Four Loko — the controversial caffeinated alcoholic beverage — will no longer be made with caffeine, taurine and gaurana, announced its makers, Phusion Projects, two weeks ago. Before the caffeinated “black out in a can” gets pulled completely from shelves, the Science Section presents: The Science Behind Four Loko (the caffeinated version).

Four Loko producer Phusion Products has voluntarily agreed to stop shipping its product to New York State starting this Friday. In addition, New York State’s largest beer distributors have agreed to clear the drink — and similar beverages that combine caffeine and alcohol — from their inventories by Dec. 10. 

With a Starbucks in Collegetown and the locally beloved Collegetown Bagels down the street, it isn’t surprising that every day thousands of Cornellians give in to temptation and order a delicious, steaming cup of Joe. Many of them have been told that the caffeine in coffee is unhealthy, and that it may lead to high blood pressure. But how much truth is there to those accusations directed at this seemingly innocent drink? What really is the science behind caffeine?