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Counting the cups

Coffee drinkers models of moderation

Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 17/00) - This is how this story was going to go: coffee is the stuff of hectic modern-day life, part of our chemistry -- the fuel of the western economy if not the cause of the industrial revolution.

A few snappy quotes from coffee drinkers with gallon-sized cups talking about how they'd eat babies if they didn't get their morning fix of Joe and, Bob's yer uncle, instant story.

But coffee drinkers at Javaroma Wednesday were not co-operating.

"It's a morning ritual. Sometimes I'll have one in the afternoon," allowed Dave Tyson. "A small."

Same for Peter Bannon, another occasional afternoon coffee drinker.

Tyson said he used to drink coffee "all day long" but cut back because of the edgy feeling it caused.

"I'm a week-on, week-off coffee drinker," said Jayson Knight, nursing an orange juice.

"I don't drink more than one a day," said Rene Bonnet, who takes honey in her coffee because sugar is unhealthy.

Coffee is also part of Bryan Mahe's morning routine, but not a critical part -- "If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen."

It's even less important to John Gon's day.

"I like to have something hot when I come in in the morning," he said. "I drink decaf. I like the taste of coffee, but not real coffee."

Of course not.

If the people in Javaroma Wednesday morning are models of coffee-drinking moderation, somebody out there is drinking way more than their fair share.

Coffee is second only to tap water as the beverage of choice for Canadians, who drink an average of three cups a day, according to the Coffee Association of Canada. In terms of global industry, coffee is second largest commodity-based industry. Oil is first.

The morning quest for serious java consumers finally hit pay dirt with 10-cup-a-day drinker Bill Hodson.

"It's pretty important (to my day)," Hodson said. "It wakes me up."

What if you don't get that morning cup, Bill?

"Doesn't happen, never."

Likewise -- Marc Pentleton, who drinks two to five (not decaf) cups a day. If he doesn't get his morning fix, "friends and relatives pay for it."

True caffeine fiends may be few and far between here, but whether it's one cup a day or 30, there's no doubt coffee is a part of most Yellowknifers' mornings.