fil-A in Palm Coast has encountered this issue multiple times because her store only offers two types of milk at the moment: 2% or half-and-half. Vanilla or pure cane syrup is also offered.
Philbin suggests going back to the basics for those having breakfast at Chick-Fil-A and looking for the healthiest, but tastiest cup of coffee. Just order a black, iced coffee. “A cup a day, the right way,” she quips.