Our in-house survey says that 99% of the people in the world are sucked in by some vice. Whoever amongst us that is vice-free can go ahead and cast the first stone -- just leave it at one stone, this isn't Iran.

Addictions come in all shapes and sizes—from sniffing glue to online porn—and they’re not going away any time soon. Unless, of course, the whole world moves into one giant rehab center. And even then...

The second you kick one addiction there is always another replacement waiting in the wings, clamoring for your attention like a third-rate chorus dancer just aching to get his big break. "Take me, pick me, I want to be a part of your life, now and forever."

Maybe it’s not surprising that America’s favorite fix is coffee.



Over half of the population of the U.S. drinks at least two cups a day. A quarter of those, consume about five cups a day. And another quarter, drink ten or more (whoa, cowboy!)



All this adds up to Americans drinking 450 million cups of coffee daily! While the average person drinks 26.7 gallons a year. Sound excessive?

WHAT MAKES IT ADDICTIVE?

It’s the caffeine, a carcinogen that raises adrenaline levels, in coffee that makes it addictive, and accounts for most of the adverse affects.

The good news: There is no proof that it causes any kind of cancer. Nope, just a lifetime of being in debt to Starbucks.



The bad news: studies show that caffeine abuse (caffeinism) may result in a syndrome which resembles, and may be confused with, true psychotic states. (I am Beavis watch me wig-out, dude.)

Too much caffeine can also lead to an adrenal insufficiency, and a host of other problems: liver disease, symptoms of mental illness, a weakened immune response system, sleep and stomach problems, panic attacks, worsen symptoms of high blood pressure, make your (NOTE) sperm abnormal, cause miscarriages and still births, and (NOTE) a higher incidence of PMS moments. Meaning, acquaint yourself with her cycle and hide all the "stuff" when Aunt Flow is getting set to arrive.



Have no fear, though, because if it isn’t abused, coffee can have positive affects, as it does percolate the central nervous system, resulting in mild cortex stimulation that appears to be beneficial in clearer thinking and less fatigue.

And, it's been shown to improve attention in a study simulating night driving—AKA trying to enter the Bat Cave at excessive speeds, after you've just beaten your family up.



WHERE IS IT FROM, DUDE?

Coffee is currently grown in several countries, including regions in Central & South America, Mexico, Central Africa, the Congo, and here it in the States it is grown in Kona.


"F*ck, Kona, buy ours."

•The coffee bean first originated in a region in Ethiopia called Kafa.

•Members of the Galla people noticed that they got an energy boost when they ate a coffee cherry ground up with animal fat.

•After the year 1000, Arab traders bought coffee back to their homeland and cultivated it for the first time on plantations.

•The world’s first coffee shop, Kiva Han, opened in 1475 in Constantinople.

•In America, coffee houses emerged over a forty year period, from 1600 to 1700's, many evolving from taverns or inns.

Once established, these coffee houses became centers where merchants would carry on essential business. Most of the patrons dropped by for coffee, and socializing, but soon the number of business activities that sprang from them was unbelievable. Coffee houses were also convenient centers for sending and receiving mail during times when an absence of street numbers made a postal system futile; not even the Pony Express could figure it out.



I WANT TO KICK THE HABIT!

The recommendation is to gradually decrease the amount you drink by 50% each day. Another way is to keep drinking your usual number of cups and gradually increase the amount of decaf until it reaches 100%. Then, sigh, you'll be ready to find your next drug.

CAFFEINE CONTENT (measured in millimeters)

• Coffee (6 oz. cup) Drip method - 100 to 175
• Percolator - 75
• Instant coffee (1 rounded teaspoon) - 57
• Espresso (1.5 to 2 oz.) - 100
• Decaffeinated coffee (6 oz. cup) brewed or instant - 2 to 6