In the cafe closest to my home an 8(?)-year-old girl repeatedly asks her mother ordering at the counter “mom can I have a vanilla latte, can I have a vanilla latte? …” I am a little shocked - is this her regular order? The mother, done handing money over to the cashier, begins to pay attention and says laughing “no! what are you thinking?!”

Coffee is an “adult drink” by social standards but not by law. It is only somewhat…unacceptable (?) for children to drink, maybe because it changes body chemistry and has addictive properties. Luckily the flavour is not very agreeable with a typical child’s tastes…a built in protection mechanism. But still, there are a number of coffee-based beverages masking the bitterness with sugar and milk products and other flavours - how much do these appeal to children and which children get to drink them? If their parents deny a request for a vanilla latte, are they allowed to have other drinks containing caffeine? If denying a child coffee is not based on health concerns but simply because coffee is an “adult drink” what does this say about adult perceptions of drinking it?

I consider my own. My morning cup of coffee is a daily sign of independence and self-support. I am drinking my coffee to start a day in which I will take on life responsibilities. I also drink coffee as a reward for responsibilities taken. On a day off I might indulge in a late morning breakfast out…accompanied with coffee.

Today I drink a rare cup of afternoon coffee to give me a thesis-working boost. It helped get me started and it helped me notice the shape of these buds on the walk home. I saw them and was able to picture graphics inspired by their shape but before today, I never connected the graphics to a plant that actually existed. They seem so wonderfully cartoonish.

Coffee is not helping me now. My body is sore and tired. I want to sleep. I think I might have a short nap…need to get functional soon.