Tag Archives: Coffee

Coffee, the Morning Picker Upper

Coffee is a morning staple in many households. Roughly 64% of Americans consume coffee every single day, adding to its intense popularity. In recent times, coffee menus have become extensive and elaborate, offering customers a bewildering range of options like Cafe Latte, Cappuccino, Macchiato, Con Panna, and much more. 

History of Coffee

Coffee is believed to have been discovered in Ethiopia. The most popular story of the discovery of coffee dates back to 700 AD. Kaldi, an Ethiopian goat herder, came across his goats prancing around, looking very hyperactive. He deciphered that the cause of their behavior was consumption of these red cherries, the coffee fruit.

Coffee is a natural stimulant due to its caffeine content and is still used as a morning booster to date.

What is Coffee?

Coffee is among the three most popular beverages in the world, including water and tea. It is essentially a beverage brewed from roasted and ground beans of the coffee plant. The coffee tree, known as Coffea, is an evergreen that grows in tropical regions like Africa, The Middle East, Asia, and parts of Central and South America, collectively known as the ‘Bean Belt.’ The coffee bean is actually a seed that develops inside the coffee cherry growing on the coffee plant.  

How Is It Made?

Harvesting

Typically, it takes a coffee plant 3-4 years to bear fruit. The cherries are picked when they reach the right level of ripeness. The pits of the coffee cherries are referred to as coffee beans.

Processing

Coffee beans are then processed mainly through two methods: the wet method, which yields mild flavored coffee and the dry method which yields rich flavored coffee.

Tasting

The taster, or cupper, assesses the coffee’s aromatic quality and taste.

Roasting

This is a complex process where heat is used to transform green coffee into familiar roasted, dark brown coffee beans. Coffee is then packaged and sold to various grocery stores and restaurants to be consumed in many different forms and flavors, including as a morning java or a recreational, fine-tasting beverage. The café culture has gradually become common all around the world, and continues to serve as an avenue for social interaction today.

Author: Amita Vadlamudi

About Caffeine

Caffeine is a natural stimulant and the most common drug used around the world. It is found in tea, coffee, and cocoa plants. It works by stimulating the brain and allows you to stay alert by preventing the onset of tiredness.

Historians first tracked the brewed tea containing caffeine as far back as 2737 B.C. However, according to a Chinese legend, the Chinese emperor Shennong accidentally discovered tea when tea leaves fell into a pot of boiling water and resulted in a fragrant and restorative drink! The earliest known credible evidence of coffee drinking or knowledge of coffee appears in the middle of the fifteenth century in the Sufi monasteries of the Yemeni southern Arabia.

Where is caffeine found?

Caffeine can be used in a variety of foods and beverages; however, it is derived from a few main sources such as tea leaves, cocoa beans, kola nuts, and coffee beans.

Some of the most common foods and drinks that contain caffeine are:

Coffee:

This is perhaps the most commonly consumed form of caffeine. An 8 ounce of coffee contains approximately  100 milligrams of caffeine. However, the serving size and the brand of coffee can also make a huge difference in the amount of caffeine present.

Soft drinks:

Both diet drinks and soft drinks tend to contain substantial amounts of caffeine, a 12-ounce soft drink contains around 23 to 69 milligrams of caffeine depending on the brand.

Tea:

Some brewed teas, especially black and green tea contain certain levels of caffeine. An 8 ounce of black tea contains  35 milligrams of caffeine whereas 25 milligrams of caffeine is found in 8 ounces of green tea.

Chocolate:

Since cocoa beans are used to make chocolate, chocolate bars too can contain some caffeine! In general, the higher the level of cocoa the more caffeine there will be. An  1 ounce chocolate bar contains   approximately  15 milligrams of caffeine.

Effects on health

Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, it is an effect that possibly starts 15 minutes after the ingestion of caffeine and lasts up to six hours. The main effect of caffeine is increased alertness and reduced sleepiness but the drug can also cause some problems.

Excessive intake of caffeine can lead to long or short-term complications. Too much caffeine is known to produce certain side effects such as insomnia, difficulty concentrating, muscle tremors, fast heartbeat, heartburn, nervousness, irritability etc.

 

Amita Vadlamudi, the author of this article is an avid reader of non-fiction books and author of articles on many topics. Some of Ms. Vadlamudi’s other articles may be found on her Slideshare and Behance websites.