Payson’s Starbucks increases caffeine consumption on campus

Pepperdine students are patiently waiting at the new Starbucks in a line that goes out the door (Photo by Brooke Zeall).

While the Payson Starbucks is the new hot spot on campus to grab a bite to eat or chat with friends, the on-campus location has significantly increased students’ caffeine intake and spending.

On average, Starbucks conducts 1,000 to 1,300 transactions a day Monday through Friday, Sodexo Operations Director Elizabeth Nepute said. They sell roughly 700 to 1,000 beverages daily. Starbucks has become so popular that it is in second place after the Waves Café for the most meal points used at a specific location.

“There is a lot of repeat customers,” Nepute said. “We can see so many people multiple times a day, anywhere from two to five times.”

In contrast to what Starbucks baristas observe, a Pepp Post poll of 50 students found that about 64 percent said they only consume one caffeinated beverage per day. However, roughly half said they rely on caffeine more now since the opening of a Starbucks location on campus.

While the new coffee shop assists Payson Library in becoming a 21st century library, increased caffeine consumption can have have a negative impact on student meal points and health.

A meal point shortage

The Pepp Post poll found that 70 percent of students said they used their meal points to pay for their drinks at Starbucks.

“It’s definitely an upgrade from the little coffee cart we used to have,” said Elise Froebe, a junior business administration major and sustainability minor. “It’s great that we can use our Caf points and the app.”

Before this year, Froebe said she only had coffee twice in her life. She now drinks Starbucks’ sweeter coffee-based beverages because she needs energy and likes the new convenient location.

“Before coming to Pepperdine, I have actually never been to a Starbucks, but because you can use your meal points here that’s cool,” said Sam He, a first-year liberal arts and teacher education major.

Students enjoy the new dining opportunities and drinks Starbucks has brought to campus. Many said the Starbucks sandwiches, wraps and salads are cheaper than meals in the Waves Cafe, leading students to grab quick meals there and their favorite caffeinated beverage.

“It has been detrimental on my meal plan,” said Elizabeth Hanley, a senior creative writing major.  “ … I don’t go to the cafe ever. I’ve probably been there five times this year.”

Hanley is not the only student facing this problem. Esther Wong, a junior computer science for business major, also faces the impact of Starbucks on her meal plan.

“I can have like a huge selection of drinks when I have my treat myself days,” Wong said. “It’s also the reason why I’m running low on meal points this semester,”

For the past two months, Wong has not went to Starbucks in an attempt to have her meal plan last for the rest of the semester.

The poll data, declining meal plan balances and the number of repeat customers baristas see all raise the question of whether a Starbucks location on campus is increasing student reliance on caffeine.

Social life is buzzing around Starbucks’ main entrance as students come to and from Joslyn Plaza (Photo by Brooke Zeall).

Health risks of caffeine

Loan Pham Kim, an associate professor of nutritional science at Pepperdine, described caffeine as a chemical that causes a response from the brain that is similar to adenosine.  LIVESTRONG describes adenosine as a chemical in the central nervous system that accumulates when you are awake, but eventually makes you drowsy. Caffeine increases the brain’s activity, making the person unable to realise how tired they actually are.

CNET reports that the more caffeine an individual drinks, the more adenosine receptors the brain creates. This means that it will take more caffeine than before to keep the individual awake.

Mayo Clinic reports that 400 milligrams of caffeine is the maximum safe amount of caffeine a healthy adult can consume in a day. They also state that consuming close to 400 milligrams of caffeine can cause migraine headaches, upset stomach, insomnia, increased heartbeat and muscle tremors.

Nepute said the two of the best selling beverages at the Starbucks location on campus are the iced caramel macchiato and the nitro cold brew. A grande iced caramel macchiato has 150 milligrams of caffeine in it. A grande nitro cold brew has 280 milligrams of caffeine in it. That is over half of the maximum safe amount of caffeine to consume in a day.

Kim noted the age an individual started consuming caffeine regularly and the amount they consume influences addiction and reliance to caffeine.

Kim said consuming caffeine regularly can cause withdrawal symptoms to occur when the individual stops drinking or does not have access to caffeine. These symptoms include shaking, severe headaches, inability to concentrate, dehydration, and the brain becoming chemically altered to become dependent on caffeine.

Some reasons Pepperdine students gave for relying on caffeine was for energy, lack of sleep and procrastination. Kim said time management issues, stress, heavy workload and the need to stay up late to complete work leads students to rely on caffeine.

“I think national reports are that like over 80 percent of adults drink caffeine,” Kim said, “So, a good number of us drink caffeine and I would probably guess that over 70 percent of college students drink some amount of caffeinated beverage, whether it’s coffee or like your Red Bull or other things.”

The Pepp Post poll found that 56 percent of students said they relied on caffeine prior to the Starbucks being opened on campus. Also, 52 percent said they consumed at least one caffeinated beverage a day prior to a Starbucks on campus, but now 65 percent said they consume at least one a day.

It is hard to tell whether this percentage increase is due to an increased caffeine reliance or whether students can use their meal points for beverages high in caffeine.

Kim said the new Starbucks will most likely shift students from energy drinks to coffee.

She did not think the presence of Starbucks itself would increase addiction, it would just affect the ways students choose to get their caffeine since they no longer have to leave campus to go to a Starbucks.

An addition to Payson

Pepperdine recently remodeled Payson Library to fix issues regarding the lack of study space and outdated infrastructure. During renovations, Payson added the new Starbucks to help achieve Pepperdine’s goal of creating a twenty-first century library.

“When we were planning for the library, we did a lot of research… we held a lot of focus groups with students and faculty,” Dean of Libraries Mark Roosa said. “I recall very distinctly it was a group of students and I had posed a question. I said, ‘Where do you study usually?’ and one of the students had said, ‘Well, we go to Starbucks down in Malibu and if it’s full, we come back to the library.’”

This gave Roosa and his team the idea to bring Starbucks to the library and make it a way for students to transfer into the library through a flow of student social life.

Roosa said Pepperdine houses the largest Starbucks within a library west of the Mississippi River. The location in the library where the Starbucks is located faces Joslyn Plaza, the central point of campus, and opens into the new library.

“So, the students go to Starbucks (for) food and drinks and stuff, but they also go there to be with friends and so that’s become a meeting point,” Roosa said.

Payson Library added more trash cans to accommodate the increased food and drink trash now in the library.

While Starbucks has been a great access point to the library, it has also become the access point to increased caffeine consumption.

Brooke Zeall completed the reporting for this story under the supervision of Dr. Christina Littlefield and Dr. Theresa de los Santos in Jour 241 in fall 2017. Dr. Littlefield supervised the writing of the web story.