Some Facts about Coffee

[lhyman]

I recently started doing a contract for a coffee company.

We import raw beans and roast them, we sell so many different blends of coffee, plus coffee machines and everything you need to do a coffee service in a restaurant or hotel.

We have one giant machine running all the time. It's the type of machine that you put your cup in the slot and you press the button for your type of coffee.

However this machine only dispenses Espresso type of coffees. (Yes, it's true Italians don't drink regular drip coffee, they only drink espresso)

When I used to work at home, I would make a pot of regular drip coffee, I would drink about 6 cups a day and feel pretty perky.

However, when I started working here, I would drink my regular 6 cups of coffee from the espresso machine and guess what; no effect, not perky at all, it's like I've been drinking decaf all day.

So I went to the plant manager and I asked him, whats going on, have I become immune to coffee?

This is what he told me:

The stronger the taste of the coffee (like espresso) the less the caffeine.

Espresso beans are roasted longer than drip coffee giving it a stronger taste but also the more you roast beens the less caffeine they have.

So strong tasting coffee does not mean strong caffeine coffee, he told me the lighter the taste of the coffee the more caffeine it has.

So, remember that the next time you buy your next cup of coffee

Strong Taste means less caffeine, in-fact regular drip coffee has the highest caffeine level in it.....

Now, I have stopped drinking espresso and move back to regular coffee and I'm perky again !

 

[sperko]

lol Cool stuff, I drink loads of coffee I love it boosts me up most days

 

[jtwhite]

I do not like coffee at all, I find it to be gross. I do drink a lot of drinks that have caffeine in them though. Mt. Dew has a lot of caffeine in it.

 

[xav0989]

I don't drink coffee by it self... personally I don't feel like drinking a soup of leftovers burned in the bottom of a pan. (My doctor calls it like that)
However, I am a drinker ('bout 1-3 per week) of NOS. (huge wink to brandon)

 

[fractalfeline]

Huh! That's good info about coffee! +1 rep fer yoo

I think I didn't use to like coffee a lot... that was back when I didn't really need it Nowadays I definitely feel like I drag along on No Coffee Days. I've never been a really big fan of espresso, so it's good to know I'm not missing much! I mostly prefer regular coffee with a good amount of milk, and sometimes when I feel like being fancy, I'll add cocoa or that French vanilla stuff. And when I feel like really treating myself, creme de menthe or hazelnut liquer or Bailey's. :biggrin:

Anyone else out there feel like there's a point at which they've had too much caffeine, and get that foggy feeling? I can't drink more than a couple coffees or a couple cokes because it makes my brain feel cloudy. And yet I know people who can down a whole jug of the stuff and just perky and happy! I kinda always wondered what that's about.

I tend to stay away from store-bought fancy coffees. If I buy a coffee, I want the dollar version, dern it! Screw Starbucks!

Other trivia re: coffee (for any who care)
1. Caffeine + alcohol's been proven as a treatment and preventative measure for strokes. I'm not even BSing.
2. Coffee without sugar naturally forces your body to burn it's blood sugar, which helps burn calories, for any out there who count those

 

[noerrorsfound]

Sometimes I think I'm immune to caffeine because it doesn't seem to affect me at all. I've stayed up all night and tried to drink a lot of coffee to help me stay awake before (I was trying to get on a normal sleep pattern) but I was still just as tired.

 

[adamparkzer]

I hate coffee; I think it tastes bitter and horrible in general. I drink other caffeine-high drinks, but it never affects me. Energy drinks like Monster don't really do much to me at all either.

 

[noerrorsfound]

I think it tastes bitter and horrible in general

That's what the sugar, creamer, and milk are for!:biggrin:

 

[jtwhite]

I hate coffee; I think it tastes bitter and horrible in general. I drink other caffeine-high drinks, but it never affects me. Energy drinks like Monster don't really do much to me at all either.

Doesn't really affect me either. Energy drinks are terrible for your body, I try to avoid them.

That's what the sugar, creamer, and milk are for!:biggrin:

I don't think anything can down the horrid taste of coffee.

 

[zen-r]

...and feel pretty perky...
.........
..and I'm perky again !

Lol.

I have an image of you now, but could you clarify which of these you look most like, after you've had a cuppa?! >> :eek3dance :hsughr: :wiggle: :dancingna: hnoes: :runaway:

Your place of work must smell lovely with all those roasting beans. I wonder, do you stop noticing the smell after a while?

Of the hot drinks I have, I drink mainly tea (being a Brit!), herbal teas, & decaf coffee. However, I often have regular coffee or cappuccino if I feel myself flagging during the day & needing a boost.

For those of you who avoid coffee because of the caffeine, don't forget that it is also found in many other products including tea, colas & chocolate. And of course they also put it in "energy" products like Red Bull & cold remedy products.

If you don't like the taste of coffee, there is a fair chance that you are still quite young. Most kids wouldn't like the taste of coffee.

It's interesting though, how one's "palette" changes as one gets older. Many people develop a taste for a lot of the more bitter or strong tastes that they hated as a child, such as mushrooms, olives, beer, strong cheeses, chilies etc.

 

[Blazer9131]

That's pretty cool.
I always thought that stronger coffee has a higher level of caffeine.. =P

~Blaze

 

[drewh408]

is it true that nicotine is the only drug known to man that can act as both an upper and a downer?

 

[playminigames]

wow thats really interesting, i never would of thought of that, but i like drinks like mt.dew better as i usually dont like drinking warm stuff.

 

[slacker3]

love this thread (and coffee !)
coffee has indeed some interesting sideeffects:

it forces your body to burn fat reserves - a friend of mine is also a heavy coffee-drinker and looks like bruce lee (and he doesn't do any sports)

if you are an alcoholic, drinking coffee can save you from getting liver damage, as strange as it sounds

drinking coffee keeps you young and decreases the chance of getting cancer because of the antioxidants

also it affects your brain - the adrenalin and dopamin level increases, giving you slightly better concentration and reflexes

 

[fractalfeline]

love this thread (and coffee !)
coffee has indeed some interesting sideeffects:

it forces your body to burn fat reserves - a friend of mine is also a heavy coffee-drinker and looks like bruce lee (and he doesn't do any sports)

if you are an alcoholic, drinking coffee can save you from getting liver damage, as strange as it sounds

drinking coffee keeps you young and decreases the chance of getting cancer because of the antioxidants

also it affects your brain - the adrenalin and dopamin level increases, giving you slightly better concentration and reflexes

Coolio

Though I must say, I'm really quite curious as to how coffee saves your liver from damage from alcohol. You have a link for that?

And I had always thought the caffeine in coffee was responsible for the concentration and reflexes, because it causes your blood vessels to dilate (more blood supply to the brain) and makes your cells take in more sugar (increasing the metabolic rate). Does it increase adrenaline and dopamine too? How so?

 

[slacker3]

just a few interesting google hits:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5071874.stm

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2003159425_healthcoffee30.html

http://www.naturalnews.com/012352.html


cite from http://www.liversupport.com :

Liver Benefits
In a Japanese study, researchers looked at the association between coffee consumption and liver cancer among the middle-aged and elderly. Those who drank coffee daily, or close to it, had about half the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a type of liver cancer, than people who never drank coffee. Among daily coffee drinkers specifically, the liver cancer rate was over 200 cases per 100,000 people over 10 years. Among those who never drank coffee the rate rose to nearly 550 cases per 100,000 people. The more coffee consumed, the lower the HCC risk.

Based on data collected from more than 125,000 people, researchers from the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in California recently reported a 22 percent daily reduction of liver cirrhosis risk from alcohol with each cup of coffee consumed. Hepatitis c and other liver disease can also cause cirrhosis. Study co-author, Dr. Arthur Klatsky reports that the study found coffee did not protect the liver against those other causes of scarring.

Several studies have demonstrated that drinking coffee lowers the liver enzyme GGT, especially among heavy alcohol drinkers. Although GGT is a relevant indicator of cirrhosis risk, the liver enzyme ALT is a more specific marker of liver injury. Several population-based surveys from Italy and Japan have found a similar inverse relationship between drinking coffee and ALT levels.


..and from http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/i/i_03/i_03_m/i_03_m_par/i_03_m_par_cafeine.html :

Caffeine
The stimulant effect of coffee comes largely from the way it acts on the adenosine receptors in the neural membrane. Adenosine is a central nervous system neuromodulator that has specific receptors. When adenosine binds to its receptors, neural activity slows down, and you feel sleepy. Adenosine thus facilitates sleep and dilates the blood vessels, probably to ensure good oxygenation during sleep.

Caffeine acts as an adenosine-receptor antagonist. This means that it binds to these same receptors, but without reducing neural activity. Fewer receptors are thus available to the natural “braking” action of adenosine, and neural activity therefore speeds up (see animation).

The activation of numerous neural circuits by caffeine also causes the pituitary gland to secrete hormones that in turn cause the adrenal glands to produce more adrenalin. Adrenalin is the “fight or flight” hormone, so it increases your attention level and gives your entire system an extra burst of energy. This is exactly the effect that many coffee drinkers are looking for.

In general, you get some stimulating effect from every cup of coffee you drink, and any tolerance you build up is minimal. On the other hand, caffeine can create a physical dependency. The symptoms of withdrawal from caffeine begin within one or two days after you stop consuming it. They consist mainly of headaches, nausea and sleepiness and affect about one out of every two individuals.

Lastly, like most drugs, caffeine increases the production of dopamine in the brain’s pleasure circuits, thus helping to maintain the dependency on this drug, which is consumed daily by 90% of all adults in the U.S.

 

[fractalfeline]

Huh! I had only learned about it's effect in the cAMP pathway. Coolio. Thanks for that