The scene is very familiar. A line stretches from the registers, where the Norris main desk was once located, to the elevators. In attempts to appease the irritated dispositions of Northwestern students and staff members, the barista calls down the line. The customers want lattes, mochas, skim, whole, this pastry and that sandwich. The requests for Refresh and Calm teas, or any tea for that matter, are scarce.

So what is it exactly that makes us opt for the cup joe rather than a mug of loose leaf? Is there really a strong preference for one over the other? Are these choices made based on tastes, health, mood, or a combination of the three?

Sometimes it seems like life revolves around coffee shops. If you want to relax and enjoy good music and poetry you attend open mic nights. Cups of java sit beside stacks of books and papers in the library during midterms and finals. Informational interviews with perspective employers are also had over a hot drink.

“In general people drink coffee for practical reasons,” Weinberg senior Michelle Tsao says. “It’s an easy pick-me up and it is more for the caffeine than the social aspect.”

Between twelve-hour tech rehearsals, five-hour funding meetings for ASG, ten-page papers and all of the extracurricular activities in the world, it is hard imagine the campus without a buzz.

However, some do see it as a purely social activity.

“I don’t drink coffee,” Weinberg freshman Marrion Webster says. “But I would rather hangout in café than a teahouse because there are more people.” He also says that some people only drink the beverage because it is what the crowd does.

But whether it is practicality or social interaction that prompts consumption possible health issues are a concern. The theories of what it can do are abundant.

Coffee stunting your growth, links to cancer, and any other side effect you can think of has been associated with the beverage.

“Caffeine does dehydrate you,” says Beau Govreau, a personal trainer at Evanston’s L.A. Fitness. He notes that a lot of people use caffeine or products with it as an ingredient, to gear up for a work out. “But one of the problems with caffeine is that you crash, and that affects your metabolism.”

With some of the negative press given to caffeine, especially coffee, one might expect for more people to make the change to tea or at least to coffee. However, on our campus alone there is Lisa’s Café, Plaza Café, Crowe Café and of course Starbucks, where you can get espresso and coffee based drinks. And while these locations offer a diverse selection of teas, most students opt for the more hyped-up version.

Recently a study was done on campus to test if caffeine, particularly coffee had a positive or negative effect on memory. Studies done in previous years showed that it did nothing for cognition, but it decreased boredom and relaxation and increased anxiety. The new study compared the impact of drinking a six-ounce glass of water with the results from drinking the same amount of coffee. The group thought that coffee would produce slightly better results but in the end they had the same effects.

But there are alternatives.

“There are a number of benefits to tea,” says Andy Boylan, the general manager at the Argo Tea on Sherman and Davis. “And each tea has its own benefits.”

Though the concept of a teahouse may not seem like a great business idea in coffee centered culture, the Chicago-based company has been going strong for the past four years and plans on opening new locations in the near future.

While Boylan notes the bonuses of tea consumption such as the cleansing that comes from anti-oxidants, which are absent in its competitor, he does not put an emphasis one as the healthiest option.

“A lot of studies can go either way,” Boylan says. “And here we do tea and promote tea but we also have coffee.”

How do NU students interpret all of the different findings?

“I don’t really factor in new information,” Tsao says. “It depends on the situation, if I am at home I might drink tea because it is easier. I’ve also made plans coffee places because of convenience.”

The theme of circumstance also applies to other students. Coffee versus tea becomes less of a black and white comparison.

“If I need to stay awake and study I drink coffee,” Weinberg junior Kathy Luo says. “But if I want to relax with friends, tea is a better option.”

Medill senior Niema Jordan is a PLAY writer. She can be reached at [email protected].