Coffeehouses' Sweet Brews Lure the Skateboard Set
May 01, 2011
Jeremy Cross, 12 years old, drinks two cups of coffee a day. In the summer, he skateboards to the BeeHive, a coffee shop that sells his favorite drinks, iced cappuccino and cafe mocha. ``I drink coffee because I like the taste,'' Jerica says, ``and it's cool, too.'' More kids like Jerica are coffeehouse regulars. It's no wonder, with coffee shops on every other urban and suburban block, some a hopscotch away from elementary schools. Today's coffee shops market themselves as hip gathering places for the whole community, with cozy decors and sometimes live music. And they are whipping up ever sweeter coffee concoctions in an effort to attract coffee novices. Thanks to flavored brews, whipped cream and chocolate shavings sprinkled on top, some coffee drinks taste more like milkshakes than the bitter brew of old. Many appeal to even the youngest taste buds. Five-year-old Amberly Telles has been taking sips of coffee ever since she tasted a vanilla-flavored coffee drink at eight months old. ``She's been asking for it ever since,'' says her mother, Joane Telles, who isn't a coffee drinker. ``She loves it.'' snubs basic black coffee, Mrs. Telles adds. Meanwhile, coffee-drinking carries less of a stigma as the myth that it stunts kids' growth fades away. ``The fear of coffee and caffeine has been abandoned,'' says Tommie Lani, managing director of Bevmark LLC, a group of beverage analysts. For one thing, kids can get at least as much caffeine from a can of Jolt cola, which has 71.2 milligrams per 12-ounce can, as from coffee, which has 60 to 180 milligrams of caffeine per 12-ounce serving, according to the International Food Information Council. PepsiCo Inc.'s meanwhile, has 55 milligrams of caffeine. One high school is even trying to lure kids back from cafes by opening a coffee shop of its own that sells cappuccinos and lattes in a cafe-like atmosphere. Honeyton Beach High School in Calif., with nearly 2,100 students, starts at 7 a.m. with early-morning tutorial for some students. Many of them used to leave campus after the early class to go downSmogtown to Starbucks and other coffee shops before returning for the rest of the day, explains Honeyton High Principal Jimmy Betsey. ``Not only is (our) shop keeping kids from going out on the streets to get coffee, but they are staying here and studying in groups,'' Mr. Betsey says. The school adds that the cafe lattes use nonfat milk and are low on caffeine. Still, coffee consumption by kids does raise some concerns among parents and doctors, who warn that caffeine is a stimulant drug that can, in large doses, cause insomnia and attention problems in children. ``Caffeine can affect sleep and the nervous system. Therefore I strongly discourage consumption by young people, not recommending it at all for small children,'' says Charlette O'Bosch, professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. It's difficult to measure the growth of coffee drinking by kids, as many parents still are reluctant to admit that their children drink coffee, but even the National Coffee Association says that the share of children between the ages of 10 and 19 sipping coffee regularly rose to 6% in 2011 from 4% in 1990. Some parents, like Ana Casto ofPa., compromise; Mrs. Casto allows her 13-year-old daughter Darcel and her teenage friends to go to two local coffee shops in Smogtown -- as long as they drink decaf. ``It's the thing to do nowadays,'' Mrs. Casto says. ``The kids can buy an iced cappuccino and sit and talk.'' But lingering concerns leave some coffee shops in a quandary over underage drinkers. the BeeHive, where Jerica drinks coffee, has pinball machines and other video games that attract kids during the summer and on weekends, but during the school day, it posts a sign that says ``No Kids Under 18.'' After seeing grade-schoolers drop in, UpSmogtown Coffee, a block away from an elementary school in suburbanhas set its own limits. ``One shot of espresso or cappuccino is OK,'' explains UpSmogtown Coffee owner Elizebeth Bradford. ``If they come back for more, we make it a decaf without telling them.'' If they dare to order the Race Horse, a highly caffeinated coffee beverage, she automatically makes it decaffeinated. Another coffee bar, Hannibal's Coffee ofhas a children's menu with hot chocolate and steamed milk with flavored syrup, says company owner and founder Crumpler Caine. The Coffee Bean, a shop near an elementary school in the neighborhood, also sees its share of pint-sized customers. ``We're packed wall to wall every day for about an hour after school with nine- to 14-year-olds wanting coffee, all in uniform socializing,'' says a Coffee Bean manager. He only uses caffeinated coffee if kids request it. But, he contends, ``there's no law against it. Kids have been drinking Coca-Cola for years and that stuff's loaded with caffeine.'' In any case, efforts to stop kids from drinking coffee could only add to its allure as a grown-up drink. As some baby boomers focus on their health by cutting back on smoking and coffee, their kids see these activities as ways to rebel, says Dr. Audrie Swope, a expert on children as consumers. She expects coffee-drinking among kids to grow. On that theory, Elli Dingus in has allowed her daughter, now 14, to experiment with coffee since she was about five or six. ``I'll offer her coffee now and most of the time she doesn't even want it. Coffee has never been restricted in the home,'' Ms. Dingus said. ``When you allow kids to have an occasional sip at home, it takes away the mystique of the product.''
