Cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus type II (DM II) are both major health problems. A large risk factor for these diseases is the presence of the metabolic syndrome. It is known that the risk of DM II can be decreased by coffee consumption. Therefore, we examined the association between coffee consumption and the components of the metabolic syndrome. Prospective data from the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study (AGAHLS) is used to analyse the associations between coffee consumption (averaged over a period from 27 till 42 years) and the components of the metabolic syndrome (at the age of 42 years). This was done by linear regression analyses and associations were adjusted for physical activity, energy intake, alcohol consumption and smoking behaviour. The results showed that moderate and high (>2 cups/day) coffee consumption was significantly associated with lower HDL in women. For men, coffee consumption was not associated with any of the components of the metabolic syndrome.