Starbucks isn't giving out free coffee for National Coffee Day. It's kicking off a year-long effort to give away coffee trees. 
 
 The coffee Goliath's rivals are taking the more traditional route, seizing on the made-up holiday (carpe diem!) to promote their joe by giving it to customers. 
 
 Dunkin' Donuts (DNKN), the granddaddy of coffee, is handing out free coffee to members of its DD Perks Program. A visit to a Dunkin' Donuts in Manhattan showed a sign in the window advertising its National Coffee Day deal and a crowd spilling out onto the sidewalk. 
 
 Wawa is also giving out free coffee, of any size, to any customer who wants it. Krispy Kreme (KKD) is giving out free small coffees and glazed doughnuts, along with $1 discounts on other drinks. 
 
 A visit to a Starbucks (SBUX) in Manhattan showed business as usual, with a long line of customers but no sign of the High Holy Day for caffeine. 
 
 Starbucks will donate 70 cents -- the price of one coffee tree -- to coffee farmers for every bag of joe purchased by customers in U.S. stores. Starbucks purchases its beans from farmers in more than 30 countries. 
 
 The effort aims to alleviate a twofold problem for coffee farmers: aging trees and a fungus called "coffee rust" that slows or kills production of coffee cherries. The company said this has gutted coffee production by 50% in some areas and is particularly bad in Guatemala, El Salvador and also Mexico. 
 
 Starbucks is jump-starting the program by giving away one million trees. 
 
 This is a departure from last year, when Starbucks took a more traditional route by offering free samples of its Anniversary Blend. ||||| Tons of businesses around the country are offering free and discounted cups of joe for National Coffee Day. (Photo: Shutterstock) 
 
 Let’s be real: Pretty much every day is National Coffee Day in America. Americans love their coffee — a lot. The average American drinks 2.1 cups a day, and 49 percent of coffee drinkers say they’d rather give up their cell phone for a month than coffee. We import more than $4 billion dollars’ worth of the stuff every year, and it accounts for 75 percent of American caffeine consumption. And just in case you’re fretting over the health ramifications of all of that brew, the government’s 2015 dietary guidelines say that drinking 3-5 cups of coffee a day is perfectly safe (as long as you’re not pouring in the cream and sugar.) 
 
 
 
 However, Sept. 29 — the official National Coffee Day — is the one day a year you can get your caffeine fix for free at many shops around the country. Here are some of the deals and steals to keep an eye out for: 
 
 Dunkin’ is offering guests a free cup of Dark Roast coffee. (Photo Courtesy of Dunkin Donuts) 
 
 Dunkin’ Donuts 
 
 Though “donuts” is in the name, the main attraction for many fans of this national chain is the coffee. Dunkin’ is celebrating the holiday by giving guests a free medium cup of hot or iced Dark Roast coffee (no purchase necessary). However, offers at the chain can vary from franchise to franchise, so make sure to double check before you order. 
 
 Krispy Kreme 
 
 The chain known for their addictive glazed doughnuts is doubling down on this year’s freebies. Visit one of their many national locations to pick up a free cup of coffee AND a free glazed doughnut. You hear that, Dunkin’? It’s time to step up your National Coffee Day game. 
 
 Wawa 
 
 This East Coast convenience store chain with a cult following is offering a free coffee in the size of your choice at their 680+ locations — a deal that’s sure to make their devoted fan base love them even more. 
 
 Peet’s Coffee 
 
 Visit one of Peet’s 250+ stores in nine states and Washington D.C. to get a free coffee when you purchase a breakfast item. 
 
 Missouri-based Lamar’s is offering a free commemorative coffee mug along with their free 12-oz. coffee. (Photo Courtesy of Lamar’s Donuts) 
 
 Lamar’s Donuts 
 
 Take home a souvenir with this Missouri-based donut chain’s offer: free coffee and a free coffee mug at one of their 26 stores in six states. Visit the Lamar’s Facebook page to get the offer emailed to you, and make sure to get there early, as supplies are limited. 
 
 Read More ||||| More than 60 percent of Americans drink one or more cups of coffee daily, according to the National Coffee Association USA. (Photo: Volker Möhrke/Corbis) 
 
 Go ahead, indulge your love affair with steaming hot Joe. In addition to having the superpower of transforming cranky morning-monsters into pleasant, friendly monsters that vaguely resemble well-functioning human beings, coffee has some pretty amazing science-backed health benefits. 
 
 In fact, a government advisory committee recently said that three to five daily cups can be part of a healthy diet, citing evidence that java is linked to a reduced risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes. 
 
 Related: 6 Foods That People Think Are Healthy But Aren’t 
 
 
 
 Some of the research findings outlined below are well established, while others are less understood or may lead to breakthroughs in years to come. But they all have one thing in common: They’ll give you plenty of good excuses to enjoy a second (or third) mug of liquid heaven. So fill that filter, flip the brew switch, and settle in to learn some new facts about this beloved morning ritual. 
 
 1. Coffee may help prevent multiple sclerosis 
 
 In a new study presented Thursday at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, researchers from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine found that coffee drinking may help decrease the likelihood of developing multiple sclerosis. When the researchers compared people with MS to people without the disease, they found that java abstainers were about 1.5 times more likely to develop MS, compared to people who drank four or more cups daily. 
 
 
 
 "There are many compounds in coffee that could be contributing [to the findings]," study researcher Ellen Mowry, MD, of Johns Hopkins Medicine, tells Yahoo Health. “Caffeine is a compelling connection given it may be protective against Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Interestingly, it does affect the functioning of immune cells in the brain but has impacts on other potentially relevant processes too.” Mowry says that if the results from this study are confirmed, the findings could lead to new treatment approaches for MS. 
 
 
 
 2. Coffee might reduce the risk of developing a dangerous type of skin cancer 
 
 
 
 Researched released in January 2015 found that people who drank four cups of coffee a day had a 20 percent lower risk for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. The study, which was published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, followed approximately 500,000 older adults for 11 years. The study authors write that coffee might prevent cancer growth by guarding against DNA damage. 
 
 
 
 Hopefully obvious disclaimer: Preventing excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays by slathering on a high-SPF broad-spectrum sunscreen, avoiding too much direct sun exposure, and shunning indoor tanning is the best way to prevent skin cancer. We’re not suggesting that sipping an iced coffee while baking under the sun will protect you from skin cancer. 
 
 
 
 Related: What Former Miss Maryland Brittany Cicala Wishes She Had Done To Prevent Skin Cancer 
 
 
 
 3. Coffee is associated with a lower risk for breast cancer 
 
 Although the research is mixed, “the bulk of previous studies suggest that high coffee consumption is associated with a modest reduction of breast cancer risk,” Swedish researchers write in a study published in Breast Cancer Research. That study found that older women who drank more than five cups of coffee daily had a significantly lower risk for a certain type of breast cancer — although lifestyle factors may also partly explain the association. 
 
 
 
 Some studies have also found a decreased risk for mouth and throat cancers and endometrial cancer among heavy coffee drinkers. 
 
 
 
 4. Coffee can prevent death 
 
 OK, coffee can’t ward off death forever — as one astute researcher pointed out in this journalist’s early career, the risk of death is always (eventually) 100 percent. But in a large study of 400,000 Americans ages 50 and older published in the New England Journal of Medicine, coffee drinkers were significantly less likely to die during the 13-year study period. And the more coffee consumed, the lower the risk of death. (Again, during the study period. Even miracle beverages have their limits.) An earlier study in the Annals of Internal Medicine, which followed people for either 18 or 24 years, found similar associations. 
 
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– Today is National Coffee Day in America, and it's worth celebrating if for no other reason than chains all over the country are offering free cups of joe. Yahoo has a comprehensive list, which includes Dunkin' Donuts (free medium cup), Krispy Kreme (free cup, plus a free doughnut), and Peet's (free cup with breakfast item). Alas, no free cup at Starbucks, but the chain is launching a yearlong project to provide trees to coffee farmers, reports CNNMoney. The chain will donate 70 cents (the cost of a tree) for every bag of coffee bought in the US. Other reasons to partake: While at work: Fortune rounds up a series of studies finding, among other things, that coffee makes you more perceptive and that taking a coffee break with co-workers is a boon for all. Health: Take them with the appropriate grains of salt, but studies have claimed health benefits ranging from cleaner arteries to better vision to a reduced risk of ailments such as melanoma and multiple sclerosis.