how old were you when you started coffee?
 

me..college.

my two interns do not drink coffee..and i see very young kids at starbucks ordering the sugary coffee offerings.. so i have no idea where we are at these days. i'm pretty sure an eighth grader isnt drinking coffee black..right?

If you define coffee with lots of milk and sugar as coffee then 6 or 7 at my grandmothers. Usually dipped my toast with strawberry/rhubarb jelly in it also. 4 teaspoons of sugar and 1/3 cup milk and the rest was coffee. Drink it mostly black now.

Our 7 year old will have it with me on vacation now and then. He doctors it up a lot and only drinks a little. Our 15 year old daughter has a cup every Sunday morning with 4 little "cups" of vanilla/caramel creamer in a 16 oz cup of coffee.

When I joined the Marine Corps, coffee was the standard drink. I was 18 years old.

Me? First coffees 12 or so - full coffee drinker at 15, black capable since college.
My oldest was on the same schedule, now drinking my espressos. I try to encourage decaf when there is the option. My younger is going to be earlier, I'd guess around 12. It is all without sugar but with milk. So I actually like it better than other drink options. I.e. I like that my teen doesn't chug 2 cups of milk or a big glass of OJ in the morning for breakfast.

G

I remember drinking coffee as a youngster (about 12 yo) - particularly when on vacation and we were staying at my grandparents. I especially enjoyed the iced coffee afternoon beverage in the TX summer heat!

Still haven't found one I like.

I held out regular coffee drinking until I was working fulltime in an office at age 25

I figured my employer deserved the full me, every morning. No slow or off days due to depressingly gray weather or from being up too late the night before.

At age 50 I cut back to 1/2 cup in the morning.

Same starting age and environment. Worked with a good friend back in those and it was definitely a ritual to hit the break room and make coffee. For the last 10 or so years all of the places I have worked have had Starbucks machines or something similar. My main office location even has a full on Starbucks on site.

I have always drink it black with no sugar or dairy added.

8 years old - after church

My Dutch parents were coffee lovers so I started having a cup with them when I was 12 or so. Coffee consumption peaked for me in College - a couple pots a day was not uncommon. Now 30 years later I drink 2 cups (dbl shot espresso and water) a day. Never liked sugar in my coffee, will drink it black but prefer a splash of cream. Hot weekends the wife and I might share an iced coffee - again no sugar - in the early afternoon.

34. I've always preferred tea, but a girlfriend years ago was a HUGE Starbucks drinker - 3 times a day (she was really pissed when I did the math on this) so I started then. I don't drink it regularly even now - there's none in the house, for instance - but I'll have some if it's around.

After college, probably late 20's. It's free at work but is terrible, so lots of sugar and creamer. If it's good coffee, I'll just do milk or cream. Drinking it black does not ever sound appealing to me.

17...first year of college. Discovered I preferred it black.

For me, in graduate school.

In the words of my wife "how can something that smells so good taste so bad?"

After joining the USAF. Long missions in the "tube of pain" and nasty black coffee go hand in hand.

21, first year of work. Total snob about it now.

first year of college. The caffeine was suppose to keep me up but it did do a thing. Still dosed off during classes.

My first job out of college. We had a mandatory 15 minute break at mid morning and mid afternoon. Soft drinks and hot coco cost money, coffee was free. Started out with cream and sugar but gravitated to black when the mom of my roommate showed up at our place with a variety of exotic beans. "Don't ruin this coffee with all that crap, enjoy its subtle flavors!"

Daily since 16. First construction job. The guy I rode to the jobsite with always brought coffee for the guys on his crew. Always black. Loved it from the beginning.

Caffeine has zero affect on me so I never picked up the habit. I like the way it smells, though...