Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: Features

Media Credit: Katherine Kenner Joseph Owens helps weary students finish out their day by supplying them with an afternoon coffee at Java City in the Union. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Katherine Kenner Kailey Smith, a second year freshman, catches up on some sleep in between classes on the second floor of the University Union. [Click to enlarge]

When it's still dark and chilly outside, Joseph Owens wakes up at 5 a.m. to work the morning shift at Java City inside of the Sacramento State University Union. Some students cringe when thinking about peeling the covers off at this time of the day. This may seem like an unnatural time to get up, but Owens pulls it off. He's doesn't wake up on his own though. Like most students, he needs something to wake him up in the wee hours of the morning.

"One cup of French Roast and that's it. I drink chai too sometimes, but not too much coffee." he said about his usual daily fix. Chai is a caffeinated tea concentrate made with steamed milk.

Owens said that at first he thought the idea of people saying that coffee really worked was silly, but from his own personal experience, he now believes it does.

If you ever visit a Java City on campus on a weekday during morning rush hour, it's evidence that coffee is becoming more of a familiarity in students' lives. Many students willingly join a line of 20 or more people for their drinks.

If you went into Lassen Hall in the beginning of this semester, you must have noticed the line for the Financial Services office from a mile away because it took up most of the hallway. Several people got impatient and left their spots in line. Looking at these two analogies, one may think students have more patience for their coffee, than waiting in line for financial services.

Caffeine, a popular stimulant, is also included in many of the products students are consuming daily, other than coffee.

It is found naturally in the leaves, seeds and fruits of more than 60 plants, including tea leaves, kola nuts, coffee, and cocoa beans. It is in coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa and some colas. Caffeine is frequently added to over-the-counter medications such as pain relievers, appetite suppressants and cold medicines. Caffeine has no flavor and can be removed from a food by a chemical process called decaffeination.

Its reach doesn't seem to end with foods or medicines either.

More familiar to the college scene, caffeine is starting to show up in the recipes for some new beers.

"The popularity of a cocktail by adding vodka to the energy drink Red Bull has inspired several brewers to create caffeinated beers," according to Psychology Today. One drink that is nationally known is Sparks, a malt-based energy drink that contains alcohol, caffeine, ginseng and guarana, the article said.

Rolling Stone magazine raved about Sparks in 2004 and said, "The wave of the future is getting invigorated and wasted in one go with Sparks, the energy drink that has thoughtfully already added booze for you."

Surprisingly though, not everyone drinks caffeinated drinks for the morning jolt. So what should you do if caffeine isn't really your thing? Some Sac State students had some suggestions on how to wake up in the morning and how to stay alert in class.

Gabriel Newborn, a senior, said the standard breakfast and a hot shower helps him get up in the morning.

"Sleeping in is more important than the actual waking up process," Newborn said.

Amanda Eiras, a freshman, said caffeine never really affects her.

"Take classes that you're interested in (to keep yourself awake)," she said.

Kate Jones can be reached at kjones@statehornet.com

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