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From providing a much-needed early morning jolt to attracting students to artsy cafés, there are plenty of reasons why teens like you can't get enough of coffee. According to a 2005 telephone survey taken nationwide by the National Coffee Association of USA, daily coffee Drinking among 18-24-year-olds reached a record high of 26 percent of respondents -- four points from 2004.

This raises some pretty important questions. How do you keep your coffee-drinking habits healthy? And where can you get the best boost for your buck? Find out as you sip away.

The Coffee Culture
When it comes to  

coffee on campus

 , what you're drinking is as important as where you're drinking it. Coffeehouses are a place to check out aspiring artists and musicians, catch up with friends, converse with intellectuals, and cram for exams. That's what the students at Princeton University (Princeton, NJ) do.

Small World Coffee, just half a block from the Ivy League university's main gates, is their caffeine quencher. Walk inside and you'll find out why coffeehouses in College towns across America are an integral part of Student Life. "It's definitely a great place to study, for those who don't mind the extra noise," says Teresa Velez, a Princeton junior. In the far corner of the café, students sit at small, round tables, with textbooks and papers sprawled out next to half-empty cups of coffee and munched-on brownies and cookies. The hum of overlapping conversations, clinking of dining ware, and rumble of blenders surround them in a seemingly soothing way.

"We're big on coffeehouses as meeting places, too -- to hang out, chat, or catch up with a friend," Teresa adds. Shana Fischer, day manager of College Perk, the coffeehouse near the University of Maryland (UM, College Park, MD), seconds that. "There's an instant community about coffeehouses," she says.

Caitlin Hopping, a UM junior, admires the cozy ambiance of College Perk, where each room is painted a different color. "It's in an old house," she says. "It's gorgeous." Just like at other cafés, these rainbow walls feature paintings from local artists and enclose performances from up-and-coming musicians. Although not on the menu, talent is brewed and served up as well. And for the budget-savvy, what beats free entertainment?

The Best Blends
"World's Best Coffee!" It's a promise many a coffeehouse makes, but really, those superlatives are for you to decide. For Sarah Shawki, a New York University (New York, NY) junior, it's a tie between the cappuccino from a little 24-hour market in the Big Apple and Starbucks' Coffee Frappuccino, which is a chilled, milky blend. She estimates spending hundreds on coffee in a semester.

At around $3 a pop, Starbucks is true to its name. That's why Maureen Tort, a senior at The College of New Jersey (Ewing, NJ), opened a Visa card that rewards her purchases with Money to spend at Starbucks. When coffee becomes too much of an expense, Sharon Clott, a Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY) junior, says, "You have to get creative." She invented her own caffeinated concoction, the Coffee Bomber. "You mix dark roast coffee with half a packet of hot chocolate mix, add two packets of sugar, then a pinch of French Vanilla creamer and normal creamer," says Sharon. It's so strong that she serves it exclaiming, "Bombs away!"

Keeping Your Coffee Habit Healthy
Stylish cafes and sweet tastes aside, coffee comes down to one thing for college students: A quick fix for sleep deprivation. "Without a doubt, coffee wakes you up and increases alertness," says Joy Bauer, named Best Nutritionist in New York City by New York Magazine. That's because caffeine prevents adenosine, a chemical that makes you drowsy, from clogging the receptors in your brain. Your neurons can then fire away to give you the energy boost needed to concentrate.

Unfortunately, you can't take the perks that literally come with coffee without a reality check. "Students drink a lot of coffee to self-medicate," says Sabina Beesley, outpatient dietician at the University Medical Center at Princeton. "When you patch up your problems with coffee, it creates a vicious cycle."

Sharon, who used to drink up to four cups a day, learned this the hard way. "One time I got really sick. I had this awful headache," she says. That day, she didn't drink the amount of coffee her body had come to depend on.

Bauer says caffeine addiction happens, but the amount of coffee it takes varies from person to person. "How you react depends on personal tolerance, on how sensitive your body is," she says. Two to three cups of regular coffee a day, however, is generally a safe amount. But, as Bauer points out, your favorite blends from big-name chains often come loaded with extra caffeine and in sizes larger than an eight-ounce serving.

The bottom line? "Everything in moderation," advise both nutrition experts. It's a challenge, but that never stopped you before, right?

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