We seem to have a tough time deciding whether or not coffee is good for you or not. Back in the 16th century it was marketed as a cure-all elixir for just about every problem you could have. In particular it was a stimulant that was much safer than others used at the time. Quickneth the Spirits was the expression. Mixed with honey and butter it was primarily used as a medicine in Europe. Coffee (or cophie) consumption became so popular that the wine merchants of Marseilles coerced the councul of physicians to put out the following notice 'this vile and repugnant foriegn novelty, grown on a tree discovered by camel and goat, burned up the blood, induced palsies, leaness and impotence'.

Coffee has had just about everything said about it that a drink could possibly have, from elixir to poison. Though the poison remarks usually go in one ear and out the other. Here's a quote from the great author Voltaire "I have been poisoning myself for more than eighty years and I am not yet dead". There have been many scientific studies done to try and resolve the question. One such experiment, perhaps not the most accurate measurement, was done in Sweden in the eighteenth century. Twin brothers were convicted of murder and sentenced to die. King Gustav commuted the sentence to life in prison on the agreement that the brothers would partake in a little experiment. One was given daily doses of tea and the other coffee. The tea drinker died first and to this day Swedes are among the world's greatest per capita consumers of coffee.