Caffeine Addict

Black text on a white illustration of a mug on a black background

Since 1980, Ephemera, Inc. has made buttons, magnets, and stickers out of their San Francisco, California headquarters. The company started out by producing pin-back buttons for local punk rock bands but later branched out to manufacture a variety of small trinkets. Today, they are located in Phoenix, Oregon and consider themselves a “maker of funny, sarcastic and offensive” buttons.

Coffee became a common beverage in the West after the mid-seventeenth century. From England to Italy, hundreds of coffee houses sprang up and became places where people could socialize all while sipping a cup of the new drink of choice. Many enjoyed it for its energizing effects, which quickly catapulted coffee into popularity. But before it replaced beer and wine as a breakfast favorite, coffee was initially viewed as the “bitter invention of Satan.” It was not until Pope Clement VIII decided to try a cup for himself that coffee was given papal approval, quelling the unfounded fears of the Catholic masses. Today, coffee is still in fashion. The variety of flavors and additives that individuals can choose from are only multiplying as the demand for personalized brews increase. Phrases like "insert coffee to begin," "but first, coffee," and "caffeine addict" are widely circulated and recognized.