Even though coffee – despite its newly-found health benefits – can cause more harm than good in certain people, does this mean that caffeine content awareness of our cup of joe is now of paramount importance?
By: Ringo Bones
Ever since boutique coffee and espresso shops gained mainstream popularity in the wave of the Seattle Grunge boom back in the early 1990s, most commercial coffee shops of varying degrees of craft-cred, had been mandatorily asking their customers if they have a preexisting heart condition before allowing them to consume another cup of their caffeinated brew. Given the clear and present danger posed by caffeine on certain people, should everyone be mindful – especially us patrons and consumers – on the exact levels of caffeine found in our daily cup of joe?
Recent studies have shown that a typical cup of coffee contains 50 mg worth of caffeine, while famous franchised coffee shops – like Starbucks – contain 51 mg worth of caffeine per cup. Surprisingly, some up-market “slow-food” boutique coffee shops have a caffeine content as much as 6 times that normally found in a typical daily cup of coffee. Given that caffeine for a number of years now had been deemed harmful to unborn babies and expectant mothers have since been advised by their physician not to drink coffee or any caffeinated beverage during their pregnancy, should there be more public awareness campaign on the health risks of consuming too much caffeine?
In a BBC interview back in December 2, 2011, Jeffrey Young of the London Coffee Guide says that on the result of an on-going study on the caffeine content of commercial coffee shops around London, it has been found out that some up-market specialist espresso shops serve coffee that contains up to 360 mg of caffeine per cup. That’s a little over 6 times the 50 mg caffeine content of a typical cup of coffee most of us consume. Should up-market specialist espresso shops be mandatorily required to carry health warnings?
Monday, December 12, 2011
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Powdered Instant Starbucks Coffee: The End of Civilization?
As one of the biggest high-end Barista-prepared coffee franchise in the world, does the recent introduction of a powdered instant Starbucks coffee means the end of civilization as we know it?
By: Ringo Bones
As the designated “coffee-man” of my peer group, I and the rest of us had acquired a taste of genuinely brewed coffee that probably only an on-going post apocalyptic nuclear winter – or catastrophic climate change – would had us revert to drinking freeze-dried powdered instant coffee. But as Starbucks experimented its own version of the devil a few years ago – is this the surest sign that the end of civilization is nigh?
To seasoned coffee connoisseurs, there is really nothing like enjoying a properly prepared brewed coffee. And we probably reached a consensus long ago that that freeze-dried powdered instant coffee is an abominable form of coffee drinking. I had yet to try Starbucks’ version of freeze dried powdered instant coffee that some say is close enough in taste to their properly brewed cuppa that Starbucks Instant Coffee could relegate Barista’s to the dustbin of history.
If you ask for my opinion, I think there’s more to being a coffee connoisseur than convenience. A good tasting coffee is of prime importance though, but how that coffee is prepared is part of a revered Western ritual than some Japanese even compare it to a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. And with our increasing awareness of the injustices brought about by globalization, the corporate social responsibility compliance of the coffee that we consume has also become part of the equation. Remember folks, support your local Barista, it’s the socially responsible thing to do for us capitalist coffee consumers.
By: Ringo Bones
As the designated “coffee-man” of my peer group, I and the rest of us had acquired a taste of genuinely brewed coffee that probably only an on-going post apocalyptic nuclear winter – or catastrophic climate change – would had us revert to drinking freeze-dried powdered instant coffee. But as Starbucks experimented its own version of the devil a few years ago – is this the surest sign that the end of civilization is nigh?
To seasoned coffee connoisseurs, there is really nothing like enjoying a properly prepared brewed coffee. And we probably reached a consensus long ago that that freeze-dried powdered instant coffee is an abominable form of coffee drinking. I had yet to try Starbucks’ version of freeze dried powdered instant coffee that some say is close enough in taste to their properly brewed cuppa that Starbucks Instant Coffee could relegate Barista’s to the dustbin of history.
If you ask for my opinion, I think there’s more to being a coffee connoisseur than convenience. A good tasting coffee is of prime importance though, but how that coffee is prepared is part of a revered Western ritual than some Japanese even compare it to a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. And with our increasing awareness of the injustices brought about by globalization, the corporate social responsibility compliance of the coffee that we consume has also become part of the equation. Remember folks, support your local Barista, it’s the socially responsible thing to do for us capitalist coffee consumers.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Is Coffee a Cancer Preventive?
Current research has shown that coffee contains substances that could prevent cancer, has the purveyors of Patent Medicine missed this boat years ago?
By: Ringo Bones
Even though the Golden Age of Patent Medicine – i.e. the 19th Century – is already a distant past, contemporary purveyors of Patent Medicines – i.e. the health food faddists – are probably kicking themselves for missing to exploit a marketing potential. Especially when a recent legitimate medical study had shown that one of the worlds most ubiquitous beverage – namely coffee - contains substances that could prevent cancer.
Scientists working on the medical study had identified substances in coffee that has promising potential in preventing cancer called melanoidins. Melanoidins give roasted coffee beans their brown color. Laboratory tests have shown that melanoidins have anti-cancer properties because they restrict the cancer cell’s ability to produce the MMP enzyme that allows them to spread or metastasize.
The longer the coffee beans are roasted, the more melanoidins it contains. Even though the on-going medical studies are focused on intestinal tract cancers, the melanoidins and caffeine content of coffee might also have prophylactic effects on some cancers like ovarian cancer. Even though full results of the coffee anti-cancer property study still await further evaluation, preliminary results have shown that melanoidins do have the power to inhibit the MMP cancer enzyme in laboratory tests.
If the on-going research eventually proves that regular coffee intake has cancer preventive properties, you should consult your GP first before starting to drink coffee on a regular basis. Especially if you have a preexisting high-blood pressure or other related cardiovascular disorders which could be exacerbated via increased coffee consumption. But in spite of all this, looks like the humble “Cup of Joe” has finally received due appreciation not just for its good taste and the way it wakes most of us during the start of our day.
By: Ringo Bones
Even though the Golden Age of Patent Medicine – i.e. the 19th Century – is already a distant past, contemporary purveyors of Patent Medicines – i.e. the health food faddists – are probably kicking themselves for missing to exploit a marketing potential. Especially when a recent legitimate medical study had shown that one of the worlds most ubiquitous beverage – namely coffee - contains substances that could prevent cancer.
Scientists working on the medical study had identified substances in coffee that has promising potential in preventing cancer called melanoidins. Melanoidins give roasted coffee beans their brown color. Laboratory tests have shown that melanoidins have anti-cancer properties because they restrict the cancer cell’s ability to produce the MMP enzyme that allows them to spread or metastasize.
The longer the coffee beans are roasted, the more melanoidins it contains. Even though the on-going medical studies are focused on intestinal tract cancers, the melanoidins and caffeine content of coffee might also have prophylactic effects on some cancers like ovarian cancer. Even though full results of the coffee anti-cancer property study still await further evaluation, preliminary results have shown that melanoidins do have the power to inhibit the MMP cancer enzyme in laboratory tests.
If the on-going research eventually proves that regular coffee intake has cancer preventive properties, you should consult your GP first before starting to drink coffee on a regular basis. Especially if you have a preexisting high-blood pressure or other related cardiovascular disorders which could be exacerbated via increased coffee consumption. But in spite of all this, looks like the humble “Cup of Joe” has finally received due appreciation not just for its good taste and the way it wakes most of us during the start of our day.
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