Other observations complete the portrait of an addict.
Gourmet coffeehouses have extraordinary customer loyalty. About 12 percent of coffeehouse patrons nationwide visit four or more times a week, according to Mintel International Group, a market-research firm. Starbucks says that its typical heavy user shows up 18 times a month. What makes these numbers more impressive is that coffee, of course, can easily be brewed at home. And 67 percent of regular coffeehouse customers recently surveyed by Mintel agreed that gourmet takeout coffee is too expensive.
I do go to Starbucks several times a week, but I want to believe part of the lure is WiFi. Yes, I'm wireless at home. But, lounging at a neighborhood coffee house lets me read and write without domestic distractions, and, talk with friends as well as browse the Web. Really. The research sheds light on why, if it is convenient, I prefer a trip to Starbucks for a cup of theirs to brewing my own. I could also save at least a fiver a week by skipping a couple lattes at Starbucks.
I don't have any plans to quit. Though continual, my coffee habit does not compare to those of the heavy-hitters described in the article. I haven't experienced any noticeable side effects. Of most significance, I believe I've earned the right to good coffee. I began my working life at newspapers. The coffee we drank, whether during reasonable hours or while working news or copy at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m., was a burnt tasting, sludgy substance that barely deserved the name. I've paid my dues.
I drink.
Note: This entry also appeared at Mac-a-ro-nies.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
oh, it is a bad addiction.
i keep thinking i've hit the limits of my coffee snobbery....and then some new brewing device, esoteric grinder or micro-roaster comes along.
in fact, just recently i switched to a vacuum pot: one glass sphere sitting on top of another (i swear, it looks like a science experiment)...but what a fantastic brew it makes.
and of course i bought the pot at a recently discovered micro-roaster, where the beans are guaranteed to have been roasted in the past 24 hours.
where will it end?!!!
2 - Hal Pawluk
Great "excerpt," MD.
And all the stories are all too true (oh, the shame of it :-)
3 - sheri
I think I am addicted to the smell of coffee aswell. I need to smell it in the morning, and at certain places,like work or Barnes and Noble. When I'm feeling down, I need to smell coffee,because it has a soothing affect on me.
4 - Mark Edward Manning
Caffeine is an addictive substance, a sister substance of the opioids. This is not self-promotion (I assure you), but I encourage you to read this and this. One is a column I wrote way back when and the other is a recent entry from my primary blogsite. It will serve to illustrate that you're not alone in your addiction.
5 - Mark Edward Manning
Well, my links didn't work. Oh well. Just know that I know where you're coming from.