Caffeine

Ellicott City's Long Gate Shopping Center may be a caffeine addict's stately pleasure dome. From 6 a.m. in Safeway until 11 p.m. at Barnes & Noble and at Target in between, a Long Gate shopper is steps away from a Starbucks kiosk. The coffee Xanadu at Long Gate may simply be a fluke of Starbucks marketing, but it isn't the only one. Nationwide, there are about 1,600 such Starbucks coffee bars within stores, quadruple the number in 2000, Starbucks officials said. Of Howard County's seven Starbucks, four are kiosks.

Researchers in Brazil say they've discovered a coffee bean that's nearly caffeine free. But there's a catch. "We haven't tasted it yet," said Paulo Mazzafera, head of the team at the State University of Campinas that made the discovery. The scientists found that a few of the 300 trees they grew with seeds from Ethiopia lacked caffeine synthase, the enzyme that creates caffeine. Unfortunately, the low-caf beans grew on trees that aren't productive enough for commercial growers. So they will have to be tested and crossbred with other arabica varieties to come up with a product that's palatable and pest-resistant.

When he retired after more than 38 years in research and development at Washington's Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the last thing biochemist Nesbitt D. Brown wanted was a second career. But when Howard High School invited him to be its volunteer scientist-in-residence, Brown couldn't resist. The 70-year-old Columbia resident hasn't missed a Tuesday or Thursday in eight years of working with students. "I never had time to go into that blue mode, depression," after retiring, Brown said.

When he retired after more than 38 years in research and development at Washington's Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the last thing biochemist Nesbitt D. Brown wanted was a second career. But when Howard High School invited him to be its volunteer scientist-in-residence, Brown couldn't resist. The 70-year-old Columbia resident hasn't missed a Tuesday or Thursday in eight years of working with students. "I never had time to go into that blue mode, depression," after retiring, Brown said.

Need a caffeine fix? Next month, Gathering Grounds Coffee House will join Westminster's Main Street and become the second downtown location where residents and visitors can perk up with a vanilla latte, cappuccino or a freshly brewed cup of joe. "We're all caffeine addicts," said Stanley T. Ruchlewicz, administrator of the city's Economic Development Office. Besides that, the coffee shop adds a jolt to the city's business district, he said. "The big thing in economic development is to create a gathering place," Ruchlewicz said.

Giving up coffee for better health was a real challenge for me. I can't tolerate decaf, so substituting was out. But stopping caffeine gave me migraines. Irritability and the threat of migraines gave me the perfect excuse to drink coffee (which is really what I wanted to do). Here's my solution: I quit drinking coffee and bought a bottle of caffeine tablets. I cut them into quarters, with each one equal to about a half-cup of coffee. Whenever I got a withdrawal twinge, I took a half-cup dose.

BOSTON - I came back from my last trip to Seattle with a travel mug bearing the motto: "Life Is Short, Stay Awake For It." That pretty much sums up my coffee attitude and addiction. Now you see why Seattle is my kind of town. This city doesn't just wake up and smell the coffee. It goes to work and smells the cappuccino. It goes to the gas station and smells the latte. There are 200,000 shots of espresso sold every day in the city that somehow sleeps anyway. If there is something in the water, as conservatives like to say about liberal burgs, it's caffeine.

SILVER SPRING - Army Col. Gregory Belenky pops a stick of "Stay Alert" gum and chomps it for an hour, ignoring the label on the camouflage wrapper that warns him not to chew the super-caffeinated military product for more than five minutes. What do you expect from the Army's chief sleep deprivation expert? He's tired. Since the war with Iraq began, the fatigue questions have kept this military psychiatrist's phone ringing at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Among the callers: the Army surgeon general's office, which recently requested several cases of "Stay Alert" - a sickly sweet gum that works like a giant coffee, only much faster.

Water bottles have become ubiquitous among hydration-conscious Americans. But keeping your beverage of choice close at hand is an old custom in many parts of South America, where mate (pronounced MA-ti) reigns as the national drink and serves as far more than a thirst quencher. Travel through Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and other areas where this herbal elixir is sipped, and you're likely to see locals carrying a pouch of tea, a thermos of water and a small, well-used gourd with a wooden or metal straw.

As a boy growing up in Ruxton, Hoby Buppert hatched so many business schemes his family dubbed him "Hobarama." He tried mundane activities like mowing lawns and unusual ones like the venture he found in a Popular Science magazine ad for importing knickknacks from the Philippines. But he never opened a lemonade stand, which in retrospect might seem a bit ironic for a guy who is hitting the big time with BAWLS Guarana. Marketed in an eye-catching cobalt blue bottle with bumps (for a better grip)