Illinois' Favorite Way To Get Caffeine Is Surprising (Not Coffee)

German chemist Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge was the first to identify the chemical caffeine way back in 1819, never realizing that he was about to tell the world about something that we would seek out, consume with glee, and then vibrate with nervous energy in the aftermath.

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A new study says that globally, 85% of us are daily caffeine consumers, but here in Illinois, we satisfy our caffeine cravings differently than any other state in the Midwest...and it's not with coffee.

As a fellow Illinois resident, what's your preferred method of caffeine ingestion?

Sure, it's dangerous, but I get it. (Getty Images)

Fun Fact: Caffeine Ranks As The 4th Most-Used Drug In The World, Behind Alcohol, Nicotine, And Marijuana, In That Order

Alright, maybe that wasn't really a "fun" fact, but a fact nonetheless. To be honest, I thought it would rank higher than 4th place.

I've personally never heard anyone yell "Don't talk to me until I've had my bong!" but I have heard it said about coffee a few thousand times. This week.

In addition to being the 4th most-used drug on the planet, the three most popular beverages globally (after water) all contain caffeine: coffee, tea, and cola.

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If I Were A Betting Man, I Would Have Wagered Heavily On Illinois Residents Reaching For Coffee When It's Time For A Caffeine Jolt

And, that's the reason I'm not a betting man. I would have lost big money on that wager. According to a piece at ShaneCo.com, the top preferred sources of caffeine consumption in the United States are:

Coffee
Tea
Chocolate
Energy Drinks
Caffeine Supplements
Pop (or soda, if you must call it something else)
Espresso (which I thought was coffee, anyway)

So which one holds the number-one spot in Illinois and across the country with 15 states picking it over the other sources of caffeine?

Surprise:

So the beverage vandalism in Boston Harbor was for nothing? (Getty Images)

Maybe We Feel Bad About Those Dudes Throwing All That Tea Into Boston Harbor A Few Years Back

Whatever the reason, Illinois, and the majority of other states choose to caffeinate with a cup (or ten) of tea. As a coffee worshipper, I'm totally cool with that because it simply means there's more coffee for the rest of us.

Nationally, according to the ShaneCo.com study, 15 states go with tea, 13 states prefer reaching for an energy drink, and the residents of 10 states want caffeine supplements.

The shock, to me at least, is that only 3 states, Hawaii, Minnesota, and Montana, along with the District of Columbia, go for coffee.

To read the full study on caffeine preference by state, click here.

LOOK: Best Beers From Every State

To find the best beer in each state and Washington D.C., Stacker analyzed January 2020 data from BeerAdvocate, a website that gathers user scores for beer in real-time. BeerAdvocate makes its determinations by compiling consumer ratings for all 50 states and Washington D.C. and applying a weighted rank to each. The weighted rank pulls the beer toward the list's average based on the number of ratings it has and aims to allow lesser-known beers to increase in rank. Only beers with at least 10 rankings to be considered; we took it a step further to only include beers with at least 100 user rankings in our gallery. Keep reading to find out what the best beer is in each of the 50 states and Washington D.C.