Chicago Tribune: Now there's scientific evidence that plunking down $3 for a grande double-shot soy espresso macchiato with a twist is good for you.

Chicago Tribune: Now there's scientific evidence that plunking down $3 for a grande double-shot soy espresso macchiato with a twist is good for you.
Austrian researchers took MRI snapshots of volunteers' brains before and after they downed coffee. The caffeine lit up activity in the frontal lobes and anterior cingula, areas that control short-term memory and attention. Those are functions we rely on to stay on task and recall information absorbed in the last 30 to 45 seconds.
Yes, there is more to java than the jolt.
This is big news for the world's hundreds of millions of coffee addicts, not to mention those who favor caffeine-laced soft drinks and teas. It suggests those beverages do more than just perk you up and go to your bladder. They go to your head in a positive way.
Short-term memory gains
The findings help explain why we can never seem to grasp that "tall" really means small and "grande" really means medium until we down that first cup of joe. Then, suddenly, everything becomes a lot clearer.
The researchers did not see evidence that caffeine stimulates long-term memory, though nowadays that might loosely be described as anything retained beyond 45 seconds.
Unfortunately, that means you can slurp coffee by the tubful and still forget to order the venti mocha coconut Frappuccino you promised to fetch for your co-worker on the daily Starbucks run. Don't forget to give back the $3.