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On the patio of Starbucks in the Alamo Quarry Market, a 16-year-old is enjoying her second coffee of the day. It's 7:45 p.m., and the parking lot is still wafting with the heat of June. With an empty 20-ounce cup before her, Elizabeth de Marigny explains she usually drinks coffee in bulk, two in the morning and two in the evening.
"I think it's worse during the summer because I have time to get coffee," the International School of the Americas junior said.
Teens like de Marigny have developed a taste for caffeine in the form of coffee and energy drinks. They are consuming these popular caffeine- and sugar-loaded beverages without much concern for the health effects, said Sue Cunningham, assistant professor of nutrition at the University of Texas Health Science Center Department of Community Dentistry.
"People are addicted to Starbucks coffee or some of these products," Cunningham said.
De Marigny's 20-ounce Starbucks cup contained about 320 mg of caffeine. By the end of the day, she'd had three of the mega-sized cups and consumed more than three times the FDA-recommended limit of caffeine.
De Marigny can easily name more than five Starbucks locations. At her "home Starbucks" on North New Braunfels Avenue, the employees know her name and often have her favorite coffee waiting for her - a cappuccino or Chai tea.
"There are a lot of other addictions I could have," de Marigny said. "Coffee is my friend."
But Cunningham disagrees. Too much caffeine can lead to irritability, headaches and fluctuating blood sugar, Cunningham said.
The true health effects of caffeine on teens is unknown because few studies have been conducted.
"Human research is more difficult," Cunningham said. "Children are protected by their parents. It's a more difficult population to get to."
Teens often don't have a sense of how much of an ingredient is in the products they consume.
"I guess it all boils down to labeling," Cunningham said. "Products in the United States are not labeled well. Energy drinks don't tell you how much caffeine is in there."
The Food and Drug Administration recommends a daily caffeine intake of 300 mg or less for adults. That means about two caffeinated drinks per day. But Starbucks coffee is higher in caffeine than regular coffee. Starbucks posts general nutrition information on its Web site but does not provide information about caffeine content. Starbucks declined a request for an interview.
A variety of online sources offer caffeine information about Starbucks, most listing Starbucks at about 16 mg of caffeine per ounce, compared with about 11 mg for regular coffee. A researcher from the University of Florida College of Medicine found the amount can vary from cup to cup at Starbucks, ranging from 259 mg to 564 mg per 16-ounce serving at one Florida location.
Because teens are usually smaller and their bodies are still growing, they should consume even less than adults, Cunningham said. People tend to forget or don't know many other products contain caffeine, she added.
Although the teens don't know the exact numbers, some do sense it may not be the best for their bodies.
"It's really, really bad for you," Health Careers High School junior Kathryn Fisher said of her five-cup-a-day coffee routine. "But it tastes good."
The 15-year-old likes the bottled Starbucks Frappuccinos any time of day, even before she goes to bed. Each 9.5-ounce bottled Frappuccino contains 190 calories and an undisclosed amount of caffeine.
Teens are overindulging and not finding a balance, Cunningham said.
Caffeine in moderation is not detrimental, said Dan Tauch, vice president of Cost Plus Nutrition, which has four stores in San Antonio.
"It's just that you can drink too much of it," he said. "Teenagers have a habit of consuming too much sugar with coffee."
Increased blood pressure and a rapid heart beat also can accompany a high intake of caffeine, Cunningham said.
"I would recommend people to drink caffeinated beverages with food," he said. "That way the food can counteract the effects."
Another high-caffeine beverage has been gaining popularity among teens: energy drinks. Teens and young adults make up the majority of the energy drink market, according to Mintel International Group Ltd., a Chicago market research group.
"Several energy drink brands that target teens are linked to extreme sports and seem to offer energy for performance," according to a 2005 Mintel report on energy drinks. "But, with names like 'Whoop Ass' and taglines such as 'Unleash the Beast,' some energy drink brands that target teens seem to provide an energy jolt that is its own experience."
Clark High School senior Grace Harbin said she has been the beneficiary of energy drink marketing. She has two backpacks full of Red Bull she collected at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin during one of the energy drink's marketing events.
"I love Red Bull," Harbin, 17, said. "People think it tastes disgusting. I actually like the taste. I prefer it over anything."
An 8.3-ounce Red Bull contains 80 mg of caffeine, similar to a cup of filtered coffee, Red Bull spokeswoman Patrice Radden said in an e-mail. Though Radden provided the caffeine content when asked, the amount is not listed on the can.
"It's not listed because caffeine has no nutritional value; the FDA doesn't require that it be listed on product labels," Radden wrote. "And if the stimulant occurs naturally in a product - as it does, say, in a coffee bean - it doesn't have to be listed as an ingredient."
Harbin said she limits herself to two Red Bulls a day, but she admits she wants to be part of the Red Bull promotions team. "When I turn 18, I will get a Red Bull car," Harbin said. "It defines me. It's kind of weird I associate myself with a drink."
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