Surviving Finals: Your Caffeine Field Guide

Now that study days have begun, I would like to give a general disclaimer to the Boston College community: I apologize that you will now be seeing me around campus in varying degrees of unattractiveness.  I will now be donning sweatpants, glasses, and messy buns at a rate only acceptable during finals.  I will become even more dependent on coffee since sleep is no longer an option.  If I could, I would hook myself up to an IV drip of coffee, just to keep me going (if anyone knows how to actually do this, please let me know). 

Even though you all have been stealing my study space in O’Neill, I have decided to help you out on the caffeine front.  Understanding the various types of coffee and espresso options that you have is critical to surviving finals.  I’ve broken these delicious life-savers into categories based on your level of fatigue and desperation.  And forget crossing Comm Ave towards Dunks, all of these drinks can be purchased on campus with the meal plan you are trying to finish.  Just remember to choose wisely, because it’s all too easy to freak out about studying and over-caffeinate yourself, causing your heart to beat out of your chest distractingly. 
 
Level of fatigue: 1
Weapon of choice: Earl Grey tea
Caffeine level: about 40 mg
If you’re not too tired but just want some caffeine as a study companion, tea is a good choice.  The warmth of the hot water is soothing and calming, which will ease your nerves while reviewing that Spanish vocab.  There’s not that much caffeine in black tea, but just enough to keep your brain on its a-game. 
 
Level of fatigue: 2
Weapon of choice: Drip coffee
Caffeine level: about 115 mg
Drip coffee is the way to go if you need just a little kick.  Especially if you don’t normally drink coffee, you should stick with drip instead of espresso drinks because you’re already more sensitive to caffeine.  Added bonus, the dining halls are now serving free drip coffee in small cups, which helps with portion control.  If you’ve never liked the flavor of coffee, try adding some sugar or flavored creamer.

Level of fatigue: 3
Weapon of choice: Medium skinny vanilla latte
Caffeine level: about 200 mg
Alright, now we’re getting serious.  Once you get an espresso drink, you mean business.  This has two shots, which is the perfect amount to start feeling more alert.  Personally, I try to avoid espresso drinks until I really need them so that I’m more sensitive to the strength of the shots.  Otherwise, you start to get accustomed to the espresso and the benefits decrease. 
 
Level of fatigue: 4
Weapon of choice: Medium white mocha Americano
Caffeine level: about 300 mg
So your eyelids have been feeling pretty heavy?  If your lack of sleep is catching up to you, it’s time to start increasing your caffeine dosage.  Americanos have more espresso, so the three shots in this drink will help you stay awake while hunched over your notes.  Adding the white mocha will give you some extra stimulation from the sugar and flavor. 
 
Level of fatigue: 5
Weapon of choice: Large quad-shot mocha
Caffeine level: about 400 mg
What?  You’ve got three take-home essays due and a Financial Accounting final tomorrow?  This situation calls for desperate measures- you’ll need a drink that will keep you going into the early morning.  This drink has four shots of espresso, plus the sugar in the mocha.  If you don’t have a heart attack from all the caffeine, you’ll successfully stay awake and get all your work accomplished!  But note, this is seriously a lot of caffeine and I would not recommend drinking this frequently. 
 
And for those of you that tend toward cans, here’s the caffeine content of other energizing drinks:
Coke- 36 mg
Mountain Dew- 54 mg
Red Bull- 80 mg
5 Hour Energy- 138 mg
Monster- 160 mg
 
Best of luck with your finals, collegiettes™!  I’ll see you in the Chocolate Bar!
 
Photo Sources:
Maggie Burdge
http://www.coffeephysics.com/