• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, September 29, 2010

Wednesday being National Coffee Day, inquiring minds would (perhaps) like to know how far coffee fans would go for their caffeine fix, and how they cope with pressing issues such as "coffee breath."

These secrets can now be revealed, thanks to a forthrightly non-scientific online poll by Filterfresh Coffee Service, Inc., a coffee products/supplies company serving businesses, retailers, restaurants and institutions.

Filterfresh used an online survey tool and solicited participation from coffee enthusiasts through its Web site, blog and Facebook and Twitter presences, drawing "several hundred" responses overall (77% female), says Kim Kelley, the company's director of marketing. But the idea was simply to engage passionate coffee drinkers in honor of National Coffee Day by asking "fun" questions and letting them see how their own habits compare with those of fellow fanatics, she says.

As would be expected among a self-selected sample of coffee junkies, 95% said they get their "daily shot of caffeine" through coffee (versus 2.3% citing tea and 1.5% soda). And in a result that is likely to generate palpitations at the American Heart Association, 59% reported drinking two to three cups of java per day, and nearly 18% admitted to drinking four or more cups (albeit also recognizing this as "a problem"). About 24% get through the day with a single cup.

Fully 54% said they would give up their cell phones before they gave up coffee.

However, 82% say they don't use coffee as a meal replacement (no models in this sample, apparently). Also, 42% said they wouldn't let their kids drink coffee until the age of 16, and 32% won't permit it until age 18.

Asked when they drink coffee (check all that apply), 90% indicated morning, 34% during the day, 14% during the evening and 11% "all day, every day." About 17% actually drink coffee when they want to "relax," 9% drink it when they're stressed, and 3% go for the brew when "my children whine."

Other eye-opening findings:

* 72% drink coffee with co-workers, 45% with friends, 41% with "significant others," 38% with a newspaper or a book, and 24% with their cats or dogs.

* 72% think coffee improves their mental focus. In a related query, 30% said they wouldn't even consider having a meeting with their bosses before having their morning cup of coffee, while 36% said it depends on the day (35% have no problem braving their bosses sans caffeine).

* Asked if coffee improves the libido, 52% said it "couldn't hurt," 9% said yes, and 39% said no.

* 70% claim that they "always" make the next pot of coffee when they find the pot empty at work, as failing to do so "would be rude." But 25% admit sloughing on pot replenishment ("not my job"), and 6% confess to doing this only "if someone is watching."

* 32% said that they would "tell someone if [he/she] has coffee breath" -- perhaps more than one might expect, but still leaving most chronic coffee drinkers reliant on the old cup-hand-in-front-of-mouth technique.