Coffee is ingrained in the everyday routines of many college students — sometimes keeping their eyelids wide during all-nighter studying, or other times just serving as motivation to make it from one task to another. The caffeinated beverage has been a prominent aspect in American culture since the Boston Tea Party in 1773, but today, coffee’s role in our society varies widely — especially here on a college campus.

Socialization among college students is a large part of their university experience, though apart from dorm life and nightlife, desirable hangout activities can be limited. A common go-to activity has become “grabbing a coffee” — minimal money required, a sit-down spot provided, plus you get a fun drink to accompany conversation. 

Coffee runs are casual and versatile enough for friends who have a short window of free time, a date with someone you are not entirely comfortable with and even a relaxed business meeting with a boss. 

Or, working the other way around, socialization can act as the justification for buying coffee. It is easier to convince yourself that a $7 latte is worth your money when you are also catching up with a friend. Coffee can even be viewed as a replacement for alcohol for a new generation of young adults — chatting at a cafe to replace a night spent at the bar. 

However, younger generations are not only buying coffee for the social environment that often comes alongside it. For college students especially, a drink from Starbucks or Dunkin’ can work as a dopamine hit rather than a means to energize. With companies constantly releasing exciting new flavors and combinations, such as Dunkin’s recent banana-inspired spring menu, it is easy to crave a coffee for the sake of drinking something sugary and delicious. 

Why bore yourself sitting through class without a coffee when a Starbucks cold brew makes it that much better?

In today’s coffee culture, people do not need to enjoy pure, bitter coffee to enjoy drinking it. There are so many ways to customize a coffee to satisfy your desired taste, whether that be through creamers, cold foams or syrups. 

Speaking of customization, there is a psychological phenomenon that explains another aspect of coffee obsession. The “IKEA effect” describes how we often value things more when we are involved in its creation. The “IKEA effect” is highly applicable to coffee companies that encourage consumers to make the product their own. Especially with chain businesses, customers can easily alter a coffee’s sweetness, dairy, ice, syrups and toppings to create their signature, go-to drink. 

Companies often capitalize on this desire for consumers to create their own orders, and with a growing market for sugar lovers, on the sweet tooths of those who dislike plain coffee. 7 Brew, a newly popularized drive-through drink chain, offers over 20,000 drink variations. Catered towards a vast expanse of sweet-oriented preferences, some coffee options include the Funnel Cake Macchiato, the Frosted Cookie Breve and the Toasted Marshmallow Cold Brew. 

Though coffee will always be a reliable option for a bad night’s sleep or the start of a work day, the familiar caffeinated beverage has many more reasons to be purchased in today’s society. A justification for socializing, a creative outlet for customization or a sugary, trending dopamine boost, coffee now appeals to more people and more tastes than ever.