Putting The Perk Caffeine Bracelet To The Test

BOSTON (CBS) - Many of us can't get through the day without coffee. And Kate Merrill is WBZ-TV's resident caffeine junkie.

When she wakes up at 3 a.m. she pours herself a monster mug. After the morning newscast she heads out for a mid-morning coffee run with Chris McKinnon and Danielle Niles. And around noon time she gets a jolt of soda or even Red Bull.

"I can't go without caffeine," said Merrill.

So, we asked her to try Perk.

It's a new bracelet that uses a patch to deliver caffeine directly through the skin. The patch is the equivalent of one cup of small coffee released over four hours.

"At first I was really tired but what I noticed was later in the day when I replaced the patch I definitely felt more awake. I really felt it was giving me a little bit of a boost," she said.

No matter how you get your caffeine, nutritionist Joan Salge Blake tells us 4-to-5 cups of coffee a day is safe for most healthy people.

"Caffeine is caffeine. What you have to be cautious about is the sum total, the amount of caffeine you're getting from a variety of sources and make sure it doesn't have negative effects," Blake told WBZ-TV.

The idea of switching out a daily drink for a tasteless patch didn't sound too appealing to many of the regular coffee drinkers we spoke with at Fuel America in Brighton.

"I like coffee because I like the routine of it. I really enjoy just being able to smell it and it just sort of wakes everything up in the morning," one man told us.

"I just enjoy the experience of drinking coffee too much to actually use it [the patch] I think," said another woman.

The bracelet and 30 caffeine patches will cost you $30 if you're interested in giving it a try.