More power, more energy

Vol 28, Issue 19, 20 March 2026

Coffee is the fuel that gets our brains going.

If I had to explain to someone what ‘going for a coffee’ really means to an Italian student, I wouldn’t start by talking about caffeine. I’d talk about the sound. That precise clink of the cup resting on the saucer, the spoon stirring rapidly, the steam from the machine puffing like a train ready to depart. That’s where it all begins.

For me, coffee has never been just a drink. It has always been a fixed point in the university day, almost a compass. Between one lecture and the next, when your brain is saturated with formulas, graphs and concepts that start to get mixed up, there’s only one thing that can restore order: 

“Shall we go for a coffee?”

And it’s not a question, it’s a ritual.

In Italy, you walk into a bar and you’re never really a stranger. The barista, even if they don’t know your name, recognises your face, your routine, even your mood. “The usual?” they ask. And that “usual” is already a form of belonging. In a matter of seconds, you’ve got a steaming cup in your hands, you pay €1.20, and you get much more than just a dose of caffeine: you get a break, a connection, a micro-moment of shared life.

It’s the place where last-minute notes are exchanged, where definitions are revised before an exam, where friendships are formed and, sometimes, even romances. 

It’s as if it packs everything you need to get going again into just a few sips.

Then you arrive in Finland.And something changes.

At first, it was a real culture shock. Here, there isn’t that familiar buzz of a café full of students. There’s no crowded counter, nor the barista who gives you a knowing look when you’re running late.And above all: an espresso costs €3.60.

Three euros and sixty cents for something that in Italy is almost a natural right, unwritten but deeply ingrained. At that moment, you realise you’re not just paying for a drink: you’re paying for the distance from home.

And whilst I was desperately searching for an espresso that tasted of normality, I realised something else: the students here don’t just stop at coffee. In their hands, there’s often not a cup, but a can.

Energy drinks are everywhere. Colourful, aggressive, they promise concentration, stamina, endless energy. But there’s something strange about that energy. It’s different. It’s fast, almost violent, and then… it vanishes. It leaves you with an even heavier weariness, like a bill to pay.

Coffee, on the other hand, is honest.A single ingredient, a simple process, a clear effect.

Because coffee isn’t just fuel.

It’s home.