Caffeine has long been the most widely consumed psychoactive substance on the planet – unsurprisingly so, given that it’s found in everything delicious and good in this world (including chocolate, Coke Zero, matcha lattes and Lemsip Max). Not to mention coffee, which has never been more popular: both globally and in the UK, the coffee industry is bigger than ever and continues to expand at a head-spinning rate, with Brits reportedly drinking 98 million cups every day – up from 70 million cups a day in 2008 – and data indicating that the UK is set to spend more than £2.17 billion on coffee by 2028. But a rich, nutty blend of cultural circumstances and a fresh wave of caffeinated products beyond your typical cup of Joe means that caffeine use among young people, too, is more widespread and varied than ever before.

This is in part due to marketing. Generally speaking, research suggests that Gen Z started consuming caffeine via coffee earlier than Millennials did. It’s not hard to see why, with Big Caffeine increasingly targeting younger consumers with enticing, sugary items such as Starbucks’ unicorn frappuccino and Pret’s ube brûlée latte. High-caffeine energy drinks, too, like Monster, Rockstar and Relentless are hugely popular among teens, and according to the UK government (who are set to ban under-16s from buying them), up to one third of those aged 13 to 16 consume one or more energy drinks a week. But beyond daily fuel or a tasty indulgence, today, caffeine is being flogged as a wellness product, presented in the form of powder, pouches (which are placed between the gum and the lip, like snus), patches that are placed on the skin, and “healthy” energy drinks such as Tenzing, Brite and Neutonic. All of these products are, to varying degrees, framed as focus or fitness enhancers.

Reports in the US suggest that teens’ use of caffeine pouches in particular is on the rise, prompting some American schools to ban them. And while caffeine pouches are yet to become a common sight here in the UK, a quick search on TikTok will find a number of paid posts from British content creators speaking about products with nifty names like Aura, Muse and Hex, which come in a range of funky flavours such as coffee, mango and liquorice. These can, of course, be used as a less addictive alternative to nicotine, but there are potential harms too. Much like colourful disposable vapes, these products are designed to appeal to teenagers and young people for whom high-quality sleep is essential. Then there’s the way that they are being promoted, which plays into optimisation culture by capitalising on the idea that consumers’ circumstances can be improved simply by “locking in” – ideally with the help of a legal drug like caffeine. Perhaps most criminal of all: these products are deeply unchic. 

There are also less nefarious factors at play, namely, Gen Z’s sober curiosity. While the data has been wilfully misinterpreted by some outlets, it’s true that young adults are more open to paring back on alcohol or cutting it out completely than older generations. Harley Young, 28, from Manchester, went sober in 2023 when she realised her hangxiety was impacting her mental health. “Working for an online lifestyle mag meant I was out drinking at events more often,” she says. “My weekends were becoming my nights in.” While she was busy hustling and adjusting to sobriety, caffeine helped to ease the transition. “When I first packed in drinking, I definitely relied on caffeine way more to feel a bit of a buzz,” she says. “I sort of replaced a beer in hand with a coffee in hand.”

Without coffee, I feel like a Tamagotchi very close to dying

Meanwhile, London-based campaigns officer Megan Warren gradually reduced her drinking after she left university in 2019, largely for fitness and health reasons. But her caffeine “codependency”, as she describes it, feels distinct. “Without coffee, I feel like a Tamagotchi very close to dying,” she says. “I have around seven or eight cups of coffee every day. I used to tell people ‘I just love the ritual’ – and I do. But when 80 per cent of my coffees are made with the instant stuff, I’m not sure that’s valid at all.” She adds: “I’ve also dabbled in Tenzing at festivals and on nights out. I’m not skilled at dancing, so I like to have something in my hand that might also keep me awake.”

The continued popularity of “coffee raves” reflects a similar mindset among other young adults. Clips of these dance-music day parties first emerged from places like the US, the UAE and India in 2025, with the trend going viral and spreading to Europe. The novelty aspect of bumping up against a coffee machine while slurping on an iced latte helped the concept to spread and, unlike classic nightlife with its rough edges and innate links to naughtiness, safe clean-cut coffee raves fit neatly into wellness culture, which made them a perfect match for glossy lifestyle content that circulated widely.

Interest in these parties could have easily been a flash in the pan, but one year on and events are still proving popular. Just a few examples include Liverpool’s Sweat to Social, a fitness club founded by two Gen Z women that throws regular morning post-run coffee dance sessions, Coffee Culture UK, which puts on dance parties around London, and Beats and Caffeine, a coffee-fuelled DJ party that travels from city to city. And it’s not just wellness influencer types or early-rising millennial parents who are going to these events: according to Coffee Culture UK founder Tanya Thadani, around 50 per cent of attendees are Gen Z. 

“I don’t drink alcohol as I don’t particularly enjoy it,” says finance professional Aditi Devali, 20, who recently attended Coffee Culture’s K-pop event. “I’d rather have coffee, so it really suited me. Everyone there was having fun, dancing and connecting with new people.” On top of the inclusive social element, London-based Aditi highlights how the capital’s inability to function as a 24-hour city makes daytime events even more attractive. “Travelling at night can be a bit tough, sometimes tube lines don’t run properly, so going back gets a bit painful,” she says. It’s the wellbeing aspect, on the whole, that creates appeal for those who aren’t into typical nights out. As Aditi says, even if all that caffeine triggers some fuzzy-headedness, “you can still feel good the next day without having a hangover”.

Headaches aside, next to other substances, caffeine appears fairly innocuous. But does a regular habit carry any real potential harm? According to Dr Suzi Gage, a senior lecturer in Psychology at the University of Liverpool, people with underlying health issues, especially heart conditions, should be cautious, particularly if they are consuming several types of products at once. “If you're drinking it, taking caffeine pills and using caffeine pouches, you are putting yourself at higher risk,” she says. She also advises scepticism when faced with buzzy new products offering “the perfect solution”, saying “it very rarely is”. For the majority of us, however, the risk is low – even if we consider ourselves hooked. “To get to the point where it's seriously damaging is quite hard when you're drinking it,” she says, adding that unpleasant symptoms caused by “caffeine toxicity” after excessive intake mean we’ll likely stop before it’s too late.

For this very reason, caffeine continues to be the acceptable face of drug dependence. Everyone from high-powered business executives to frazzled teachers and their sleepy students rely on their daily dose to increase shareholder value, or simply make it through the day. And who can blame them? The risks are relatively low, the pleasure is real, and the ritual is often half the point. Companies tapping into wellness industry tactics may try to convince us that consuming caffeine is about “productivitymaxxing”, “longevity hacking” or whatever the hell they try selling us next. But maybe the appeal is simpler than that. In a world that wants us exhausted and optimised at the same time, sometimes you just want to feel a little more awake.