Coffee Guide

For years I have enjoyed the pleasure of Blue Mountain Coffee. Known worldwide for it?s outstanding aroma and flavor. My mother likes to say, ?You can stay from miles, yes miles, and smell the Blue Mountain Coffee aroma?. I believe what she says is true, as I remember as a child being awaken by its pleasant aroma. Oh what an aroma! Oh what a flavor!

Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Beans, its name derived from where it?s grown on Jamaica?s Blue Mountain, which stands approximately 7400 ft high. Amongst the thick forest, the rainfall, and the mountain?s mist, makes it perfect for the growth of the world?s finest coffee. Only fifteen percent of the coffee grown in Jamaica is authentic Blue Mountain Coffee. This coffee is guaranteed to be 100% true Jamaican Blue.

How can one resist having this coffee? This has been one of Jamaica?s best selling souvenirs (if you want to call it that). You?ve got to try it.

First order Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee. When your order arrives, go ahead and start brewing a pot. After it has been brewed and you have poured a cup, instead of using the creamer and sweetener, try something a little different. Try using coconut cream. You may like it. How?s that? Uhm, Good, right? You have never experienced coffee, until you sip on a cup of blue mountain coffee with coconut cream.

John-David Lusan – Feel free to visit my blog at http://jdlusan.blogsome.com and read more articles like this. You will also find articles and posts on other categories as well.

Most people cannot function without either their morning cup of coffee or tea. While, it?s mostly the caffeine that gets people going, a side benefit from drinking these beverages is that you may be boosting your immune system and helping to fight disease.

While the health benefits of drinking green tea have been much publicized, few people realize that drinking coffee can have health benefits as well but recent studies show that coffee may share some of the healthy attributes that green tea has shown.

Like green tea, coffee has antioxidants including quinines, chlorogenic acid and tocopherols as well as essential minerals such as magnesium. All of which help in glucose metabolism and result in those who regularly drink coffee having a reduced risk of diabetes. Both coffee and green tea have been shown to contain compounds which have antibacterial properties that can help prevent tooth decay and may help to fight food poisoning.

Green tea has been shown to have a role in the prevention of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, cataracts, and to help boost your immune system. In addition, green tea may also help you lose weight and is said to help lower blood sugar and cholesterol as well as slow the aging process.

Coffee is said to contain compounds that boost the activity of enzymes which may protect against colon cancer (according to animal studies published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry). Other health benefits of coffee include a reduced risk of developing Parkinsons Disease, help in relieving asthma symptoms, stopping tension headaches, and inhibiting the formation of gallstones.

When it comes to the question of how much coffee or tea you need to benefit the answers can be a bit confusing. While most everyone agrees that the caffeinated should only be taken in small amounts (no more than 3 cups of coffee a day) to avoid the addictive qualities of the caffeine, it?s a bit more vague on how much tea is recommended. Some say 10 cups a day, others say you can experience the benefits with 3 cups a day.

Lee Dobbins writes for Online Gourmet Foods where you can find out more about gourmet coffee and tea.

Ever wondered how coffee drives your brain into action ? and where we?d be without it? There?s no doubt that when it?s time to think fast ? we humans regularly reach for ?steroids?. Our instinct is to SHAKE AWAKE the neuro peptides in our cerebral cortex ? and get them dancing in a polka frenzy.

Imagine a billion steroidal peptides (neuro-chemicals) madly hopping and skipping, doing cartwheels and running at top sprint, zooming up and down the lane ways and highways of the nervous system, never pausing for breath ? until sadly, exhaustion kicks in.

That?s when you hear the z?s – dozing?. after that coffee high. The peptides snoring by the side of the synapses and the adrenals flapping nervously in the breeze after an overdose of adrenalin.

Coffee is good for a fast laugh ? if you need to get high for a short burst without being illegal, it does the trick. Thinking in a straight line becomes as easy as a tight rope walker suddenly having to do it back on the ground. No longer are there vague meanderings of mysticism or attempts at profundity ? conclusions are an open and shut case ? simple, concise and unchallengeable.

It still seems an intriguing mystery exactly why people use coffee so intensely, so compulsively. It is well known to be addictive ? yet is there a darker, more sinister reason why we tragically need coffee? Could it be because we have lost (without coffee) the ability to reason concisely? Scary thought I venture to say.

Without the ?snap? in the morning ? afternoon and night, (let?s get real here), where would we be? Would our artistic communities of writers, musicians and visual artists still perform at their edgy best? Would the world be a different place without the kick-a?s bean that lodges itself in our cranium conveniently so that the wheels of industry keep turning, the sweat of the labour class keeps pumping – and the rest of us offer profoundly sharp observations to entertain ourselves?

Coffee is, of course, a psychoactive drug. It may not be openly admitted but it has a similar addictive quality to opium ? the seed of the opulent poppy. How paradoxical that in order to think clearly we dope ourselves on caffeine.

Paradoxes abound, of course ? when it comes to addiction ? but that, dear readers, is another tale full of sound and, of course, fury. The question has been raised – is endemic anger the outcome of long years of grinding and ingesting coffee? Clinical studies have shown that doses of 300 milligrams or more in some people increase tension, anxiety and even panic attacks. Without it we can?t string two thoughts together in the morning. Yet with it we can develop aggressive tendencies that can lead to long-term anxiety. Not a pretty story.

Used with propriety coffee can support the brain in adding acumen and even longevity ? as it stimulates the central nervous system. Yet the cross-over point comes when the body simply CANNOT do without it. When exactly IS that? Is it when we?re yelling at our lover first thing in the morning ? before the ritual drink? Or is it when finally we give in to the craving before we head off to bed? Some would think that perfectly normal. It is of course ? but only if exhausted adrenals cannot offer even a weak signal to defend any further self annihilation.

Coffee has sprung into our society conveniently yet maliciously ? vehemently bent on self-destructing humanity?s ability to think without it. Yet is it such a curse? Or is it just a shoulder to lean on for a while, while we gather our thoughts hoping someone comes up with as good an alternative.

And so the dance goes on ? day in day out, all day every day. Coffee machines spill the beans and we drink in the aroma in a hurry. It only takes a moment to notice, however, that the dance is edging out of control, the eye pupils constrict, the heart races, the thoughts buzz anxiously and we talk ? oh how we talk!

Talk, of course, is cheap. The more we talk the more we realize that talk of itself holds nothing except hot air. And that hot air floats above the cafes, the restaurants and the shops where coffee machines continue to spill the beans, anxiously awaiting more and more consumers, anxious to consume.

The coffee demon drives customers to those coffee shops where they, for that brief moment, lean back content – and relax. It is a significant moment of relaxation ? to stop and read, or just watch the world walk by.

Stopping and watching is the fun part of drinking coffee. It feels sophisticated and the ?right? thing to do – it feels like a haven and a community event. It is something to enjoy about our society ? that we sit in small cafes and enjoy each other?s company ? even if it is at a slight distance.

So coffee joins us! Is there anything it does not do?

Coffee is a bane and a blessing ? where would the industrialized world be at this point without it? Would we have had the concentration to discover Nano-Land where computers will soon telepath with our thoughts? And what kind of thoughts will they then discover ? zaned on the burnt bean, dedicated to crema, dedicated to the buzz.

Will coffee eventually rule the world as we once thought we ruled computers? Will our hyped thoughts transmit to the new computers that coffee is a good thing to start the morning with? And then what?.

A new dawn awaits.

Alicia Power

Copyright 2006 Alicia Power

Alicia Power is a Creative Thinking Coach and Thought Leader. A feature writer with several international well-being magazines, Alicia runs tele-seminars teaching tools to scan the other 90% of your mind for original lateral ideas and valuable solutions. http://www.espbusinesssolutions.com/id37.htm

Back in the mid-80s (yikes, was it really 20 years ago?), I was a young teacher working in New Orleans. To earn extra money, I worked part time across the street from my Magazine Street apartment, at PJ’s Coffee and Tea. Having grown up on instant Maxwell House, I was not the most coffee-savvy drinker in the world.

In the days before Starbucks, before coffee houses became trendy and common, I learned the basics about roasting coffee beans and serving coffee from experts. I learned about coffee’s origins, roasting methods, and how to prepare the ultimate cup. In my opinion, the best cup of coffee can only be made with a French press, a glass carafe in which you mix ground coffee, boiling water, and use a simple plunger-press device to push the grounds to the bottom when you want to serve the coffee. This is the best way to make coffee because you don’t cook the coffee as you would in a drip machine. Cooking coffee releases its acidity and makes it bitter. I was so in love with my French press, I used to bring it on camping trips. There’s nothing quite like rolling out of your tent in the woods at dawn, wrapping your cold hands around a warm cup (not a paper cup, perish the thought!) and sipping slowly as you tend the fire for your morning breakfast.

I might also argue that the cold drip method is up there with the French press. This method produces a coffee concentrate that you can keep in your fridge, but it’s slow and I believe best suited for iced coffee, which is how I learned it at PJs.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not anti-drip or anti-percolator. Heavens, no! For large scale convenience, there’s nothing like machinery. I own a drip coffee maker and a Krups cappucino/espresso maker and use them frequently. When I’m bolting out the door in the morning, I fill my metal thermal mug (never plastic, ick!) with a dark, rich French roast. If it’s a particularly good roast, I drink it black so as not to sully the flavor. If it’s mediocre or I’m just in the mood for light coffee, I use Half-and-Half. No sugar in my coffee, thank you. My husband uses skim milk which upsets me to no end because it produces a grayish colored murky coffee I find unappealling. But hey, he likes it and as long as he knows never to use skim milk in MY coffee, we’re cool.

Now about those flavored coffees…I often take flack for this, but let me say I am vehemently opposed to flavored coffee. Coffee IS a flavor, so adding additional flavor to it is like adding ice cubes and club soda to a pricey bottle of merlot. How would you possibly appreciate the personality of a bottle of wine if you added extra stuff to it? You’d change the entire personality of something elegant and simple and make it complicated and confusing. With coffee, as with many foods and drinks, simplicity is elegant.

Back in my coffee house days, we did not serve flavored coffees. We offered a dark roast, a medium roast, and a water-processed decaf to our customers along with an assortment of fresh baked goods, made from scratch by local bakers. We believed flavored coffees were just wrong because they covered up the true essence and beauty of the bean. Plus they weren’t popular then. I know they are popular now. The rows of syrupy flavors in bottles lined up in some coffee bars are testimony to the popularity of flavored coffee. I’ll pass, thank you.

To eat or not to eat with coffee? Again, keep it simple. Toast or an English muffin and a steaming cup of java comprise the ultimate breakfast. A medium roast in the afternoon with fresh biscotti is heaven. A demi-tasse of dark espresso with the tiniest slice of lemon rubbed around the edge of the cup allows me to linger and enjoy the afterglow of a perfect meal.

Ahhh, did I mention shortbread and coffee? Always appreciated, always appropriate, a wedge of Vermont Shortbread with your coffee is the ultimate in luxury and pampering. It’s probably not something you’d eat every day, but for those times when you want to practice extra self-care, why not enjoy your coffee with the most elegant and simple of all cookies, shortbread?

When food and drink are pure, simple, and flavorful without being contrived, you will want to savor them slowly and purposefully. You will want to sit quietly with your steaming cup and your snack with your eyes gently closed and allow flavors, aroma, and warmth to dance their slow, sensual dance of comfort and nurturing. And guess what? The world feels a whole lot friendlier when you take the time to enjoy the simple beauty in your bean…or in whatever you’re eating and drinking.

Ann Zuccardy, creative entrepreneur, food lover and owner of the Vermont Shortbread Company, invites you to sample a taste of her buttery-rich, authentic Vermont Shortbread. Place your online order for shortbread boxed fresh from the oven and shipped right to your doorstep at http://VermontShortbread.com

One look at a line at the local Starbucks in the morning and you don?t need to be convinced of the huge amount of coffee consumption in the U.S. The National Coffee Association found in 2000 that 54% of the U.S. adult population drinks coffee daily. Guess there?s nothing like the first double espresso in the morning to clear the cobwebs from our heads so we can face the day.

But what are the effects relating to fitness? If that grande-no-foam-double-whipped-extra-shot-no-fat latte gives us the get-up-and-go to start our day at work, will it do the same if we?re headed to the gym?

Physiological Effects

The main ingredient in coffee that gives us that jolt is caffeine, a central nervous system stimulant. Caffeine is found naturally in coffee beans, tea leaves, and chocolate, and is a popular added ingredient in carbonated beverages and some over-the-counter medications such as cold remedies, diuretics, aspirin, and weight control aids. It is estimated that in the U.S., 75% of caffeine intake comes from coffee.

Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system by blocking adenosine, a neurotransmitter that normally causes a calming effect in the body. The resulting neural stimulation due to this blockage causes the adrenal glands to release adrenaline, the fight or flight hormone. Your heart rate increases, your pupils dilate, your muscles tighten up, and glucose is released into your blood stream for extra energy. Voila? you now have the caffeine buzz.

But wait?we?re not done yet. Caffeine also increases dopamine. Dopamine activates the pleasure in parts of the brain. It has been suspected that this also contributes to caffeine addiction.

Physiologically, caffeine makes us you feel alert, pumps adrenaline to give you energy and changes dopamine production to make you feel good. Another espresso, anyone?

Ergogenic Effects of Caffeine to Performance

In addition to various psychological and physiological benefits, numerous studies have documented caffeine?s ergogenic effect on athletic performance, particularly in regard to endurance. Studies show that caffeine ingestion prior to exercising extended endurance in moderately strenuous aerobic activity. Other studies researching caffeine consumption on elite distance runners and distance swimmers show increased performance times following caffeine consumption.

Despite effects on endurance, caffeine produced no effect on maximal muscular force in a study measuring voluntary and electrically stimulated muscle actions. However, the same study did show findings that suggest caffeine has an ergogenic effect on muscle during repetitive, low frequency stimulation.

Caffeine?s positive performance-enhancing effects have been well documented. So much so that the International Olympic Committee placed a ban leading to disqualification for an athlete with urinary limits exceeding 12 mg/mL. Roughly 600 to 800mg of caffeine, or 4 to 7 cups of coffee, consumed over a 30-minute period would be enough to exceed this level and cause disqualification. The National Collegiate Athletic Association has a similar limit, set at 15 mg/mL.

Coffee: A Pre-Workout Drink?

Before you make Starbucks part of your pre-workout warm-up in order to harness the effects of caffeine, be aware that simply downing a grande may not give you similar benefits found in these studies. A recent Canadian study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology compared the effect of coffee and caffeine on run time to exhaustion. A group of nine men took part in five trials. Sixty minutes before each run, the men took one of the following:

• A placebo

• Caffeine capsules

• De-caffeinated coffee with caffeine added

• Regular coffee

Performance times were up to 10 times longer in subjects using the caffeine capsules, with no differences in times among the other trials. Since the level of caffeine absorption was similar during the caffeine trials, researchers concluded something in the coffee itself that interferes with caffeine?s performance-enhancing effects. This makes sense considering that there are literally hundreds of compounds dissolved when coffee beans are roasted, ground and extracted. Results of this research suggest that if benefits of caffeine on endurance times are desired, caffeine capsules work better than coffee.

Caffeine and Creatine Supplementation

Although caffeine has been shown to increase endurance time, further research shows it may actually blunt the effect of creatine, a popular and well-researched compound known for its consistent ergogenic effects. In a study evaluating the effect of pre-exercise caffeine ingestion on both creatine stores and high-intensity exercise performance, caffeine totally counteracted any effects of creatine supplementation. It was suggested that individuals who creatine load should refrain from caffeine-containing foods and beverages if positive effects are desired.

The Downside of Caffeine

Despite coffee/caffeine?s positive effects on psychological states and performance, there are numerous documented risks that must considered when consuming caffeine, whether for performance-enhancing effects or simply as a part of daily dietary consumption.

Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and can produce restlessness, headaches, and irritability. Caffeine also elevates your heart rate and blood pressure. Over the long-term as your body gets used to caffeine, it requires higher amounts to get the same effects. Certainly, having your body in a state of hormonal emergency all day long isn?t very healthy.

Caffeine is also a diuretic and causes a loss of fluid, which then leads to a dehydrating effect. This is obviously not conducive to fitness activities such as resistance training, as fluid is needed for the transfer of nutrients to facilitate muscular growth. It is also important when considering the further loss of fluid while exercising in hot environments.

Perhaps the most important long-term problem is the effect of caffeine on sleep. The half-life of caffeine in the body is about 6 hours. If you drink a big cup of coffee with 200 mg of caffeine at 4PM, at 10PM you still have about 100mg in your body. By 4AM, you still have 50mg floating in your system. Even though you may be able to sleep, you may not be able to obtain the restful benefits of deep sleep. What?s worse, the cycle continues as you may use more and more caffeine in hopes of counteracting this deficit.

Caffeinated Conclusions?

Though caffeine has some benefits in relation to exercise performance, risks have been documented. Most problems seem evident with very high consumption. The American Heart Association says that moderate coffee drinking (one or two cups per day) does not seem to be harmful for most people. As with everything else, moderation is the key to healthy caffeine consumption. Further research is needed to clearly determine whether the performance-enhancing benefits of caffeine outweigh the potential risks.

About The Author

Jon Gestl, CSCS, is a Chicago personal trainer and fitness instructor who specializes in helping people get in shape in the privacy and convenience of their home or office. He is a United States National Aerobic Champion silver and bronze medalist and world-ranked sportaerobic competitor and editor of the fitness ezine Inspired Informed and Inshape. He can be contacted through his website at http://www.jongestl.com.

jongestl@jongestl.com