Coffee in the 1990s took on a more significant and relevant role in everyday life. The coffee house craze has spread throughout the country and become contemporary, making coffee an essential component of social gatherings. Vendors have more to offer than just the good old, decaffeinated and regular, and coffee drinking seems to have shed its past notion of being an older person's drink.

According to an annual survey done by the National Coffee Association 52 percent of the adult population of the United States over the age of 18 drink coffee every day. Coffee drinkers consume, on average, 3.3 cups of coffee per day and 64 percent of all coffee is consumed at breakfast; 28 percent between meals; and 8 percent at all other meals.

So whether it is the type of beans, the roast, the color, the grind or origin, Austinites also seem to have their preferences not only in the coffee but where they go to drink it and why. For more on where Austinites go for a cup of coffee in the morning click on 'Living.'

Roxana Orellana can be reached at 434-2214 or by e-mail at :mailto:roxana.orellana@austindailyherald.com