Back in the day, during what is referred to as the "Before Time," the most diverse a coffee shop got was regular or decaf.

Now, in the age of ginseng, enhancement pills, Slurpees and the health conscious - things are beginning to evolve.

These days, the diversity has increased a little, creating three types of caffeine-seekers who, remarkably, all can be found sitting together on any given day at any given coffee shop.

Where do you fall in?

The Anti-coffees

No coffee, no way, no how.

Christophir Jentoft remembers his shock when he found he had a paper due in a matter of hours for one of his classes - a paper he hadn't yet started.

Out of stress and the necessity to stay awake, the anthropology graduate student decided to try caffeine pills along with a few cups of coffee.

"Once in my undergraduate years I tried one of the types of pills and it made me violently ill," he said. "It threw off my digestive system for a few days. I'll spare the details."

Jentoft said there are better ways to energize his body than via caffeine.

"I will never take anything like that again," he said, glancing at his decaffeinated soy latte. "There are great natural substances and things you can do for your body."

Now, Jentoft practices yoga, which he said, depending on the style, can either energize or relax a person's body.

Another alternative available to Jentoft is Cafix.

Cafix is a coffee-flavored beverage served hot. It contains various natural ingredients and herbs - but no caffeine.

Brian Schrotenboer, a no-preference freshman, doesn't like coffee and is always on the look out for a beverage with a different flavor that can still do the trick.

"I really don't know what the chemistry of this is," he said, examining an almost empty can of Monster Energy. "It definitely has a lot of caffeine though."

Monster Energy is a highly caffeinated beverage made with Taurine, ginseng, L-Carnitine and B vitamins, and Schrotenboer said he loves it.

"This makes me do my work a lot faster," he said, looking over notes from his physics class.

Schrotenboer says he prefers to stay away from such products unless the extra kick is absolutely necessary.

"Making sure you get lots of sleep at night is the best way to avoid needing caffeine," he said. "I've never really been a habitual (coffee) drinker, but when I have to get stuff done, it's an alternative to sleep."

Schrotenboer said most caffeine addictions stem from lack of sleep.

"I trace it back to not getting enough sleep," he said. "In the dorms, people are up 24 hours. If I disciplined myself more, I wouldn't have to take (Monster Energy)."

The Coffee Thumpers

Regular, please; right here, right now.

History senior Holly Bradley jotted words in a notebook, stopping only to sip from her latte - her first and probably last of the day.

"Sometimes I need a little pick-me-up," she said. "But mostly I drink these so I can get the whipped cream."

Bradley is taking a break from a caffeine binge that she said led her to drink up to five cups of coffee per day.

"I've had issues," she said. "But there are definitely worse things out there to have problems with than coffee."

Bradley said she enjoys drinking soda pop as well, but doesn't even consider that when she thinks about her caffeine intake.

Josephine Rosier found time during a visit from France to relax at Starbucks, 401 E. Grand River Ave.

A student at a university in Switzerland, Rosier said the popularity of caffeine knows no borders.

"It's something to drink, it's hot and it keeps me awake - awake," she said. "I drink maybe one or two cups of coffee a day, not really too often."

Rosier says she usually just drinks coffee when it's time for her to head to classes.

The In-betweens

The only requirement is that it's hot, whatever it is.

Not all students get their caffeine from coffee and not all students drink certain beverages for the sole purpose of stirring up their brains a little.

Meghan Drummond, a microbiology junior, guarded a tall glass of steaming, dark, amber-colored liquid at East Lansing's Espresso Royale Caffe, 527 E. Grand River Ave.

The clear glass held caffeinated Earl Grey tea.

"I drink it just because I like it," she said, munching on cereal from a sandwich bag. "I don't have to have one every day, it's just in my rotation I guess, and I really like the taste."

Drummond says she chooses tea as an alternative to coffee mostly because the effects of coffee can be slightly too strong for her at times.

"If I drink coffee on an empty stomach for a while, then just stop one day, I get caffeine headaches," she said.

The facts

Caffeine is a drug. It's also a diuretic, meaning it makes you thirsty even though you're drinking. Diuretics tend to increase the frequency of bathroom visits.

As with any drug, there are pros and cons. When it comes to caffeine, people differ greatly in their opinions on how much is too much and whether it can be harmful.

Caffeine speeds up your heart rate, causes your brain's blood vessels to constrict, increases the flow of adrenaline in your body and may even have an affect on your brain's pleasure centers.

Tremors, or "the shakes" is a common side effect associated with caffeine, although this happens in varying degrees.

Headaches and digestive irritation also are experienced by many people who drink caffeine regularly.

But the effects aren't just physical.

Caffeine also can be the root of problems such as insomnia, restlessness and sometimes even crankiness - some of which may stem from withdrawal from the drug.

Some health researchers also have linked caffeine with mental activity, but Olin Health Center health educator Jon Kermiet said there are many misconceptions about caffeine.

"There is a misconception that you don't have a limit," he said. "That if you're trying to pull an all-nighter or trying to get that extra little edge to sharpen up for a test, people do take too much and it decreases their performance and that may be the hardest lesson for people to learn - that it doesn't feel good when you've done that to yourself and you're not going to accomplish what you set out to do."

Kermiet said the most popular sources of caffeine among students would probably be coffee, Mountain Dew and chocolate - in that order.

"Caffeine certainly is addictive and drinking one or two cups of coffee a day probably would signify that," he said. "Especially if you're getting up to three or four, you're probably pretty well hooked. But it doesn't have to be just coffee, it could be tea or chocolate or caffeinated soft drinks or even over-the-counter medications."

The options

Caffeine alternatives can be purchased almost anywhere, from convenience stores to health specialty stores.

But Kermiet said people should be cautious when using any alternative forms.

"Some of those energy drinks are quite loaded with caffeine," he said. "And some of those caffeinated waters are pretty strong. Students should take things cautiously and not guzzle a couple down and think nothing will happen to them."

Most people, however, feel alternative forms of caffeine are perfectly safe.

"There are a lot of products with caffeine in them," said Stephanie Mangini, spokeswoman for General Nutrition Centers Inc. "We can't say what people are using them for, we have products that are for everybody and products with caffeine in them could be used for sports nutrition or weight management."

Mangini said if consumers are apprehensive about trying an over-the-counter product, they should consult their physicians.

"With any over-the-counter supplement you take, it all depends on your health and well-being," she said. "There's not just caffeine or forms of caffeine and there's not just one particular thing that's been found to be safe and effective."