A vintage couple gets the jitters

There's nothing like the calming warmth of a shot of espresso -- that old friend you count on to get you going.

But like the passive-aggressive pal leaving catty notes on your Facebook wall, your morning joe can turn on you in an instant, especially if you have one too many.

I've only been betrayed once, but it was enough to permanently slow my caffeine binge habits: The moment I swallowed the offending shot, my heart started pounding, I saw double, my hands started sweating and I stumbled blindly towards the door of my favorite café, trying to sneak out unnoticed. (It is not ideal for a CoffeeMeister's reputation to be crumpled on the floor of a café in a fit of caffeine-induced hysteria).

It's easy for people to forget -- or deny -- that caffeine is a drug, but the facts say otherwise: Like its distant cousins cocaine and nicotine, it's an alkaloid, though there aren't typically state-funded "quit cappuccinos" campaigns. The stimulating stuff's natural function is as a built-in pesticide for plants like coffee, cacao and tea.

Contrary to the paralyzing effect it has on crawling critters, it sends us skipping back to our desks at 3 p.m. with a renewed sense of joie de vivre. Sadly, however, too much of a good thing is bad news indeed.

As we've noted, it's iced coffee time, folks. While we can all agree that the best version is that which is freshly brewed, sometimes you've got to make do with what can be grabbed out of the convenience store fridge. Starbucks' Frappuccino is a perennial favorite, and we're fans of their Doubleshot Energy Drink (especially the new Cinnamon Dulce flavor) when caffeine alone isn't quite enough.

Behold, however, a challenge to Starbucks supremacy from Pom Iced Coffee. Far from an unpleasant mix of joe and pomegranate juice (though it does feature a touch of the antioxidant-laced fruit extract), this is one smooth-blended iced coffee drink. The cafe au lait version is delightful, but it is the chocolate that may soon boast the title of best bottled iced coffee, with an addiction-inspiring taste reminiscent of a blend of Yoo-Hoo and chocolate Nestle Quik.

The only problem with this cooling nectar? It's only available at select stores and Whole Foods in the Northeast (though bottles have been spied at 99-cent stores on the west coast). If anything were to make a convenience store crawl or a trip to a pricey specialty grocer worth it, it is Pom Chocolate Iced Coffee. So stock up.

Note: Slashfood does not accept compensation of any sort in exchange for reviews.

...well, not forever. Technically, only for 21 days, along with all animal products, caffeine, sugar, alcohol, and gluten. Oh, right: and she's calling it a "cleanse," in hopes that it will prepare her for her "inner makeover."

Now, giving up alcohol, caffeine, and animal products is a difficult decision, and one that shouldn't be taken lightly.

But, (big surprise), I have several issues with this. First of all, I dislike the word "cleanse." It's often associated with that ridiculous maple syrup/cayenne pepper diet, and don't even try to convince me that it works, because depriving yourself of food is simply unhealthy, I don't care if you feel "amazing" or not (most likely, that "amazing, high" feeling is the effects of oxygen depletion to your brain, sweetie).

All I can say is, "wow". I came across these Engobi snacks on Cakehead, and I couldn't get over it. I mean, caffeinated snack chips? It doesn't sound very good to me, and Cakehead didn't give the snacks a great review. Surely you can't be so hard up for a caffeine fix that you can't grab a cup of coffee, or even bring some chocolate covered beans with you.

One commenter in Cakehead mentioned some caffeinated Japanese candies. What do you think? Is this a good product? What are some of your favorite caffeine products?

Japan is always ahead of us when it comes to the latest trends: tech gadgets, game shows, clothing. And now, coffee and cigarettes...in the same package!

Oh, this is so great for coffee and cigarette addicts aficionados. Not really sure what the drink is though. Emblem Black Georgia Coffee? Is it cold coffee or coffee put in a soda can?

The post title, by the way, is from the song "Black Coffee." Here's my favorite version, by Julie London.

[via Boing Boing]

Thanks to the huge role the media plays in our daily lives, pregnant women now have way more to worry about than even ten years ago. Getting pregnant means you are suddenly victim to tons of fear-inducing claims and studies, each new one seeming to contract the last. Exercise! Don't over-burden yourself! Eat chocolate! Go easy on the fat!

And now, claims that a little bit of caffeine probably won't hurt you are challenged by a recent study in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology that suggests that women who consume more than 200 mg of caffeine (one small cup of coffee) a day are at a greater risk for miscarrying.

In the study, documented in a NY Times article, 1,063 pregnant women were interviewed about their caffeine intake. Out of the total, 172 women had previously miscarried. The rate of miscarriages was higher in those who consumed 200 mg or more per day (24.5% out of 164) compared to those who drank no caffeine during their pregnancy (12.5% out of 264 women).

But of course, miscarriage occurs for reasons other than caffeine, some which can't be explained away through a study. But I'd love to hear from women who were once or are currently pregnant (or their significant others) to get their take on this news. Do reports like this make you nervous? Do you drink caffeine now? If so, would this study make you think twice? Or do you eschew science in place of good ol' common sense?

Hey, it's always National Tea Month is my house.

This is a good opportunity to update everyone on my tea infuser search. I've switched from store bought tea bags to loose tea, and my first purchase was this Tovolo tea infuser. It works great (and looks funky, a nice bonus). I also bought the Melitta tea filters, which are something I didn't even know existed until recently. My local supermarkets didn't have them, but I found them at Borders. They're like big tea bags, but you can put as much loose tea in as you want, and they make a fine cup of tea (I wanted to say "fine cup of Joe" there, but that's coffee - does tea have a slang term that's a name too?).

Tell me in the comments how you make your tea (tea bag, infuser, etc) and what brands of tea you always come back to. For me, it's been Twinings.

We continue our gift guides with some ideas for the person in your life who is addicted to legal stimulants. Namely, coffee and tea!

I've been seeing ads for Gevalia coffee and coffee makers for years but I've never tried either (let us know in the comments below how they are). They have a lot of gifts like coffee, coffee makers, chocolate, and biscotti. B & D has a good selection of gourmet coffee at their site (as well as 20 holiday drink recipes). Gloria Jean's has a lot of great holiday coffees too. How about something from Charlie Bean?

Now this is actually one of those food/drink holidays that could actually become a national holiday, considering how many people drink coffee and are pretty much obsessed by it and can't function without it..

National Coffee Day can be celebrated in many different ways. You could just go to Starbucks or Peets or Dunkin Donuts, but if you want to make your own coffee drinks, check out the Cookin With Coffee Directory. How about a Coffee Float or Mexican Coffee or this page that has recipes for Coffee Brownies, Coffee Smoothies, and coffee that's perfect for a crisp fall day, which has ingredients that include whole cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom.

You can also check out CoffeeUniverse.com for lots of info on that most sacred of beans.

When most people choose a diet soda over a regular one, they are doing it for their waistline. In other words, they are only paying attention to the zero or low calorie number. Very rarely are they looking at the caffeine content.

If you are watching your caffeine intake, it's worth noting that most diet versions of their regular counterparts contain more caffeine. Though it's not the highest content among all diet drinks, Diet Coke has 30% more caffeine that regular Coke! To get an idea of how much of a difference there is, and to see how the diet sodas stack up against each other, Diet Blog has put together a list of the 10 Most Caffeinated Diet Drinks. Number one? Pepsi Max, with 69 mg of caffeine. As a reference point, 1 tsp of instant coffee powder has 57 mg of caffeine.

Of course, if you're "dieting," then you might actually appreciate that extra caffeine.

Turns out that caffeine has another positive benefit besides keeping you awake during finals week: it can help your skin.

Researchers in England have discovered that a combination of exercise and caffeinated water can reduce the damaging effects of sun on the skin. Of course, we already knew that exercise can help the skin in general (it's amazing the effect exercise has on our body, and not just weight-wise), but the new research seems to show that caffeine can help with apotosis, when the body gets rid of damaged cells.

The research says "caffeinated water," but I wonder how that translates to "coffee," exactly. Does it have to be coffee, or would it work with tea and Jolt too?

My favorite part of the article is where it says a UK expert warns that coffee is "definitely not a substitute for sun protection." I guess that means Starbucks can cancel their plans for those coffee scented moist towelettes.

On June 29th, 2007, Mark Malkoff, a filmmaker and comedian out of New York City, did one of those things that people do mostly to prove that it can be done. He went to 171 Starbucks in Manhattan in a single day and made a short film about it.

Mark purchased (spending $369.14) and consumed food or drink at every one of those Starbucks and has the receipts to prove it. He traveled around the city on bike for the first 14 hours of the tour, but became so dehydrated and disoriented from the caffeine that the film crew brought a car in to help him finish the day. He first developed the idea while passing multiple Starbucks on his way to work.

As we previously posted there's a startling new development that's sure to please both caffeine addicts and cops everywhere. A molecular biologist has devised a method to spike doughnuts with caffeine. Previous attempts to lace the sugary fried treats with caffeine proved unsuccessful because of the extremely bitter taste.

Dr. Robert Bohannon of Environostics is the man behind the caffeine-laced doughnuts, which he has dubbed Buzz Donuts. His manufacturing process allows the caffeine to be absorbed in the intestine, thus eliminating any off tastes.

Each of Bohannon's spiked doughnuts contains around 50 mg. of caffeine, the equivalent of a cup of coffee. Just the thought of washing one of these things down with a steaming cup of java makes my palms sweat with anticipation. Look for them to hit the market in October.

Coffee is hip (actually, it's been that way for several years now), and everyone is drinking it, including kids and teens. When I was a kid, we never drank coffee. It was seen as a "grown-up" thing to do, right up there with having sex, smoking cigarettes, and mortgages. But now you see kids and teens with a Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts cup in their hands, and coffee shoppes are the new malt shoppes.

The Boston Globe's Beth Teitell has an interesting piece on the trend, noting how we try to cut high sugar sodas and fat-filled candy from schools but we're not really thinking about high calorie/high fat/high sugar coffee drinks. Funny how coffee was always seen as an adult thing when soda has caffeine and sugar in it too.

Following right in the footsteps of Coca Cola, Pepsico has just announced that they, too, will be adding caffeine content labels to their drinks. The labeling change comes conveniently at the same time as Pepsi is changing the look of their cans in general.

With two major beverage companies on board this new labeling trend, it sets the standard for other soft drink (or "sparkling beverage") manufacturers to add caffeine amounts to their packaging, as well as just to their ingredient lists. Making this information easily available draws attention to the fact that the FDA regulates the amount of caffeine that can be added to products (.02%), as well as to the fact that there are many groups that recommend an upper limit foe caffeine consumption per day The American Dietetic Association recommends no more than 300mg per day, for example.

We don't necessarily think that caffeine will become the next "hot" issue, as there is simply too much to worry about with foie gras and trans fats at the moment, but you never know...