CoffeeScript is a programming language that compiles to JavaScript. It adds syntactic sugar like string interpolation and array comprehensions to make code more concise and readable in a JavaScript-like syntax. While CoffeeScript is not a replacement for JavaScript, it can help programmers write cleaner code, especially for those who dislike certain parts of JavaScript syntax. Whether to use CoffeeScript depends on one's needs - it is most useful for those who want cleaner syntax but still need to target JavaScript in the end.