If there’s one thing I’m passionate about, food and drink-wise, it’s coffee. A while back I ruminated on the state of things coffee-wise and determined that coffee is pretty much the magic elixir of life. No surprise there. I am, of course, talking about caffeinated coffee. The stuff with a jolt, with guts, that puts hair on your chest. The decaf stuff, well, what’s the point?
Well, a St. Louis chemist named Jack Ladenson is interested in the subject. He says that when some pole ask for decaf, they get the real thing, and that can be bad. Myself, I look at it the other way. The I’d be pissed if I got handed decaf when I was expecting the real thing. So he’s gone and patented a dipstick that’s whether there’s juice in your java. Just stick it in your drink and it changes color, depending on the amount of caffeine. Sounds like a good idea, but it seems there’s not much of a market for it. Want to hear more? Listen to this NPR story.