If you're a not a morning person, chances are you need a quick pick-me-up to get your day started. For some people, it could be an easy breakfast, like donuts; for others, it could be the energy from the sun's rays, because you're made of pure sunshine and rainbows. But, if you're like me, you need a hot, steaming cup of pressed caffeinated bean juice, or what's more pleasantly known as coffee.
Coffee is an indispensable component of many people's morning routines. In fact, about 83% of all American adults drink a good ole cup of Joe every morning. Sure, a person can down a pint-sized energy drink to get them started, but not only is it considerably unhealthy, it still doesn't measure up to the liquidy goodness that is coffee, which happens to have more caffeine than your average energy drink, anyways. While it sounds so easy to just get a cup of coffee, it's not that simple of a choice.
There are a huge number of factors that go into every morning cup of coffee. Coffee has a strong pull on more than 4/5 of the United States, so it's safe to say that the industry thrives rather spectacularly every year. But, you don't have to even contribute to the huge chains of over-priced coffee to get your morning fix. One of the hardest decisions of the morning is whether or not to just make your own coffee at home, or to drive to a coffee shop and buy a cup of joe. One of the biggest factors for me and most other people is time, which is, and always will be, a scarcity in this regard. I always try my best to give myself enough time for my coffee-making escapades, and if I have an abundance of time, the incentive of getting a professionally done cup of coffee with the greater amount of time to spare overpowers the need to save a few dollars by brewing at home. However, cost is also an equally strong factor if I consider going to a cafe like Starbucks instead. When you're a considerably broke high-school student who often can count on one hand how much money she has, in cents mind you, then going out to buy coffee is probably not a good idea. And it is important to note that the morning brew is part of a highly elastic business. At many chain coffeehouses, speciality espresso cups can cost as much as $4 for just 8 oz. of coffee, which is highway robbery already, but the overall marginal benefits of a high quality cup of coffee has just barely exceeded this exorbitant price. However, if the coffee industry decided to suddenly up the cost, lots of people will have to settle for lower quality substitutes, because those marginal costs are just way too close for comfort. Incentives are also a big deal for the morning coffee, because just how every snowflake is special, every person's cup of coffee varies greatly. The incentive of making your own coffee flavored right to your taste, with the benefit of saving time waiting in line and money for expensive coffee, is pretty important to the daily decision. Some people, almost 1/3 of coffee drinkers, desire high-grade gourmet coffees, while others don't mind the convenient store-brand ground or instant coffees. Some people aren't very picky and like their coffee as black as their soul, but other right-minded people like myself add creamer to their coffee, though I can't vouch for my side too much, because I have a particularly sweet preference to coffee. Yes, I could always ask Starbucks to add a few more shots of caramel to my caramel macchiatos, but that costs extra money, and the incentive of me easily controlling the amount of sweetener I put in my coffee is just so much greater than awkwardly informing the store that, yes their coffee is not drowning in enough sugar for me. So, while I continue to put unholy amounts of creamer in my now, half-coffee and half-sweetener concoction, the rest of the United States also goes through the same troubling exchange.
Ah, coffee: it helps keep many of the people in this country sane enough to get through the day and actually make important contributions, one cup at a time.
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