TASTE Coffee

BY LEE GERSTEIN

When did I have my first cup of coffee? Was I in college? Did I really like it? Isn’t coffee a step towards a certain type of surface maturity, in the same vein as, say mixed drinks or cigarettes?

These days, kids are exposed to the oh so glamorous life of coffee at toddlerhood, as moms and dads bring their kids into retail chains, so they can enjoy their expensive coffee drinks, while their kids get a juice and a cookie. Soon, however, these kids will grow up, and ape the lifestyles of the adults, which means more gourmet coffee drinks.

We all know Starbucks has turned the nation into a caffeine-addicted horde, willing to spend four times what they used to for a cup of coffee. What you may not be aware of, however, is their success in promoting milk. Their lattes, cappuccinos, and ready-to-drink bottled Frappuccinos don’t really advertise the fact that much of the beverage is milk based. In fact, from 2000 to 2001, the ready-to-drink coffee product market grew by 23.1 percent.

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