Caffeine high

Monday, June 1, 1998

Caffeine high

TRENDS: Popularity of coffee has skyrocketed over the past few
years, but coffee houses have been around for ages

By Pauline Vu

Daily Bruin Contributor

You know you’re drinking too much coffee when you ski uphill,
you ride a stationary bike to work or your teeth look like
stalagmites, according to the book "You Know You’re Drinking Too
Much Coffee When …"

As the mere existence of this book illustrates, many people
still compulsively drink coffee for the extra kick it gives.
However, coffee today has evolved into much more than a can in a
supermarket. It has a culture and language of its own.

Coffee, second only to oil in the world commodities market, has
permeated both American and international popular culture.

"It’s the fuel of the 21st century," says David Browne, manager
of Westwood’s Starbuck’s coffee.

The coffee invasion is apparent on many street corners: the
coffee house. Starting in the late 1980s and early 1990s, coffee
houses sprang up in huge numbers in California with the onslaught
of chains like Deidrich’s and Starbuck’s.

Asked if he felt coffee houses were more than just a passing
trend, Browne responded with a definite yes.

"The reason coffee houses are so successful is because they’re
places for people to stay and talk. They have the environment for
conversation, for reading, for listening to music and for embracing
culture."

According to Browne, more people are turning away from the bar
scene in favor of coffee houses for meeting and interacting with
other people.

The coffee house is not an American invention. Some of the first
coffee houses were in the Near East. Coffee houses in Turkey became
known as the "School of the Wise" because of the sharing of
knowledge which took place in them. In 1645, Italy’s first coffee
house opened in Venice. Today, Italy has over 200,000 coffee houses
and the origins of many of the popular coffee flavors – Amaretto,
Cappuccino – have their roots in Italy.

Neither is the American coffee house a recent invention. During
the Revolutionary War, much of the planning stages for the new
nation took place in coffee houses. The first public reading of the
Declaration of Independence took place in one.

UCLA currently has four coffee shops – the Kerckhoff Coffee
House, Jimmy’s, Northern Lights and the Viewpoint Cafe. Kerckhoff
opened in 1975, Jimmy’s in 1986, Northern Lights in the fall of
1996, and Viewpoint Cafe in the fall of 1997.

The opening of Northern Lights was part of a 1992 business plan
based on market research, which indicated that coffee would be an
extremely popular campus food product, according to Dave Nirenberg,
Associate Director for ASUCLA Restaurants.

Many students spend time in these coffee houses, drinking coffee
and studying, or carrying their cups to class. Michelle Banta, a
third-year American literature student, got hooked on coffee at age
8 – "It was like chocolate milk" – and drinks it today for
energy.

"I need to get my energy from somewhere, and caffeine helps,"
she says. However, Banta says she does not enjoy being that kind of
coffee drinker.

"I used to like the taste, but now I feel like I’m just
injecting it. It’s hard to appreciate taste when you’re just using
it for its effect."

Banta does enjoy the coffee-house atmosphere, it’s a good place
to study. "I think it’s psychological, but the aroma helps keep you
awake."

Popular legend decrees that coffee beans were discovered in
Ethiopia over a thousand years ago when Kaldi, a goat keeper,
discovered his goats acted unusual and became more active after
eating red berries from the coffee bush.

He told the abbot of a local monastery, who tested the power of
the berries for himself. After drinking a concoction of the berries
and water, he found it was easier to stay awake during prayers.

Thus coffee, which is now consumed at a rate of over 400 billion
cups annually, had its humble beginning.

Coffee’s history also has its share of controversy, such as when
Pope Clement VIII (1592-1605) was asked to ban coffee as "the
Devil’s drink," but gave it his blessing instead.

During America’s colonial days, coffee became America’s new
favorite beverage. It replaced tea as the beverage of choice in
1773, when a group of colonialists disguised themselves as Native
Americans and dumped several hundred pounds of tea into Boston
Harbor in the infamous "Boston Tea Party" incident. Americans,
after having turned from tea to coffee in protest, have been hooked
ever since.

Coffee then became prominent in entertainment and recreation.
Starbuck’s, for example, got its namesake from a coffee-loving
character in Herman Melville’s "Moby Dick." Many TV sitcoms, such
as "Frasier" and "Friends," often take place in trendy coffee
shops.

It has even managed to infiltrate the comics. Jim Davis often
pokes fun at Garfield the cat’s compulsive coffee drinking. "Jon!"
Garfield shouts in one comic, shaking uncontrollably, "Let’s, let’s
swim to Tahati, Jon! … Let’s swim right now!"

"I think I made your coffee too strong," Jon replies dryly.

Along with comics and history, coffee has long played roles in
movies. In "Airplane 2," chaos and panic reigns on the aircraft
when it is revealed that the coffee has run out.

Likewise, a cattle stampede is sparked by the noise of a coffee
machine in "City Slickers." After the characters’ entire supplies
are destroyed, Daniel Stern’s character looks up triumphantly and
declares, "French Roast!"

Movies, both classic and modern, have created memorable lines
about coffee. In "No Man of Her Own," Clark Gable says to future
wife Carole Lombard, "I never laugh until I’ve had my coffee." And
Cher, in her Oscar-winning role in "Moonstruck," says to Nicholas
Cage, "You make good coffee. You’re a slob, but you make good
coffee."

As America moves into the 21st century, coffee suits itself to
the latest technology and is prominent in another medium: the
Internet. Coffee web sites are already widespread on the Internet,
with some of the popular sites proclaiming, "Why Coffee is Better
Than Men," and vice versa.

Viewers can also order coffee and learn about it on the
Internet.

However, coffee and the Internet are connecting in an even newer
trend: the cybercafe. There are currently over 60 cybercafes in
California alone and several in London, Tokyo, Paris and the rest
of the United States. These cafes offer top-of-the-line computers
with World Wide Web and e-mail access for a fee, along with, of
course, premium coffee.

Cyber Java in Venice opened in June 1995 to become the first
cybercafe in the Los Angeles area. The owners received inspiration
from cybercafes in Europe and from their own experiences, said
manager Danni Garing.

They often went to cafes and brought their laptops, sometimes
encountering difficulty when people asked them to move the laptops.
Other times there was no place to plug them in.

Garing says Cyber Java has done well since its opening, so well
they will expand and open another cybercafe this year in
Hollywood.

"Demand is really increasing, The longer we’ve been open, the
more customers learn and know. They’re not just looking at pictures
anymore," Garing said, referring to customer’s Internet surfing
activities.

Ultimately, however, throughout the times and changes, the most
enjoyable thing about coffee will remain the same.

"The best coffee depends who you’re drinking it with," Banta
said.

"It’s better with company."

So if coffee is present in the movies, on TV, on the Internet
and on every street corner, is it possible Americans are drinking
too much coffee?

Coffee does have some negative effects, according to Mary Cole,
a dietetic technician at the UCLA Clinical Research Center. As a
stimulant, caffeine can increase anxiety, cause irritability,
nervousness, diarrhea and some dehydration. Too much coffee at one
time can also cause headaches.

But there are easier ways people can figure out whether they’re
drinking too much. Like when they start sleeping with their eyes
open, or listening to speed metal to relax …Senior Tuong Ta
studies outside the Viewpoint Cafe with his cup of coffee standing
by.

Customers wait to be served at the Kerckhoff Coffee House.

Photos by DANIELA DECCA