By Abby Moriarty, Staff Writer
When taking a stroll through the University of New Hampshire’s campus during the winter months there are a few things people can expect to see: enormous white snow piles covering every inch of land, construction, temperatures below freezing and students bundled up in their warmest clothing on their walk to class. But these students are rarely ever empty-handed because a majority of student’s gloved hands are enclosed around the coveted college beverage: coffee. This then poses the ultimate question: hot or iced?
It is no secret that the winter UNH students have endured this semester was one of the coldest, most snow filled in years, prompting multiple curtailed operations and emergency snowstorm warnings. And yet, none of these things stopped students from getting their caffeine fix for the day, which, according to two out of three of the well-known coffee shops on campus, is almost always iced despite the consistent freezing temperatures of the semester.
Ali Condon, a sophomore and employee of Dunkin Donuts located in the MUB, says that a significant amount of students drink iced coffee over hot coffee regardless of the cold weather.
“I would say within the average three hour shift we sell triple the amount of iced coffee than hot coffee to students,” Condon said.
Ben Maroon, a junior, is part of that average saying that he will drink iced coffee until the day he dies explaining that, as a “true New Englander,” he has no time for “hot coffee nonsense.”
“I’ve never really enjoyed hot coffee. I still drink iced coffee even when it’s very cold out,” Maroon said.
At Aroma Joe’s, located on Main Street, the iced coffee craze is no different. Barista
Hailee Flaherty also says that even during the winter, or whenever it is cold, iced coffee is much more popular for students than hot has ever been.
“New Englanders are obsessed with iced coffee and even the weather does not change that,” Flaherty said.
Another coffee shop located on Main Street has experienced the opposite trend. Breaking New Grounds employee Madeline Wheeler says that their coffee sales follow more true to the seasons outside, and says they are better known for their hot coffee selections.
“It really depends on the weather outside, if it’s cold we sell more hot, and if it’s hot we sell more iced,” she said. “But all of our coffee beans are imported, so I think our hot coffee selection is more popular.”
Arianna Greene, a senior, is no exception to the iced cold obsession saying that she only drinks hot coffee when she makes it at home herself.
“I always drink iced coffee, only hot when I don’t have the time to make it cold,” she said.
And so the ultimate question leads to the ultimate answer: More students seem to prefer to stick to the iced coffee regardless of the cold weather, leaving hot coffee falling short.
