Salon reveals the shocking truth about kids: they like sugar and caffeine. Not surprisingly, they enjoy the sweet buzzy beverages sold by Starbucks and other gourmet coffee chains. One teen describes the joy of the fix:

“… Coffee is lunch. It’s like the new mashed potatoes. Coffee is comfort food, especially when it rains.” And that’s comfort to Starbucks and other makers of gourmet coffee, who are capitalizing on a boundless new world of teenage customers. To the Beyoncé set, coffee is the new cool. It hops them up with a wallop of caffeine that’s much stronger than soda. [salon]

While the conclusions aren’t terribly surprising to anyone who’s seen a television teen drama — kids like coffee for the same reason adults do, cafés provide a much-needed “third place” in urban social life, caffeine is addictive, et c. — the narrative is an interesting look at youth culture. It also features a thrilling opportunity to read comments from a nutritionist pleading with consumers to at least grab a muffin to go with that latte.

Related: Anecdotal evidence suggests that area teens are a part of the national trend sweeping the teen demographic? Long morning lines have been observed at a Tully’s adjacent to a prep school [capitolhillseattle].