I started drinking coffee at the age of 15.It was the first day at work, after leaving school. As for the age you should start, seeing that caffeine,is a is a drug of sorts, 16 would be a good age. Saying that it seems that a lot of people under 16 drink coke a cola, and that contains caffeine, how good or bad it is for them to drink, seems to be left up to what there parents believe.