Quiz: The Truth About Coffee

More than three-quarters of us drink coffee. And more than half say they drink it every day. Experts aren't sure what the health risks are -- if any -- if you drink too much coffee. That's why most suggest you stop at two or three cups.

Ground roast coffee has about 115 mg per 5-ounce cup if it's made in a drip brew pot. The same size cup made in an older percolator would have 80 mg.

Instant coffee doesn't brew as long. That's partly why it has only about 65 mg of caffeine per cup.

Of the 25 or more major species of coffee plants, all of them are native to the tropics of Africa, mainly Ethiopia.

They don't smell the same, but they both smell good! Coffee is the biggest cash crop in the plant family called Rubiaceae. It's a big clan, with more than 6,000 species. One member is the fragrant flower gardenia.

Too much coffee can lead to a faster heart rate and higher blood pressure. More and more, though, it seems your daily cup of joe could be good for you. Coffee with caffeine (not decaf) may prevent gallstone disease, for instance. Regular coffee drinkers have a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

More is more when it comes to caffeine and coffee. That grande has 330 mg of caffeine. Compare that with 47 mg in a can of diet cola. A grande has about three times as much caffeine as a normal-size cup of coffee.

Just make sure it's in a dark, cool place in an airtight holder. Glass and ceramic are good. Moisture can make coffee break down, so neither the fridge nor the freezer is the best home for it.

If you have a lot of coffee, it's OK to freeze it. Put it into small airtight plastic bags. To keep it fresh, don't refreeze.

If you brush your teeth right after drinking coffee, you could hurt sensitive surfaces. Better to rinse your mouth with tap water and wait half an hour to brush.

Don't swish the coffee around in your mouth or use a straw. This makes the coffee hit your teeth faster, which can cause more damage.

We get more antioxidants (which help protect cells) from coffee than any other source. That's partly because we drink so much coffee. But also the drink itself is rich with them.

Dates, for example, are packed with antioxidants, too. But coffee is a lot more popular than dates.

Ick. Civet coffee comes from the droppings of the Indonesian civet cat, or luwak. The cats eat fresh coffee cherries but don't digest the beans inside. Workers wash the dropped beans and they're sold for over $110 a pound as Kopi luwak.

It's said that the cats' gut enzymes make the beans less acidic with better flavor.

Almost all decaf has at least some caffeine. Five to 10 cups of decaf can give you the same caffeine jolt as one cup of the real stuff.