Coffee

The truth is that coffee hits a lot of spots! For centuries, people all around the world have loved coffee, and its popularity is far from waning nowadays. In fact, coffee connoisseurs have more varieties of delicious choices than ever before, as coffee houses, shops, kiosks and specialty carts spring up all over the place.

No matter how you like your coffee, whether it be black, frothy cappuccino, latte, espresso, hot or on ice, the selections available to tempt your taste buds is enormous. The average annual coffee consumption of the American adult is 67 gallons, over 600 cups. In fact, specialty coffee sales are increasing by 20% per year and account for almost 8% of the 18 billion dollar U.S. coffee market. Statistics show that among coffee drinkers, the average consumption in the US is around 2.3 cups of coffee per day. Also, studies find that over one-half of the population, equivalent to approximately 150 million Americans, now drink specialty coffees on a daily basis.

There are currently around 35,000 coffee shops around the United States, with an average $30 billion a year in sales. Based on market research, there will be approximately 42,000 or more independently owned coffee shops in the US by the year 2011. An enterprising business person should look at the gourmet coffee business as a golden opportunity.

Based on research by the National Coffee Association and The Specialty Coffee Association of America, the average price for an espresso based drink is $2.85, while the average price for brewed coffee is $1.38. The average espresso drive-thru business sells approximately 200-300 cups of espresso and coffee based drinks per day. The studies show that men drink as much coffee as women; each consuming an average of 1.6 cups per day. Women tend to be more concerned about price than their male counterparts.

The United States imports over $5 billion worth of coffee every year. Juan Valdez and his little donkey must be keeping very busy! Americans drink 460 million cups of coffee every day, which makes the United States the leading consumer of coffee in the entire world.

A scientific report from the University of California found that the steam rising from a cup of coffee contains the same amounts of antioxidants as three oranges. The antioxidants are heterocyclic compounds which prevents cancer and heart disease. Guess what! Coffee is good for you!

More than half of all Americans, 18 or older, drink coffee every day. This equates to approximately 150 million daily java drinkers. 30 million American adults drink specialty coffee beverages daily; such as mocha, latte, espresso, cafe mocha, cappuccino, frozen/iced coffee beverages, and so on.

Coffee sales are continually rising year after year. And so are the pricing modules! Coffee is the second largest commodity traded, next to oil. If you are looking for a business to get into, coffee is probably the best business for you to consider. Can you think of any other product that has such universal appeal, is easy to get into, and is relatively simple to operate?

Michael Stadneck grew up in Palermo Italy, where he enjoyed the finest gourmet coffee for the first 35 years of his life. As luck would have it, his first job in America was with Nescafe Coffee Company. After five years of hard work he was promoted to take over the specialty coffee franchise department.

Author: Michael Stadneck
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger

Coffee can actually be healthy for you! This is good news for all coffee lovers out there. Many people assume that caffeine is bad for you. Caffeine has been blamed for everything from high blood pressure to cancer. Many people still avoid caffeinated beverages because they worry about the health effects. However, current research reveals that not only is coffee safe but it even offers some health benefits.

Some of the most significant research recently relates to caffeine and diabetes. A study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that participants who regularly drank coffee significantly reduced the risk of onset of type 2 diabetes, compared to non-coffee drinking participants. Scientists are quick to caution against increasing your caffeine intake as a way to decrease your risk of diabetes as they aren’t sure why caffeine is beneficial to diabetes and have indicated that more research is needed. However, it does clearly show that coffee may be healthier than people have thought in the past.

In other promising research, at least six studies indicate that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are up to 80% less likely to develop Parkinson’s, with three studies showing the more they drink, the lower the risk. Also, research shows that coffee may reduce the risk of developing gallstones, discourage the development of colon cancer, improve cognitive function and reduce the risk of liver damage in people at high risk for liver disease.

Contrary to popular opinions, coffee can also actually be beneficial to heart health. One study found women who drink two to three cups of coffee a day have a 25% lower risk of heart disease and an 18% lower risk of developing diseases other than cancer than non-coffee drinkers. And, some research indicates that coffee can offset some of the damage caused by other vices. People who smoke and are heavy drinkers have less heart disease and liver damage when they regularly consume large amounts of coffee compared to those who don’t. These health benefits may be linked to the anti-inflammatory properties in coffee as well as its rich supply of antioxidants. On the flip side, however, caffeine is also linked to coronary vasospasms – the cause for 20% of all fatal heart attacks. Both decaf and regular coffee increase cholesterol and homocysteine, the biochemical that is linked to increased risk for heart attack.

More good news about coffee – it also can have beneficial effects that people can relate to on a daily basis. Caffeine can help with headaches as it is a mild analgesic, or painkiller, and it has the ability to increase the availability of other analgesics that it’s combined with. It also can cause blood vessels to constrict which assists with those types of headaches which are caused by the dilation of blood vessels.

Caffeine can improve mood and irritability in some folks. Studies have shown that people report increased well-being, happiness, energy, alertness and sociability after consuming caffeine in moderation. This may be the reason that women who drank coffee were less likely to commit suicide than those who drank none. Beware, however -consuming excessive amounts of caffeine can produce increased anxiety, nervousness, jitteriness, and upset stomach in some people.

Coffee can enhance athletic endurance and performance. Caffeine helps the body burn fat instead of carbohydrates, and it blunts the perception of pain. Both can boost endurance. In fact, caffeine works so well in boosting athletic performance; it used to be on the list of banned substances from the International Olympic Committee. Even though caffeine has now been removed from the list of prohibited substances, the controversy continues as experts differ in their opinions as to whether caffeine consumption on the day of performance can give an athlete an unfair advantage or not.

Why is coffee healthy? This is largely attributed to the antioxidants present in coffee. In fact, a recent study found that coffee is the No.1 source of antioxidants in the U.S., largely because Americans drink so much of it. Coffee has large amounts of antioxidants such as chlorogenic acid and tocopherols, and minerals such as magnesium which are beneficial in a variety of ways. For example, antioxidants help quell inflammation, which might explain coffee’s effect in inflammation-related diseases like diabetes and heart disease. Magnesium in coffee might help make cells more sensitive to insulin.

This is not to say that coffee is not completely innocent or that you should drink coffee to prevent disease. Caffeine, coffee’s main ingredient, is a mildly addictive stimulant. And coffee does have modest cardiovascular effects such as increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and occasional irregular heartbeat that should be considered. However, the studies clearly show that consuming coffee in moderation definitely can have beneficial effects on your health.

Conclusion: There is no health reason to avoid consuming caffeine or coffee. If you enjoy it, go ahead and drink it in moderation. However, if your goal is to prevent disease, it is too early in the research to say that coffee is a health drink.

Rachel Nielsen is a coffee lover and a coffee fanatic. See her website The Java Press for a more complete coffee resource guide.

Author: Rachel Nielsen
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Is there such a thing as “Healthy Coffee”? What are the benefits of healthier coffee for your health?
In this article, I will cover some known facts about the standard unhealthy coffee. Then show you there is actually a healthier coffee available and what the benefits are when you start drinking this healthier coffee.

Some facts about Coffee
- Coffee is the second largest traded commodity in the world
- Second largest consumed product next to water being the number one.
- World wide, according to statistics from the International Coffee Organization, people drink about 1.4 billion cups of coffee a day. About 45 percent of it is consumed in the USA.

This is a huge industry and billions of dollars are being made every single day. Everyone knows ‘Star Bucks’ and ‘McDonalds (McCoffee)’. These two giant corporations sell coffee in many different flavors and they are not in the coffee business to make people more healthy. They knew the facts and created a billion dollar plus business, with billions of people world wide being addicted to coffee.

Why are people still drinking unhealthy coffee?
Simply because the caffeine has a stimulation effect on the body. The downside of this is you will need your fix on a regular basis.
Furthermore regular coffee:

* Dehydrates

* Is very acidic and toxic

* It raises blood pressure

* Your stress level increases

All the more reason to limit your daily coffee addiction or find a replacement.

Healthier Coffee
Being a heavy coffee drinker myself I hated instant coffee. This always had an after taste and did not even taste like the coffee I consumed on a daily basis. I know many of you can relate to having to have your morning cup of coffee in order to get your day started. I experienced stomach acid problems, did not get enough sleep and headaches which I all related back to the coffee I was drinking. A very good friend of mine let me taste a sample of what she called ‘Healthier Coffee’. It was instant coffee so yes I was a little bit skeptical, but I did drink it. The aroma and the coffee flavor was great! It tasted even better than my regular coffee brand.

After I discovered this healthier coffee, I did some research on it and found out that it hardly has any caffeine (superior brand of Arabica beans used). More importantly, it is infused with a herb called Ganoderma Lucidium, or red mushroom. This red mushroom has been used in China for over 4,000 years for medicinal purposes, also known as the ‘King of Herbs’. When you do some research on the internet, you will find many businesses who offer this healthier coffee, but only a few really use the power of the Ganoderma or Reishi (Japan) herb.

Healthy Coffee benefits
There has been extensive research to what effects this red mushroom has for your health, here is a list of what it can do for you and your body:

* It will give you more energy and reduce fatigue

* It will increase your brain activity

* Will make you feel young and refresh again

* Improves/boosts your immune system (good alternative for the swine flu too!)

* You will sleep better (For people who suffer from insomnia)

* Healthy weight loss (Instead of pills or other costly weight loss programs)

Conclusion
Regular coffee is not good for your health. In fact, it is damaging your body. So the choice is yours. If you would like to continue to enjoy the rich taste and aroma of gourmet coffee, then I suggest you switch to the healthier coffee with the herb extract in it.

Ganoderma Lucidium was exclusively used by the Chinese emperors for a reason! Compare all the health benefits from drinking healthier coffee versus regular coffee. You’ll be amazed with what it will do for you!

Being a heavy coffee drinker, I discovered the many benefits of drinking healthier coffee instead of regular coffee. I have created a website called The Healthy Coffee Club check it out and come on over to have a healthy cup of coffee and a nice chat! Live healthier!

Author: Cor Fransman
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Drinking coffee daily is a normal routine for more than 108 million Americans consumers, including the majority of US adults and a growing number of children. Is this habit good for our health or is it harmful?

Coffee has been the subject of research for decades and the results consistently show that coffee is more healthful than harmful. Research takes place daily on coffee, caffeine and health around the world. Hundreds, if not more, of new studies are published every month by scientists and research institutes worldwide.

Coffee has two main ways of improving the health of your body: antioxidants and caffeine. Both of these substances have health and anti aging benefits. Antioxidants help your body repair damage to cells caused by free radicals. These free radicals are produced as a by-product of cells through normal daily activities.

The health benefits of coffee are many and the research supports them. For example,

ASTHMA RELIEF: caffeine can help manage asthma and even control attacks when medication is not available. Did you know that a single dose of pain reliever such as Anacin or Excedrin contains up to 120 milligrams of caffeine? This is the equivalent of a hefty cup of coffee.

CAVITY PROTECTION: caffeine can prevent cavities because of a compound called trigonelline which gives coffee its aroma and bitter taste. Trigonelline has both anti-bacterial and anti-adhesive properties that help prevent dental cavities from forming.

CHOLESTEROL: a paper filter is worth a “pound of cure” or so. There are two substances in coffee, kahweol and cafestol, that raise cholesterol levels. During the brewing process, paper filters capture these substances. Paper filters, in this case, help in the prevention of harmful cholesterol levels. Coffee drinkers who drink non-filtered coffees such as “lattes,” which do not use paper filters, may want to reconsider their choice and frequency of beverage for their own health benefit.

COLON CANCER: drinking at least two cups of coffee daily can translate into a 25% reduced risk of colon cancer. Coffee drinkers, as compared to non coffee drinkers, appear to be 50% less likely to get liver cancer. They also have lower rates of colon, breast and rectal cancers. There is a powerful antioxidant found almost exclusively in coffee, methylpyridinium, that boosts blood enzymes widely believed to protect against colon cancer. Methylpyridinium is formed in the roasting process from a chemical found naturally in coffee beans. Dark roasted coffees contain two to three times more of this antioxidant than medium roasts.

CIRRHOSIS: coffee drinkers have up to 80% reduced risk to suffer from cirrhosis than non coffee drinkers. People who smoke and are heavy drinkers have less liver damage as compared to those who do not. The reduced risk of alcohol cirrhosis may be associated with the phenolics and related substances in coffee.

DEMENTIA: drinking coffee during middle age may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and the risk of dementia in the elderly. Coffee drinkers at midlife have a lower risk for dementia or Alzheimer’s later in life than people who drank little or no coffee at midlife. Moderate coffee drinkers had up to a 65% decrease risk of contracting these conditions as compared with low coffee drinkers.

GALLSTONES: certain compounds in coffee may help prevent liquid stored in the gallbladder (“bile”) from crystallizing or hardening. This is what causes gallstones and obstructs the bile duct, a narrow tube which leads from the gallbladder to the intestine. Gallstones are painful and patients can experience fever and jaundice. Coffee drinkers have almost a 50% reduced risk of suffering from gallstone disease as compared to non coffee drinkers.

HEART DISEASE: People who smoke and are heavy coffee drinkers have less heart disease as compared to those who do not. Drinking coffee as part of a healthy and balanced diet is not associated with the development of cardiovascular problems, including atherosclerotic disease, myocardial infarction, ventricular arrhythmias and hypertension.

MENTAL ALERTNESS: caffeine enhances concentration, reduces fatigue and heightens alertness. The reason lies in caffeine’s effect on brain receptors, enabling a better energy uptake.

MALE FERTILITY: caffeine in coffee appears to increase sperm “motility.” Motility is the speed at which sperm moves. Since sperm hyperactivity is critical to fertilization, heightened motility increases the odds of pregnancy.

PARKINSON’S DISEASE: antioxidants and caffeine have health and anti-aging benefits. Antioxidants repair the damage to cells caused by free radicals. People who drink coffee on a regular basis are up to 80% less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease. Caffeine’s adenosine-blocking power may be one mechanism through which the brain cells in Parkinson’s disease are protected. Based on this and other evidence, Parkinson’s drugs are being developed that contain a derivative of caffeine. However, it seems that coffee protects men better than women against Parkinson’s disease. This is because estrogen and caffeine need the same enzymes to be metabolized and estrogen captures those enzymes.

TYPE 2 DIABETES: drinking one to three cups of coffee daily can reduce diabetes risk by single digits. Drinking six cups or more each day can reduce men’s risk up to 60% and women’s’ up to 30% as compared to non coffee drinkers. Coffee has large amounts of antioxidants such as Chlorogenic acid and tocopherols. Coffee also has minerals such as magnesium. All these components improve insulin sensitivity, glucose metabolism and lower blood sugar.

The good news about coffee and health keeps getting better. Coffee and caffeine are recognized for their positive health benefits and potential functional food attributes. Obviously, check with your own physician regarding any medical conditions, treatments, diagnostics, pregnancy or special dietary plans for you.

Go ahead and drink coffee. In the process, you will derive some health benefits. Enjoy a cup of Panama Boquete specialty coffee!

Timothy (“Tim”) S. Collins, the author, is called by those who know him “Gourmet Coffee Guy.”
He is an expert in article writing who has done extensive research online and offline in his area of expertise, coffee marketing, as well as in other areas of personal and professional interest.

Come visit the author’s website: http://www.ourgourmetcoffee.com

Copyright – Timothy S. Collins. All Rights Reserved Worldwide

Author: Timothy S. Collins
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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For years, the news about coffee vacillated between positive and negative. At the same time, study after study extolled the health virtues of tea. But a flurry of new research suggests that coffee offers nearly as many health perks while protecting against a number of diseases.

All this is not to suggest you should start gulping endless cups of java if you’re not already a coffee lover. After all, excessive coffee intake may have a downside for some people. But if you like your daily “cuppa joe,” you can take some pleasure in knowing your coffee habit has finally been vindicated.

Antioxidants and More

A few years back, headlines trumpeted the news that coffee was the number one source of antioxidants in the American diet. It earned that claim not because it’s richer in antioxidants than fruits or vegetables, but because we drink so much of the stuff.

One of the prime antioxidants in coffee is methylpyridinium, which may help protect against colon cancer. This may explain the findings from a recent study that found women who drank three or more cups of coffee a day had half the risk of colon cancer as that of nondrinkers.

Another coffee antioxidant, chlorogenic acid, has been shown to inhibit liver cancer. In one study, for every two cups of coffee the participants drank, there was a 43 percent reduced risk of liver cancer. This same substance slows the intestines’ absorption of glucose and might help explain coffee’s protective effect against type 2 diabetes

Here’s something else you probably didn’t know: Coffee is the main dietary source of the trace element boron. Biologist Curtiss Hunt at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center found that an eight ounce cup of instant coffee contains about 57 mcg. of boron. An essential nutrient for plants, one study found that dietary boron reduced the amount of insulin in the blood required to maintain proper glucose levels. Plus it’s one of the minerals necessary for strong bones.

Coffee is also a surprising source of more familiar minerals and nutrients, including chromium, magnesium and niacin. What’s more, a cup of coffee contains about one-third as much potassium as found in a small banana.

Coffee and Heart Health

Additional antioxidant compounds in coffee – caffeic, p-coumaric, and ferulic acids – may curb cardiovascular disease by protecting low-density lipoproteins (LDLs, the “bad” cholesterol) from oxidation, fending off inflammation and improving blood vessel function.

In 2006, Norwegian researchers found that older women drinking one to three cups of coffee daily were 24 percent less likely to die of cardiovascular disease than non-drinkers. Another study in 2007 found that people age 65 and over who consume four or more servings of caffeine daily had a lower risk of death from heart disease.

But curb your enthusiasm. Because the caffeine in coffee has a short-term elevating effect on blood pressure, people who drink one cup after another may keep their blood pressure high for periods long enough to risk heart trouble.

Coffee’s long-term effect on blood pressure has long been debated, and should be weighed against any possible benefits. A 2007 Finnish study of 24,710 healthy men and women, ages 25 to 64, found that over an average 13.2-year follow-up period, those drinking two to three cups of coffee daily were 29 percent more likely to start drug treatment for high blood pressure. The lesson here? Moderation is key when it comes to coffee, if you suffer from hypertension.

Brain Benefits

Anybody who’s experienced coffee’s morning wake-up call to the brain knows that it can temporarily help sharpen thinking. But coffee may also boost brain function in more lasting ways. A European study of 676 healthy men found that those consuming three cups of coffee daily suffered significantly less cognitive decline over 10 years than non-drinkers. And in 2007, a French study concluded that older women who drank at least three cups of coffee daily were 18 percent less likely to develop problems with verbal recall and 33 percent less prone to memory problems. And new evidence shows that middle-aged coffee drinkers slash their risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease later in life compared with those drinking no coffee or only a little. In fact, those who drank three to five cups a day cut their risk by an impressive 65 percent!

Other research shows that coffee may defend against Parkinson’s disease. A notable Finnish study found that drinking 10 cups of coffee a day slashed the risk of developing Parkinson’s by as much as 84 percent. Researchers suggested that the caffeine in coffee might stimulate dopamine, the brain chemical lacking in the disease.

From Gallstones to Gout

Coffee also seems to protect against both gallstones and kidney stones. In two large studies, people who drank two to three cups a day of caffeinated coffee were less likely to develop gallstones than nondrinkers. Decaf coffee didn’t protect against gallstones, but it did keep kidney stones at bay, perhaps simply by boosting total liquids.

And then there’s gout, a painful inflammatory condition that first attacks the big toe and then spreads to other joints. In the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, Harvard researchers found that coffee consumption was linked to a lower blood level of uric acid – the substance linked to this type of arthritic disease. People who drank six or more cups a day were 40 percent less likely to develop gout. Decaf was also linked to a modest reduction in gout, suggesting that something other than caffeine could be credited.

One Last Thing …

Despite coffee’s growing list of benefits, the caffeinated version still may not be ideal for some people. If you’re concerned that coffee is keeping you up at night, try decaf or drink it earlier in the day. However, if you suffer from gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), be aware that decaf coffee has been shown to aggravate reflux as much as the caffeinated kind.

Caffeine is also often mentioned as a trigger for migraines, so sufferers should moderate their intake. Less clear is whether caffeine can aggravate arrhythmias or raise the risk of breast cancer in women with benign breast disease. The latest findings from Harvard’s Women’s Health Study suggest an increased risk for women who drink four or more cups of coffee daily. However, in the Iowa Women’s Health Study, no link was found.

While the jury is still out on these few potential problems, the news is generally good for people who enjoy coffee. The news is so positive, in fact, that coffee may be the new milk with the ability to claim that it “does a body good!”

Research Brief …

It’s common knowledge that most people tend to gain weight and lose bone as they age – neither of which is particularly healthy. But here’s the problem: If you try to lose unwanted weight, it only promotes more bone loss – increasing the risk of fractures and the dangerous complications that accompany them. The dilemma then is how to lose those extra pounds without doing damage to your bones. A study designed to answer that exact question provides some answers.

The research, from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and Pennsylvania State University, studied 130 men and women, aged 30 to 65. The people in the one-year study ate one of two low-calorie diets: A reduced-calorie diet that provided either the currently recommended intake of 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight, plus two servings of low-fat dairy a day, or 0.64 grams of protein per pound of body weight with three daily servings of low-fat dairy.

The researchers found that the weight-loss diet with nearly twice the recommended amount of protein and three servings a day of low-fat dairy not only improved calcium intake, but was much more effective at preserving bone mass during weight loss -  especially when compared to the lower protein (and higher carbohydrate) weight-loss diet. These findings add to the growing amount of evidence that high-protein diets do not leach calcium from bones, as long as calcium intake is adequate. So, when you cut back on calories, be sure to get plenty of high-quality protein, including three servings of low-fat dairy a day, to protect your bones while you’re paring pounds.

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References:

Eskelinen MH, Ngandu T, Tuomilehto J, et al. “Midlife coffee and tea drinking and the risk of late-life dementia: a population-based CAIDE study.” Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 2009;16:85-91.

Je Y, Liu W, Giovannucci E. Coffee consumption and risk of colorectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.” International Journal of Cancer. 2009;124:1662-1668.

Mukamal KJ, Hallqvist J, Hammar N, et al. “Coffee consumption and mortality after acute myocardial infarction: the Stockholm Heart Epidemiology Program.” American Heart Journal. 2009;157:495-501.

Thorpe MP, Jacobson EH, Layman DK, et al. “A diet high in protein, dairy, and calcium attenuates bone loss over twelve months of weight loss and maintenance relative to a conventional high-carbohydrate diet in adults.” Journal of Nutrition. 2008;138:1096-1100.

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Author: Bonnie Jenkins
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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