Caffeine

Sometimes the old methods may work best. Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University say that they've identified a key agent in the brain chemistry responsible for hangover headaches and that a good remedy is one tried by every tormented soul who's ever groped for a morning-after cup of coffee: Caffeine. The stimulant has long been an ingredient in over-the-counter headache medications. But the Jefferson study is the first to link caffeine's effectiveness to its ability to block the activity of a chemical called adenosine.

Daughter Francesca says I'm an amoeba. "A what?" I ask. I remember vaguely what an amoeba is, but biology was a long time ago. "Remind me. " "A single-celled organism, immediately affected by a stimulus. " She actually said that sentence. I don't know exactly what she's talking about, as she went to Harvard University, though I get the drift. I'm a happy drunk, and it doesn't take much to get me happy. A half-glass of wine, and I'm off and running. A margarita, and I might remarry.

What has Red Bull wrought? The popular energy drink and a host of liquid competitors, according to a food trends analyst, have led to this: People want a buzz from their food, too. If coffee's not your thing, get your caffeine in Morning Spark oatmeal, Sumseeds sunflower seeds, or Phoenix Fury potato chips. In Japan, where energy is in especially high demand, consumers can buy "Men's Soy Sauce Ramen Noodles," a dried pork soup spiked with caffeine. Marketers are also stretching "energy" to mean healthy, non-stimulant foods, such as berries or flaxseed, that supposedly give your body or brain a boost.

What has Red Bull wrought? The popular energy drink and a host of liquid competitors, according to a food trends analyst, have led to this: People want a buzz from their food, too. If coffee's not your thing, get your caffeine in Morning Spark oatmeal, Sumseeds sunflower seeds, or Phoenix Fury potato chips. In Japan, where energy is in especially high demand, consumers can buy "Men's Soy Sauce Ramen Noodles," a dried pork soup spiked with caffeine. Marketers are also stretching "energy" to mean healthy, non-stimulant foods, such as berries or flaxseed, that supposedly give your body or brain a boost.

Eating a diet that includes garlic may actually strengthen the bones in your body, whereas caffeine can cause bone disintegration. These conclusions don't come from a scientific or medical journal; they were the determination of an experiment performed by Sung Hyun, an 11th grader from West Deptford High School. Hyun's submission was one of about 300 students from Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties who participated in the Coriell Institute's Science Fair, held March 15 on Camden County College's Blackwood campus.

It's a white powder, it'll keep you wired all night, and it's called Blow. "Our product is not designed to be an illicit-drug alternative," says Logan Gola, the brains behind Blow. Still, it arrived at The Inquirer in a faux dusty box. Inside were vials of Blow, a toy credit card, and a mirror. (But no dollar bill.) The new mix is being peddled to a market that is hooked: Energy-drink sales increased by 50 percent between 2005 and 2006, according to the Beverage Marketing Corp.

Owners of MilkBoy, the coffeehouse that has fueled Ardmore's revival with dual shots of caffeine and funky culture, will try a version of their cafe in Bryn Mawr. Paul Lichtman, Jamie Lokoff and Tommy Joyner will open a second MilkBoy Coffee on March 5, in the Bryn Mawr Film Institute building at 824 W. Lancaster Ave. The fledgling cafe will resemble its parent somewhat; both will offer live music most nights and attempt to draw patrons with a '60s-style coffeehouse atmosphere.

The customer marched up to the counter of the Treehouse and placed her order for a one-shot espresso. She was 8, an elementary schooler waiting with her parents while her sibling practiced an instrument at a nearby shop on Haddon Avenue in Collingswood. "The sister was getting music lessons, and she was getting coffee lessons," said Treehouse owner Randy Van Osten, who waited on the java-loving youth. "Some parents let their kids drink caffeine at a really young age. I have kids that come in that are probably 10 or 11. " Three years ago, when Van Osten bought the cozy coffeeshop in the center of town, he wasn't expecting the younger set to guzzle his coffee, flavored lattes and espressos.

It's no surprise that Philly soul-folkie Amos Lee packed the TLA to the rafters Wednesday night with mom-jeans-wearing ladies and their down-vest-toting boyfriends. Lee's brushed-denim funkiness and smoked-almond vocals won him the adoration of local decaf-latt? fans long before his eponymous debut hit pay dirt. His feel-good lyrics - even with their jolts of dark emotionalism - were never too hot or too cold. What was surprising was that Lee seemed too willing to sleepily play those very same grave cards.

Naming the coffeehouse was easy, a piece of sour-cream cake. "I wanted the cafe to be the high point of people's day," says owner Meg Hagele. In no time at all, months really, that's precisely what the cozy shop has become. The High Point Cafe is the sort of place a neighborhood never knew it needed until it appears, and then the neighborhood realizes it can't do without. It's Cheers with caffeine. In July, the small shop - eight tables, 19 chairs - opened in West Mount Airy, the northwest Philadelphia neighborhood tightly knit around the 33-year-old Weavers Way Co-op and all matters political, especially issues that list left.