Leer en español: Los profesionales que consumen más café.
According to some studies, the professionals who drink the most coffee at work are journalists. The long and unpredictable working hours demand a quota of extra energy during working hours that, according to many journalists, only coffee can provide.
We talked to journalist Militza Muñoz about her experience in newsrooms and coffee as an essential ingredient in her workday.
Coffee and journalists
“I love the smell of the newspaper in the morning, mixed with the aroma of a cup of coffee.”
She also indicated that the previous sentence could define her life in times of professional practice within a newsroom, but also in any other office corresponding to a media outlet and that for her, coffee is more than a drink, it is like adrenaline that activates your being, your senses, and your “journalistic nose”.
“When you feel like you’re having a “low” and need to activate your senses to the fullest, there’s coffee” she said.
Regarding the exercise in the newsroom, she indicated that when you are responsible for proofreading and corrections or need to write a note (or several notes), you can feel tired at a certain time of day, which can neutralize your senses. But then the characteristic, delicious and activating aroma of a freshly brewed coffee is perceived. “It’s time to go for it and get active” she assured.
“But it’s not always for that reason, in the mornings I need an early cup of coffee, very hot for me, please. And then, mid-morning, I need another cup of coffee to help me keep up”.
When you feel like you’re having a “low” and need to activate your senses to the fullest, there’s coffee
“It always amuses me. In a newsroom in which I was the Editor-in-Chief, my desk was in the living room along with all the journalists. The coffee maker was in an area that allowed access to all the departments and, in the afternoons, the routine was to wait for the “big pitcher” to be prepared, to stand in line to fill your cup, and see the pitcher disappear in moments, it was overwhelming, especially when you do not feel satisfied with a single cup, or worse, a “little glass of coffee” Too minimal for my liking.
We asked her what she would be able to do for a cup of coffee and she told us, complementing the previous anecdote, that since there was some disagreement in the writing and coordination area, due to the issue of the dose of coffee, it occurred to her to do “the great collect” to equip the office with a large coffee maker, and all the necessary supplies, including a big bag of fresh coffee.
“We asked for a space to set up our coffee station in the newsroom. After that moment, we no longer suffered from waiting for coffee time in the newsroom. We were owners of coffee times.” She concluded with a big smile.
May interest you: How to have a successful logo adapted to the coffee industry.
Coffee improves your performance
She maintained that the drink improves her performance in the day’s activities and explained that she could also observe this in her colleagues, who are mostly coffee fans, and drink it during their workday. “Very rarely have I worked with a colleague who doesn’t like coffee.”
She told us that a few years ago she took a journalism course, along with 16 other colleagues from different countries, all Latin American, from North, Central, and South America, and they always looked for a moment to go for coffee.
“It was necessary, especially at those times when the rhythm gets heavy,” she pointed out.
Coffee improves your performance
Of the different beverages that can be made from coffee, Muñoz considered, based on her experience, that strong coffee or espresso is one of the most drank in newsrooms.
We told her about caffeine and its particularity of increasing some chemical components of the brain that stimulate moods, such as dopamine and serotonin. She confirmed to Us that she always experiences a feeling of activation, necessary at certain times of the day.
“For me, coffee is like that adrenaline that activates your being, when you feel that you have a “slump” and you need to activate your senses to the fullest.”
Militza agrees with the statement that journalists are the professionals who drink the most coffee.
“I think that perhaps it is associated precisely with the factor of sitting for several hours in front of a computer writing, reading, and researching. Probably, that mental fatigue leads us to the smell of coffee, and what I described before happens it allows you to revive and focus on what you are doing. And certainly, I would dare to say that it is one of the professions in which large quantities of coffee are drunk and so many times a day”.
To finish, she reported that during her breaks and days off she may drink two cups less, but she never drinks less than three cups, including in the morning.
“For me, the first cup of coffee of the day should be black, I drink it without sugar. I learned to enjoy the flavor of coffee without altering it with sugar. And later in the afternoon, to relax, a cappuccino is perfect for me”.
“Coffee is the second most drank beverage after water.” This is how it is for some journalists, who drink from two to four cups a day, depending on the activities and intensity of work.
This is because, on long days, coffee is the energizer that activates the mind and the ideas.
journalists are the professionals who drink the most coffee
What some journalists think about coffee
We leave you phrases and thoughts of some journalists about their coffee consumption habits within the workplace:
“Coffee is life; it helps me start the day on the right foot”
Marigarley Vásquez / Print journalist.
“Coffee warms, relaxes, and concentrates. My phrase: I want coffee!”
Ana Mariela Bengochea / Institutional Journalist.
“Coffee, the gasoline of life”
Yennifer Galeano / Institutional Journalist.
“It helps me clear my mind and flow ideas”
Cristina Chirinos Kirilofs / Institutional Journalist.
“Coffee helps me stay alert daily”
Anakarina Ovalles / Radio Journalist.
“I never have breakfast without coffee!!”
Jacky Shang Pérez / Journalist and teacher.
“Coffee is the emergency button that I touch sporadically, to reactivate myself, although I love it!”
Taylor Ali Rodriguez / Sports Journalist.
“I am not addicted to coffee, but I love its aroma, in the mornings. It has no comparison. What a delicious morning with the aroma of coffee”
Lauribel Rojas Ruíz / Institutional Journalist.
“I love the smell of the newspaper in the morning, mixed with the aroma of a cup of coffee”
Militza Muñoz Rattia / Institutional Journalist.
About the Author
Militza MuñOz Rattia 
Journalist.
I am Venezuelan, originally from the Guárico state. I have lived in Mexico for 6 years. I am a journalist, broadcaster, and university teacher, with communication experience in different areas (Print, TV, radio, institutions).
After finding myself away from the journalistic area, today I have returned to the ring, ratifying that it is my favorite trade, work, and profession, of course, always in the company of a good coffee.
I think I like coffee since I was a teenager, a memory is my mom’s coffee with milk accompanied by bread. I also visited my dad at the newsroom where he worked, and we drank coffee together. So yes, I am a coffee lover.
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