There are so many different types of coffee available to us these days. Each coffee type has its unique taste, aroma and health benefits. In fact, coffee can be good for you... when it’s the right kind! At a time when most people shy away from caffeine because of the negative effects of over-consumption, people are actually drinking more coffee than ever before. Read on to learn about the world's healthiest coffees and how they can positively impact your life. If healthy coffee is consumed, there are only benefits.
In the United States alone, 83% of adults drink coffee. That’s an incredible 587 MILLION cups of coffee! Out of all of those people who indulge in this thousand-year-old drink, however, very few know anything about its origin, its production, or its versatility. Farmers who opt for intangible quality usually do so because they must. Issues of climate, the varieties available for cultivation in a given area, or culture preclude the achievement of good taste. In such cases, farmers need to invest in a socially perceived value such as organic, green, bird-friendly, or certification, for example by Fair Trade USA, that satisfies some buyers’ need to feel that their coffee delivers moral benefits.
Coffee beans are not only tasty, they also contain small amounts of magnesium, potassium and niacin (known as vitamin B3). Obviously, they contain caffeine, which can reduce fatigue and improve alertness and the ability to concentrate.
- Coffee improves physical performance
- Coffee contains important nutrients A cup of coffee contains a number of important nutrients for the body:
- Riboflavin (vitamin B2): 11% of the recommended daily dose
- Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5): 6% of the recommended daily dose
- Manganese and potassium: 3% of the recommended daily dose
- Magnesium and niacin (B3): 2% of the recommended daily dose
- Coffee reduces the risk of neurological diseases
- Coffee reduces the risk of cancer
When does coffee become harmful?
Dr Eric Rimm says that coffee's health benefits are associated with consuming between one and five cups of coffee per day. Too much caffeine can increase blood pressure values. More than 300 milligrams of caffeine per day can be harmful. Too much caffeine - over 300 milligrams per day - can lead to insomnia, nervousness and heart palpitations.
Caffeine consumed after lunch can disturb sleep.
Coffee becomes harmful when it is consumed together with condensed milk and sugar. They increase the intake of calories, the level of saturated fats in the body and the amount of sugar in the blood, thus favouring weight gain.
The advice of specialists is not to drink more than five cups of coffee a day, in order to enjoy its health benefits. And if you're not a coffee drinker, you don't necessarily need to include coffee in your diet to stay healthy. There are plenty of other nutrient-rich foods and drinks with antioxidant properties that you can rely on, such as herbal teas, fruits and vegetables.
How can high-quality coffee be produced?
It should be said at the outset that universally accepted standards for evaluating taste in coffee now exist. Internationally, certified Q-grader cuppers from fifty-four countries now cup and evaluate coffee by the same standards. The Q system allows for remarkably objective scoring and evaluation of coffee’s quality. Just as there is a 100-point tasting system for appraising wine, there is a similar one for evaluating coffee, developed by Ted Lingle and the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). In general, coffees scoring over 80 points are said to qualify as specialty coffee. Beans in this range are considered out of the commodity category and worthy of serious consideration as fine coffees. Like fine wines, quality coffees are rarely the product of large corporate efforts. They generally come from small farms in privileged climes where a compulsive artisan is at work.
The perfect coffee farm would lie within 12 degrees of the equator, so that it would have fairly even sun- and day-length; it would be gently sloped to facilitate drainage and harvesting; it would receive about 2 meters of rain with a marked, but short, dry season; and the wind would blow at no more than 7 kilometers per hour year round. For great coffee it would have daytime temperatures in the low 20s Centigrade with nighttime temperatures around 12 degrees. Finally, it would be nice if it had no insect or fungal enemies. To my way of thinking, the only thing on this wish list absolutely necessary to grow specialty coffee, as opposed to commodity, is the nighttime temperature. Frequently, that cold (but never freezing) night is described in producing countries as altitude, leading to a general belief that quality coffee requires the highest altitude.
Our coffee is naturally grown, at the right altitude. Sourcing, roasting and testing are the most important things when it comes to coffee.
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