Coffee

Many people have turned to organic fruits and vegetables (and even meats) in recent years, striving to live healthier, longer lives. You may be one of these people. But did you know that organic coffee is now available, too? If you can’t find it at your local health food store, then you can definitely find it online.

How Organic Coffee Differs From Traditional Coffee

The coffee plant has traditionally been grown in the company of shade trees and other food and cash crops. This approach made for healthier soil and prevented water contamination. Unfortunately, many coffee growers have abandoned this approach in favor of larger crops and hence larger profits. However, synthetic pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers have become necessary to maintain these crops, and along with them the taste of the coffee has suffered, the soil has suffered, and no one knows the potential impact they may have on the future health of the coffee consumer.

In addition, the loss of the shade trees has had a direct impact on migratory song birds. While an obvious connection may not immediately come to mind, the relationship has actually been symbiotic. These birds used the shade trees as their habitat as they migrated, and as a result they provided a natural defense against many of the bugs and pests that can ruin a coffee crop. Without them, pesticides must be used to do the job.

Unlike the large, commercial coffee plantations, organic coffees are generally grown on small farms with plenty of shade cover. There are plenty of migratory birds to control insects, and pesticides are unnecessary. In fact, the United States requires that organic coffees be grown on shaded land and be completely chemical free for three consecutive years.

Tips For A Great Cup of Organic Coffee

Whole beans should be used within a week of purchase in order to enjoy the full flavor of the coffee.

Avoid vacuum-packed coffee, even organic vaccum-packed coffee. The process of vacuum packing cannot be done immediately after roasting. The coffee must sit for nearly a week before it can be vacuum-packed. This degrades much of the flavor.

Coffee beans should be stored in an airtight container, not on the shelf in the paper bag you brought them home with from the store. And in order to enjoy the full flavor of the coffee, you should grind only the amount you intend to use just before brewing.

Whole coffee beans that will be stored longer than a week should be placed in an airtight glass container that’s kept in the freezer.

As with any coffee blend, organic or not, grind the beans according to the brewing method you intend to use. Keep in mind that if you grind your beans too fine your coffee may end up bitter and muddy; if you don’t grind them enough, your coffee may end up flavorless.

Often overlooked, many people consider the most important step toward a good cup of coffee to be the proportion of water to coffee. Experts recommend 2 tablespoons for every 6 ounces of water.

In Conclusion

While you will pay more for organic coffee, just as you’ll generally pay more for organic fruits and vegetables, choosing organic coffee promotes the environment, the health of the coffee grower, and your health, too. Just as important for coffee drinkers everywhere: organic coffee tastes as good if not better than non-organic coffee.

D. Silva is the webmaster for Coffee Pleasures, a website about coffee, coffee flavors, coffee makers, and more.

Author: D. Silva
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Anti-angiogenic Food

For years experts have debated the effects of coffee drinking on the human body. Is it good for us? Is it bad for us? Most coffee lovers didn’t care. Nothing would part them from their morning cup of caffeine. Now the final word is in-coffee is good for us. Some studies even find the more we drink, the healthier we are.

Most people who enjoy a good cup of coffee know it increases mental alertness but what other benefits do we get from our morning cup? Study after study finds that coffee contains the same type of antioxidants found in green tea and fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants protect our bodies against the cell damage caused by free radicals-a major cause of aging and disease.

Here are just a few of the studies supporting the benefits of coffee drinking:

1. An ongoing Nurses Health Study of 85,000 female nurses found that even 6 cups of coffee a day did not increase the risk of heart attack.

2. The Harvard School of Public Health study of 125,000 individuals who drank 6 to 8 cups of caffienated coffee daily actually found it lowered the risk of type II diabetes risk 50% in men and 30% in women.

3. Another study found that non coffee drinkers are five times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than coffee drinkers and those who drank 3 to 4 cups of coffer per day had an 80% lower risk of cirrhosis of the liver and a 25% less chance of contracting colon cancer when compared to drinking no coffee at all.

So far no major study has found anything harmful about coffee drinking. If a woman is pregnant or nursing, she should always follow the instructions of her doctor.

What kind of coffee offers the most benefits?

Studies haven’t addressed such issues as how freshness, brewing techniques and caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee affects the nutrition. It would seem obvious however, that the fresher your cup coffee is, the better. If you’d like to get the most flavor and nutritional benefit you can, buy whole coffee beans and grind your own as you use them. Coffee grinders are inexpensive and simple to use. Grind just enough for your daily pot of coffee.

Once you try this method, you’ll never want to go back to purchasing pre-ground coffee. That burst of taste and heavenly aroma is well worth the trouble.

Tips for storing your coffee to preserve the flavor and freshness:

Have you ever purchased a large bag of coffee, either ground or beans, and then put it in the freezer, thinking this would preserve the freshness? The enemies of coffee flavor and freshness are air, moisture and heat. In both the freezer and refrigerator, coffee is exposed to moisture which is absorbed by the porous beans. Freezing also breaks down the oils in your beans, destroying flavor.

If you absolutely have to buy in bulk and know you won’t use that amount in a week or two, then freezing is an option if you divide the beans up into what you will use in one week periods. Put each portion into a zip-loc bag, squeeze out all the air possible and then wrap it again in plastic wrap. Take out only enough for two weeks at a time and never re-freeze.

What works best to keep your coffee fresh and flavorful is an air-tight container with a rubber seal. Store this container in a cool, dark place. A good rule of thumb is to buy only what you will use within 2 weeks for the most flavorful coffee.

Coffee hint: The strength of your cup of morning coffee doesn’t depend on the type of coffee you purchase, only the amount of grounds you use. For a more power-packed cup, simply use more grounds when you make your coffee.

Wondering what to do with your leftover coffee and coffee grounds? The same antioxidants which are good for you will also feed your plants. Add a little water to your leftover coffee and use it to water your house plants or outside plants. Coffee grounds are useful too. If you have a compost pile, both coffee grounds and filters add nitrogen. If you don’t have a compost pile, just sprinkle the grounds around the base of your plants and water them in.

Want some recipes to add nutritious coffee to your diet? Go to http://www.Path2HealthyLiving.com/CoffeeRecipes.html/

© Copyright 2006 by Joan Jones

Joan Jones is an award-winning freelance journalist who has written on health, nutrition, healthy recipes, home and garden. For more good health tips and recipes, go to http://Path2HealthyLiving.com/

Author: Joan Jones
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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