By Bill Delaney
He opens the lid of the Styrofoam cup to let the steam pour out. He inches his face down to inhale the smell of the coffee beans and takes a sip of the blackest liquid you will ever see. College student Marco Corrado is doing the same thing he does every morning before school. It is the same thing many Americans do.
The National Coffee Association reports that more than half of the US's adult population drinks coffee, and 29 percent of people 18 to 24 drink a cup of coffee once a day.
There are 25 four-year colleges in the city of Boston that account for more than 100,000 students. If those students line up with national statistics, nearly a third of them are looking for their coffee fix every day. Getting that fix is not hard to find.
Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks are everywhere, especially in Boston. There are over 50 Dunkin Donuts and 16 Starbucks in Beantown, and that is not counting the surrounding areas where college students live. Standing still on 80 Boylston St. you can see in one direction a Dunkin Donuts to your left, a Starbucks dead-a-head, and a Dunkin Donuts down the street to your right.
Marco Corrado said he needs the coffee to get him going in the morning. "Not only does my body crave the coffee, but my brain tells me I have to get a cup before I go to class." Corrado admitted to spending almost $8 a day on coffee.
Corrado said he wants to cut back but he says it is hard to stop when the coffee shops are so convenient. "I walk by two Dunkins and a Starbucks on my way to school; it is irresistible when you are hooked on caffeine."
Several friends have told Corrado his coffee drinking is out of control. "I get a hot coffee in the morning... an iced coffee with lunch... and I usually pick one up on my way home from the gym." Corrado said it's a part of his life now, and that he does run on Dunkins.
Recent college graduate Kevin Silva said he developed his coffee habits while he was going to Suffolk University in Boston. "I would get a cup every day before I headed to school, and I would pick a cup up in between my classes." Silva said the Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks are everywhere you turn in Boston and its nice to get that pick-me-up before you head in to class.
Now that he has graduated, Silva said he finds himself drinking less coffee because it's not as readily available at his new job. He still gets his morning cup, but without having to walk around to his classes Silva has cut it down to just the one cup a day.
But how unhealthy is coffee anyway? A 10-ounce cup of black coffee only has five calories and zero saturated fat. To see how unhealthy your Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks habit is, click here: Nutritional Links Dunkin Donuts - Starbucks
Recent news reports also have mentioned some of the health benefits linked to drinking coffee. Nutritionist Laura Thompson says, "in recent years there has been a lot of research to suggest that regular coffee consumption may reduce your risk for developing certain diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's." Thompson said she has also seen it used to treat headaches and asthma.
Thompson also said daily consumption of coffee is absolutely fine. That' may be good news in the Hub because the city is dripping with coffee places on every corner. Thompson argues that having all those coffee places in Boston is a "plus, on a cold morning in the middle of December who wouldn't want a warm beverage?"
You can add possible protection against some forms of liver dieases too as caffeien benefits!
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