I was around 4 years old when I had my first cup of café con leche. I enjoyed it so much I even made up my own name for it--chélo (pronounced with an accent and everything). I loved the way the smell alone instantly woke me up in the morning, I loved the kettle-like sound that came from my father's old-school Dominican greca, and I loved the way my  pan tostado tasted after I dipped it in my Café Bustelo. Let's be honest, no one loves their cafécito as much as Latinos. For us it's not just coffee--it's cultural! And if you were finally thinking of giving it up, you may want to reconsider because apparently coffee has a load of amazing benefits you probably never would have imagined. Here are 8 reasons why you should continue to start your day with a nice, hot cup of coffee:

It's National Coffee Day and, honestly, what's better than a delicious cup of cafecito in the morning? 

I'll tell you what: coffee desserts! These 5 Latin coffee desserts, to be exact. Bake one of these today to have with your morning cup or for that perfect ending to a great dinner. I honestly can't decide which is better: the mocha coconut rice pudding (chocolate arroz con leche? Yes, please!), dulce de leche espresso coffee cake (caramel and coffe for breakfast?), Mexican flan de cafe (Why not?), Colombian pastel de cafe y banana (No, actually, this is breakfast!) or the pumpkin spice latte cupcakes. Actually, I might just make them all!

As Latinos we LOVE our coffee and can't imagine starting our day without cafe. But how much are we willing to pay for our favorite piping hot beverage? Well, if price is no object to you, then let me introduce you to the Blossom One Limited, which, according to the manufacturers, brews coffee in an advanced way guaranteeing you a "perfect" cup every time. The price, you ask? Well, it will set you back a little more than $11,000.

Yes you read right, that's $11 with three zeroes after it--$11 grand.

We Latinos drink a lot of coffee, so it should be pretty pleasant news to learn that the key to weight loss may actually be hidden in the extract of the not-yet-roasted green coffee beans that are typically produced in Brazil and Colombia.

Well, at least that's according to Dr. Mehmet Oz in yesterday's season premiere of The Doctor Oz Show, where he spoke about how green coffee bean extract can help women lose weight. So does that mean we can start drinking a LOT more coffee?

Okay, going to admit something that my mami will probably NEVER let me live down after this, but… I was a pain as a teenager. I was always a good student but I was always constantly grumpy and tired. I slept an average of 3-5 hours on school days and then 12-14 hours on the weekends.

Whenever my mom tried to get me up to do anything at all, I pretty much did NOT want to budge. Yup, I was a grump! At the time, though, I simply called myself a "night owl" and just went on with my life. It's not just as simple as that, though. According to a new study, morning people are actually happier than night owls. Well, I guess that explains my teenage attitude, doesn't it?