Re: Shaz–I’d trust Harvard’s opinion regarding its safety/ lack of health risks when drunk in moderation; it is somewhat addictive and a regular coffee drinker can expect to have headaches on days that they don’t have any. However, the concerns raised by Samantha regarding the pesticides and growing practices aren’t unfounded, either. Major brand coffees (think Folger’s or Maxwell House) tend to be sun grown because that’s the cheapest way to produce coffee as a commodity. Most specialty coffees (more expensive, whole bean) are shade grown nowadays because there has been such a large consumer backlash regarding deforestation. If you have any questions about the growing practices associated with your coffee, purchase your beans directly from a coffee roaster, who should be able to tell you more about the source of the coffee. Any certified fair trade coffee is generally shade grown; many are also certified organic.

Re: Courtney–I think I’ll make a batch of the syrup sometime soon and chill it especially for use on an ice cream sundae. I’ll let you know how it came out.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/coffee_health_risk.htm

I do believe that coffee is mildly addictive…

Jesse: what’s the consensus on the health impacts?

I usually use caster sugar for dissolving in cold drinks. It’s a lot more convenient than simple syrup.

One suggestion for you on the whole “Pouring coffee over ice” thing for you is to make coffee cubes. Get a ice cube tray, fill it with coffee and freeze the sucker.. When you pour your coffee over them, it does not dilute your drink.

As for the person who thinks that coffee is bad for you…you haven’t been reading the latest research on coffee and caffeine.

Coffee contains loads of anti-oxidants. It protects the liver from the damaging affects of alcohol and contributes to mental acuity. Coffee isn’t the villain it was a few years ago.

Of course adding milk or cream to coffee or tea seems to deaden their health benefits but it sure make coffee tasty.

Anyway, I usually like to sweeten mine with a little bit of chocoate syrup, but that coffee syrup sounds like it would be good on ice cream, especially a warm brownie sundae!

All this fear went away when I quit, and it was a book that inspired me to do it called The Truth About Caffeine by Marina Kushner. There are five things I liked about this book:

1) It details–thoroughly–the ways in which caffeine may damage your health.

2) It reveals the damage that coffee does to the environment. Specifically, coffee was once grown in the shade, so that trees were left in place. Then sun coffee was introduced, allowing greater yields but contributing to the destruction of rain forests. I haven’t seen this mentioned anywhere else.

3) It explains how best to go off coffee. This is important. If you try cold turkey, as most people probably do, the withdrawal symptoms will likely drive you right back to coffee.

4) Helped me find a great resource for the latest studies at CaffeineAwareness.org

5) Also, if you drink decaf you won’t want to miss this special free report on the dangers of decaf available at http://www.soyfee.com