At what age did you start drinking coffee?

[maslex]

My hubby and I are NOT coffee drinkers at all. The CLOSEST I will get to anything even coffee flavored is a french vanilla coolata at Dunkin Donuts.

Anyhow, my boys were on a weekend retreat last weekend for church and apparently coffee was available for the kids to drink and my oldest came home asking when he can start drinking it because it keeps him "awake" LOL. He's 15 (16 in Aug) and he's a BEAR to get up in the morning and I do mean A BEAR!!!! He tells me that when he doesn't drink it, he doesn't "fully awake" until noontime.

So I'm wondering if this is something I should let him do? And since we're not coffee drinkers ourselves, should I just let him make instant? Or should I go out and get a coffee maker? And the other thing......I TRULY HATE, DEPISE, LOATHE and CAN'T STAND the smell of coffee..

So at what age did you start drinking the stuff. And have you ever regretted that you started drinking it?

 

[JessicaR]

I didnt start drinking and liking coffee till I was in my early 20's. My husband and both kids, 13 and 18 dont like it at all.

My sisters kids asked to drink it when they were little! They all like it as teens now.

 

[pixie dust 112]

I hated coffee until age 36. SInce then I have become a HUGE fan of coffee!

 

[Conservative Hippie]

I was about 15, but I didn't drink it every day. My mom was in her 30's before she started drinking coffee, and she became an addict and quite the coffee connoisseur! So as soon as I was appropriately old enough, we would have coffee together every once in a while. I didn't start drinking coffee daily until after my first child was born, I was 26. My husband doesn't drink coffee at all, which is really weird for a programmer!

 

[BCDisneyFanatic]

I started drinking it at 10, but not regularly. I usually have a cup or two a day. I drink it because I like it, not to wake me up . I've never had a problem with headaches on the days I don't drink it, so I certainly don't regret starting my 'coffee habit'.

Coffee makers are pretty cheap. What about getting him the plunger/bodem type? You might find you're using it more than you think if you start offering coffee to friends and family when they visit.

 

[daughtersrus]

I'm 46 and I still don't drink coffee.

 

[Magpie]

I'm not a coffee drinker, either. And my daughter (15) doesn't drink it. However, my son (13) DOES drink both coffee and tea.

First thing in the morning, he always walks out of the house with a travel mug of (usually) tea. It's caffinated.

At lunch, I know he spends a certain amount of his money on lattes at the local coffee shop. He has strong opinions on certain types of beans, and where they're grown, and brewing and all sorts of things I know nothing about. I *suspect* most of his drinks that he buys for himself are caffinated. When he's with me, I have him get decaf - it's better for his blood sugar.

He is not allowed any caffinated drinks after he gets home from school. Zip. Zero. Nada. Not even pop. I want him to sleep well at night.

If you ask me, I think my son does have a caffeine addiction. He doesn't seem to be able to get moving in the morning without his tea. However, this isn't a battle I feel the need to fight.

He began having coffee and/or tea when he went out to breakfast in restaurants with us, when he was about eight... I think. It might have been a little earlier as I remember debating with my husband whether it was appropriate to give those drinks to a young child. My husband's comment was, "He drinks Coke, doesn't he?"

So take from that what you will.

 

[Kitty 34]

Age 22; the first day I started my student teaching!! Didn't know life existed before 8:00!!

 

[stsomewhere]

Almost 40 still don't like coffee. My sister, brother and brother in law don't drink it either.

 

[aaarcher86]

I know I drank it as senior in high school pretty regularly. I probably started drinking it around 16 or 17 I'd say. I know I waited until I felt comfortable that I was finished growing since I heard it can stunt your growth

 

[Rora]

DH and I both don't drink coffee. I'm 24 and he's 25.

 

[Momvic5]

I started drinking coffee at 37 years old. I can't say that I like the taste of coffee, but I like the warmth and comfort of it. I started drinking it with my mom. She loved coffee. She would sit in the mornings and drink a cup. She was in the late stages of breast cancer and was cold most of the time. She would drink coffee for comfort so I started sitting and drinking it with her. She always poured a splash of milk into it to take the edge off. I drink it the same way. I refuse to put sugar into it or to drink the trendy sweet flavors. I prefer to keep it simple and to continue the way my mom showed me. No one else in my family drinks it. They all love the way it smells but gag when they taste it.

 

[FergieTCat]

I was 5 or 6. Albeit, it was with alot of milk and sugar, but still, I was really young. I don't know why my mother let me drink it.

I do remember "they said" it would stunt your growth. I'm 5'8", so there you go.

 

[SC Minnie]

42 and only flavored coffee.

 

[Pakey]

18-when I joined the Air Force.

When I got out of the Air Force, I quit drinking it.

I will have a small cup of tea on occasion if I'm really cold.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Oh my, DH and I have been talking about this lately too. I have noticed my kids looking to drink coffee and realize it's because teen/tween TV shows are pushing it like it's a normal thing for them to do. I didn't realize this was happening with other kids too. Seems to me like the coffee business is pushing coffee like it's the new cigarette for this generation. Drink me & be cool-adult-trendy... too bad they don't mention mood swings and brown teeth.

I started when I was 23, stopped when I was pregnant and just picked up decaf again a few years ago but I don't drink it regularly.

 

[beattyfamily]

My parents drank SO much coffee we each had to learn how to make their coffee for them. That bugged me so much, I just hated coffee and had no interest in drinking it.

Then I started working at Dunkin Donuts at 16 and still wouldn't touch it for years. Finally I started wtih flavored coffees in my early 20's. Then graduated to regular coffee a couple years later.

Now I LOVE coffee and have probably 2 -4 cups a day.

I don't see the harm in moderation. Soda has caffeine too.

 

[Momvic5]

I was 5 or 6. Albeit, it was with alot of milk and sugar, but still, I was really young. I don't know why my mother let me drink it.

I do remember "they said" it would stunt your growth. I'm 5'8", so there you go.

I have a cousin who put coffee full of milk and sugar in her babies' bottles. None of us ever understood why on earth someone would do that. By the time they were two years old, their teeth were ruined(for many reasons) and they would cry and beg for coffee loaded with sugar and milk. She is a real character....

 

[lizbaby007]

I had my first cup of 1/2 coffee 1/2 hot chocolate when I was 13. Starting around 15 or 16 I remember ordering coffee at restaurants or when out to brunch.

I moved on to a cup or two a day around 18 or 19. I officially became a coffee addict at that time. By the age of 25 I was drinking a pot to a pot and a half a day. I did develop heart palpitations (whoops)! which my dr attributed to my caffeine intake.

So I switched to Decaf and have been fine ever since. I will say the withdrawal symptoms were TERRIBLE!!! I thought my head was going to explode. Eventually that went away but giving up caffeinated coffee was so hard!!

I do have the occasional cup of "good" stuff and really miss that jolt you get but obviously my health was more important. I guess coffee is fine.....in moderation

 

[GeorgeG]

I've never had a cup of coffee in my whole life (coming up on 65). I took a few sips on several occasions when I was around 16 and did not like it. So, instead, I'm killing myself with Diet Coke.