It’s early on Wednesday morning. You can barely keep your eyes open, and your first period chemistry final starts soon. What do you do? Turn to caffeine for an energy boost. While there is speculation that caffeine might stunt your growth or trigger strange dreams, it’s not illegal like Lance Armstrong’s performance enhancing methods. So in preparation of finals, I drank various caffeinated beverages to determine which would energize me for the longest amount of time.
Iced Chai Tea Latté
As an avid Starbucks fan, the first place I turned to for a caffeinated drink was my local Starbucks Coffee. I ordered an Iced Chai Tea Latté, essentially a drink of Chai tea and cold milk on ice. Chai tea is a black tea with different spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. And if a spicy tea does not sound appealing, Starbucks has a wide variety of teas, ranging from Earl Grey, a black tea with a citrusy taste, to Green tea, which has a more bittersweet, flowery taste. Although it was more expensive than making a cup of tea at home, I found its savory, creamy taste to be well worth the price. The deliciously sweet drink gave me a sugar high. I went back to doing homework refreshed, until unfortunately, as with all sugar highs, it came to an end after about an hour and a half. All too soon, I began feeling as tired as I had before.
Monster
Next came the Monster energy drink. As soon as I opened the can, my nose was filled with the all too strong smell of sour green apple. Personally, I found the tart taste and the fizziness to be off-putting, so I had to force myself to drink it all.
I have to say that I got my money’s worth of the energy drink. At first, I didn’t think the Monster had any effect on my level of energy, but after about 30 minutes, the caffeine kicked in. Jumpy and hyper, I felt energized enough to get up and go running, and I am not an athlete. However, it was difficult to remain focused on work, and I would become suddenly distracted by the number of eraser shavings left behind on my desk. This intensity lasted for a good two hours, but as with the Chai tea, a crash soon followed. Once the effects of the Monster wore off, not only did I have a gross aftertaste in my mouth, but I felt lethargic and even less motivated to study than I had before.
Hot Latté
Last but not least, I returned to Starbucks and ordered a hot Latté. And I have to say, after this little experiment I can honestly understand why adults drink coffee on a daily basis. Like the other two drinks the Latté quickly made me feel more energized. As someone with a sweet tooth, I preferred the sugary flavor of the Chai tea over the stronger, more bitter taste of the hot Latté, the Latté proved to be the best choice when looking for an energy drink with the fewest drawbacks. Its warmth soothed the anxiety I felt about finals, without the jitters and jumpiness of the Monster energy drink. And I found the fragrant smell of coffee to be comforting. Best of all, with the hot Latté, there was no crash.
Avoiding procrastination and getting plenty of rest are the best test taking strategies, but if all else fails, consider calming your nerves and extending your study hours with an energizing hot Latté.