While coffee dominates as the warm drink of choice in America today according to the National Coffee Association, tea has been it’s rival as the warm drink of choice for thousands of years around the world. Another drink that is hailed as a top winter drink is hot chocolate. With tea from ancient China, coffee from Ethiopia, and hot chocolate from Mexico, we have many warm drinks from all around the world. But what drink do Sequoia students favor? 

Personally, I am a hot chocolate lover. I grew up having hot chocolate during the winter when it was especially cold outside. Whether it was up in the snowy mountains or on a frosty morning at home.  I haven’t learned to appreciate the taste of coffee as I find it very bitter and I don’t like it’s flavor. Similarly,  I am yet to find a tea that I enjoy the taste of. 

According to senior Zoe Dovydaitis, coffee is the better drink between coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. “The flavor of coffee is just too good to compare to any tea, whether herbal or black.”

In a survey I conducted that asked Sequoia students their hot drink of preference, 40.4% of those surveyed preferred coffee over tea or hot chocolate. However the margin between coffee, tea and hot chocolate is very small. While I found it unsurprising that coffee was the most popular hot drink, the fact that it was not the overwhelming favorite surprised me. Tea, on the other hand, was shockingly more popular than hot chocolate. 

“I believe that tea brings more relaxation while coffee brings more stamina and anxiety.” sophomore Arlette Fajardo said.

Coffee, the most popular way for people to consume caffeine, helps many people to stay awake and to re-energize. Tea however, has been consumed as a calming drink rather than an energizing drink. While tea does also have caffeine in it, it has a lesser concentration of it than coffee. 

“Coffee gives me the energy I need to get through the day, while tea doesn’t have nearly enough caffeine. At the bare minimum, I drink one cup every morning.” senior Zoe Dovydaitis said.

The drink that many kids start out drinking in the winter, hot chocolate, is still the preferred drink of many Sequoia students today, myself included. Warm chocolate is a sweet tooth’s dream drink, and in the colder months, it is a great way to warm up. Especially if you add marshmallows.