Ninety percent of college students consume caffeine regularly, with coffee being the most popular choice. For many, it’s a way to stay alert and focused, especially during high-pressure periods like finals week.

Across Quincy, Illinois, many small coffee shops thrive, generating revenue from the local college students. With numerous shops producing excellent brews, QU Media conducted an experiment to see if students could correctly identify which company brewed the coffee.

The coffee drinks used in this experiment included Winks’ Salted Caramel Kiss, Hebrew’s Caramel Macchiato, and Carter’s Caramel Macchiato.

Three red Solo cups were placed with the name of each brand written on the underside, and students gathered for the ultimate test.

They drank from all three cups and made their guesses about which shop brewed each coffee.

Surprisingly, none of the three students guessed correctly, and they were shocked to discover that a brand they weren’t familiar with tasted better than the shop they usually visited.

Although one student guessed two out of three correctly, the other two students got only one or none right.

Ava Drawe, a Winks employee, gave the biggest surprise of the day. Despite working at one of the coffee shops, Drawe guessed the wrong shop for the Winks’ cup.

“Oh, Winks! Wow, I can’t believe I got that wrong,” Drawe said.

She managed to guess Carter’s correctly but mixed up Hebrew and Winks.

Samantha Day, a QU senior, mentioned that Carter’s is her favorite place because of their Lotus drinks.

“I have to say Carter’s, just because I like it the most. I go to Carter’s a lot, and I also drink their Lotus. I just like a lot of things about Carter’s,” Day said.

Unfortunately, Carter’s Lotus wasn’t part of the experiment, but their coffee was. Despite her fondness for Carter’s, she got all of her guesses wrong but was pleasantly surprised by the taste of Hebrew coffee.

“I should go to Hebrew more often,” Day admitted.

The overall goal of the experiment was to see if frequent coffee consumers could correctly distinguish the coffee brands.

The lesson learned? Be open to the possibility of the unknown.

Katalina Lopez, a senior at QU and one of the participants in the experiment summed it up best.

“Never judge a book by its cover, just like never judge a coffee by the brand,” Lopez said.

Lopez guessed two correctly.

All of these coffee shops are welcoming to the campus community and value their customers. If you’re looking for a new place to enjoy coffee, consider checking out one of these local shops.