At our institute, there is a single set of coffee machines on the top floor, set up to encourage interactions among scientists.

When scientists take social breaks, it's often coded as "coffee break". One scientist even wrote an opinion piece encouraging more socialization in science through coffee breaks.

The problem is that I don't drink coffee. Honestly, I barely take in caffeine. I used to drink black tea in the morning irregularly, then I tried to make it into a habit and drink every day to finish a paper. After a week, I got a terrible headache that lasted several days. From then on, I limited my caffeine consumption to the occasional green tea.

assumptions about coffee drinking

After a few years, I learned to accept invitations of "coffee breaks" to talk with people, even if I don't actually like coffee.

I ignored the jokes about doing a "coffee rush" with others if I happened to be going up to the top floor in the afternoon.

I respect people drinking coffee. When I've hosted friends and family, I would buy instant coffee or walked with them to cafes. On occasion, I make coffee for my partner, because I know they enjoy it (even if I can't stand the odor).

What bothers me is the unspoken assumption that everyone drinks coffee. Even worse it frustrates me to hear people say that drinking coffee is essential for doing science.

is coffee even essential to science?

I'm not alone. In the US in 2024, 30% of people aged 25+ and 53% of 18-24 year olds don't drink coffee. I expect the statistics within scientists to be similar.

College students who drink coffee have similar grade point averages as those who don't. Caffeine generally has not much effect on cognitive performance in sports. It's hard to quantify productivity in science, but based on the above studies I don't think you can say it's essential for work.

Interestingly, caffeine does have a significant protective effect on Parkinson's and Type-2 diabetes. The effects on other diseases seem mixed or inconclusive. I have never heard anyone say people should drink coffee because of its protective effects on those diseases, but I would respect this explanation.

why can't "coffee breaks" just be... breaks?

I feel like there is a utilitarian excuse to labeling breaks as "coffee breaks" or even "coffee time". It's saying "we need coffee to be productive, so this time is not wasted". Why not just acknowledge that we are human beings and need breaks in our day? We could spend them alone or together, drinking coffee or tea or nothing at all.

We could take delight in the moment without any excuses.