Man does not live by coffee alone. Have a danish.
Archive for October, 2009
In Step With Organic Packaging
Unlike plastic and styrofoam containers which take hundreds of years to degrade and are highly toxic, there are packaging films being manufactured from renewable wood-pulp. It is biodegradable and compostable to international standards, suitable for both industrial and home composting and has been proven to break down in waste water environments. This means that all the coffee waste generated by consumers can be turned into compost that goes back into the earth!
The world’s dependency on petroleum is a major factor in climate change – whether it is the gas that we put in our car or the plastic cup that we use for our take-out coffee. Research suggests that plant-based, biodegradable alternatives to plastics could provide a solution by reducing CO2 levels. The manufacture of plastics made from plant material with a cellulose-base, would use 30% less energy than a plastic made with a petroleum-base. In addition, only a quarter of the amount of greenhouse gases that fossil fuel plastics generate would be contributed by these natural plastics.
Due to consumer demand and more controlled environmental rules, biodegradable alternatives to plastic and polystyrene are now in wide use across Europe and North America. Concerns about global warming and the depletion of natural resources make the use of these innovative film products a conscious way to celebrate positive change. The global community needs to encourage companies with organic products to become more health and planet aware.
Packaging has become an important part of the consumer outcry toward finding a solution to environmental problems. Biodegradable packaging, in particular, has become one of the most effective marketing tools. The continuing trend will be aimed at the use of flexible film, a unique, high performance product, made from renewable resources.
The Rotary Club
What is a Rotary Club? By definition, the stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide compassionate service, encourage high ethical standards in all occupations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.
An important dimension of Rotary’s commitment to the environment is long-term, sustainable development projects. Such projects, for example the organic coffee, tea and cocoa production, promote economic and social progress that both decreases poverty and protects the environment for future generations. Activities that will help these organic families, communities and nations break the cycle of poverty that destroys the environment and the humans involved.
Rotarians lend “seed” money, resources, and knowledge to start the process. Once a project begins, most of the responsibility shifts to the locals. Rotarians provide the structure and training that enables the project to continue. Organic farming is an area where the Rotarians are beginning to get involved in. The force of their group will go a long way to aiding organic farmers and their communities. A further step in the right direction would be for the rotary club to provide charitable assistance at origin for the growers, the workers, and their families. In addition, it would encourage sustainable agriculture and organic farming which is a “green idea”.
Traditionally, small coffee growers have not been fairly rewarded for the coffee they grow. In particular because it is grown without pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers, it makes for the better long-term health of the environment and for the consumer.
Rotary clubs, who live by the motto “Service Above Self”, subsidize a variety of projects including those related to alleviating hunger, promoting education, and providing potable water in many third world countries. Organic coffee is expensive to buy, but up to now, only a minimal amount of the profit goes to those who grow it. The rotary clubs are starting to provide a necessary link to those organic coffee farmers.
Matching Coffee With Dinner
A hot new trend is to choose a specific coffee to go with your dinner. It’s not just wine anymore with a meal; organic gourmet coffee is making inroads into the supper club market. Supporters claim the exceptional flavours and characteristics of organic coffee blends mingle better with certain dishes than others. Challengers argue that because organic coffee isn’t ordered separately with each course, and it’s a distinctive experience, it should not be considered the same as wine appreciation.
However, as customers persist with their appreciation of coffee, they will look for ways to learn more about it. After all, choosing a beverage to go with dinner is something they have grown up with. Coffeehouses and the restaurant chains that are upgrading their specialty, organic coffee programs are promoting the idea to their customers.
Desserts are the first food group that comes to mind for exploring this new concept. Examples include the Columbian blend which would complement flavours like lemon, butter and nuts; The organic French roast, which is bold and smoky, would go well with toasted nuts, chocolate and caramelized sugar; A Kenyan blend would enhance black currant and tropical fruit flavours; Brazilian, being mild in acidity, with a medium body and complex aroma, would pair with almond biscotti or buttery shortbread; Guatemalan, with a medium-high acidity and heavy body, would pair with sliced apples dipped in caramel sauce or chocolate cake.
Several chefs had experimented with the various components of the different organic coffees. Their findings decided that bitter and spicy flavours tend to overwhelm or clash with coffee. Sweet, salty, sour flavours tend to complement coffee. In addition, these chefs discovered that a coffee’s country of origin had much more effect on the coffee-food flavour interaction than anticipated. Overall, the food flavour intensified one or two characteristics of the coffee with good and bad results. Thus, Latin American coffee most complements sweet and sour flavours; Bitter flavours are generally unpleasant with coffee, but Latin American coffee stood up best; Indonesian coffee best complements salty and savoury foods; African coffees, with their crisp acidity and fruitlike wine flavours, are generally enjoyed by themselves.
Some restaurants hold dinners in which each course is paired with a different organic coffee. Such an event not only introduces their customers to their organic coffee blends, it brings them in to dine on a slow night.
It is a win-win situation with a better appreciation and understanding of the world of coffee.
Coffee Joe Says:
Caffeine isn’t a drug, it’s a vitamin!
Coffee, Tea, Cocoa and Dental Health
Roasted coffee beans were shown in two studies to impede bacteria which was discovered in the oral cavity and found to be a significant contributor to tooth decay. In another study, coffee did not inhibit the growth of the bacterial, but it did decrease the number of bacterial cells sticking to the dental surface. In other words, while drinking coffee might not kill the bacteria, it could prevent it from sticking to your teeth.
The compounds in coffee that are most active in terms of dental health are trigonelline, caffeine and chlorogenic acid. It is possible that the anti-stick quality is due to synergy – two or more agents working together to produce a result not obtainable by any one of the agents by themselves. In tea, polyphenols appear to protect teeth from bacteria through their anti-microbes. While cocoa and coffee are mostly effective against the stickiness of bacteria on the surface of teeth, tea can inhibit the growth of several strains of other bacteria that cause illness in the throat and skin. The polyphenols in tea also decrease the build up of plaque.
Green tea, black tea and oolong tea (which is somewhere between the two) have all been shown to be beneficial for oral health. Even though white tea has not been studied, it probably has similar benefits as green tea, and due to the light color, it may also stain teeth less.
As for cocoa, it also reduces plaque by inhibiting the enzyme dextransucrase, which forms a type of plaque from sucrose. In one study, a mouth-rinse made from the ground husk of cocoa beans was effective in reducing plaque in the teeth of children.
Thus, while it seems that tea, coffee and coco are all a benefit to dental health, tea appears to be the best choice.
Cuppa’ Tea, anyone?
Why Organic Coffee?
First, besides petroleum, coffee is the most widely traded commodity in the world. The specialty coffee that you bought this morning cost more than the daily wage of a coffee worker. Four of the world’s largest suppliers of coffee in the U.S. — Procter & Gamble (Folger’s), Sara Lee (Superior), Nestle (Taster’s Choice) and Philip Morris (Maxwell House) have yet to realize that what’s good for the organic coffee farmer is good for business.
Many specialty types of coffee from places like Nicaragua and Costa Rica can be grown nowhere else. For practical reasons, they are shade grown, bird-friendly and organic – it just costs too much money to deforest and to use pesticides. This is a huge benefit for the coffee population, however, as it does produce a higher quality bean.
Coffee farmers will receive twice as much for certified organic, fair trade coffee beans than for uncertified ones. As a result, cooperatives are able to build schools and clinics for their communities, and farmers and their families will be able to live at a decent level. This might never have been possible without the help of fair trade organizations.
More medical updates: in recent studies, it has been shown that coffee consumption may help reduce the risk of certain diseases, including heart and liver disease. This may be credited to the antioxidants present in coffee, and as well, chlorogenic acid, which can reduce glucose in the blood. It’s all good news for people who enjoy drinking coffee!!
Organic Coffee, Tea and Cocoa for Health
Hallelujah! Good news for “joe” junkies- further research from the national meeting of the American Chemical Society found that not only is coffee not too addictive, it seems to have potential health benefits. So do its caffeinated relatives tea and cocoa. According to French researchers, it was reported that caffeine has no affect on the area of the brain involved with addiction, as long as coffee aficionados stick with one to three cups of coffee per day. Apparently, while moderate doses of caffeine contribute to increased alertness and energy, dependence does not occur at those levels.
Also, caffeine appears to act differently from amphetamines, cocaine, morphine or nicotine, Nehlig says. These drugs are known to set off activity in the part of the brain responsible for addiction even a low doses, she says.
In a related study, researchers from the University of Bristol reviewed a decade of research into caffeine’s influence on knowledge, awareness and mood. The survey revealed that a cup of coffee can help in the performance of tasks requiring continued attention, even during low alertness after lunch, at night or when a person has a cold.
Tea drinkers also got some good news. Researchers from the Japanese Food Research Institute reported new data about a major group of compounds in green tea called catechins. These compounds have anti-oxidative, as well as antibacterial and even antiviral potency, the researchers noted. American researchers reported that these same compounds inhibited hardening of the arteries during a 10 week dose-response lab experiment. Both green and black tea lowered lipids and lipid oxidation in lab studies, even at very low dilutions, according to a University of Scranton investigator.
Possibly the best news of all is that even chocolate has previously unexpected potential health benefits. In one study presented at the conference, researchers reported that cacao liquor, an ingredient of chocolate and cocoa, contains anti-oxidative substances. In test studies, these compounds showed anti-ulcer activity, as well as an inhibitory effect on tumor promotion. A related in vitro study suggested that these compounds, which contribute to the flavor of chocolate and cocoa, may also offer cardiovascular benefits.
Chocolate appears to be a particularly good source of antioxidants, reported by Joseph Vinson, Ph.D. His work suggests that the quality and quantity of the antioxidants in chocolate is very high relative to other common foods and beverages such as black tea, red wine, apples, raisins, pinto beans and other plant products. Dark chocolate contained four times the level of polyphenol antioxidants compared to kidney beans, which have one of the highest levels found in fruits or vegetables. Cocoa powder was even higher, containing seven times the amount of antioxidants found in the beans.
Hey, go out and enjoy the benefits! It’s all good!!!
Coffee Joe Says:
All the coffee in Columbia won’t make me a morning person.
Budget? Still Need My Coffee
More than ever, people are becoming more inventive and creative due to the economic restrictions imposed on families, governments, and the global community itself. Competition is fierce, and people are choosing more wisely, trying to get more bang for their buck, recognizing they need to become more aware and careful about where their dollars are going.
Grants have been cancelled, excess funds are drying up, and the recession grinds away at money in the bank, but consumers still want a great cup of coffee.
In an economically challenging year, the whole coffee industry has proved resilient, as put forth by new data from the NCA’s 2009 National Coffee Drinking Trends (NCDT) market-research survey. Daily consumption of coffee among consumers remained consistent in 2009 with a percentage of 54% of the overall adult population. This is on par with 2008.
Even as coffee retains its popularity, coffee preparation at home is up 5%. Buying their coffee on their way to work is down 6%. Similar trends are seen with regard to where consumers are drinking coffee. Some report having coffee during their morning commute, continuing growth begun in 2007 and again matching a high set in 2006. At the same time, the number of consumers who report drinking coffee on the job remained constant at 18%, but fewer are buying it in restaurants (5%) than in 2008 (8%).
Traditional coffee has retained its footing with consumers aged 25+, showing no significant changes. Organic gourmet coffee consumption among older consumers has returned to levels typically seen over the past 8 years, following an exceptionally strong year in 2008.
