I never would have thought I would get excited over molasses. It was always one of things in the cupboard that rarely made an appearance on the counter unless it was needed for some gingerbread baking recipe. Funny, it was baking that led me to try it in other applications. I was working on creating a cookie that didn't require much white sugar, and took a chance at using some of the contents from the dust covered jar of molasses (another popular brand). It tasted great, so much so that it became my "secret ingredient". One day not long after, I had a craving for molasses. Weird, right? I tried a spoonful, but didn't really care for the taste by itself. I then added it to my coffee and found that it lent an intriguing flavor. After all the NON gingerbread baking with my new found ingredient, I didn't have much molasses from the initial jar left. I don't think I ever saw what an empty jar of molasses looked like.. ha.  So when that was empty, I made purchase of this Plantation brand, which happened to be the only kind of molasses in the store I was in that time. It was less than $5 for 15 oz. I brought it home and tried a small spoonful. It just opened up my senses and something about it really appealed to me. It tasted real, like it was something I should be eating daily. I then added it to my coffee, and was amazed/delighted/stoked about how well it went with my coffee (which I drink very dark/bold, and now also primarily drink coffee alternatives--which I have reviewed); like it was made to go together: Coffee, Molasses and..Me!  (I told you upfront that I was excited over this stuff.) With this newly discovered affinity towards molasses, I had to research to see if there were any benefits to consumption. Well, indeed there is. There is no shortage of good information by placing these words into a search engine: "blackstrap molasses benefits", and what blackstrap molasses is versus molasses.