How to Avoid Caffeine Intoxication

Although most people consume some caffeine on a daily basis, many don't stop to consider the potential for caffeine intoxication. Here's what you need to know :

1. While you're probably familiar with the signs and symptoms of alcohol intoxication, alcohol isn't the only drink that can cause an adverse reaction when consumed in significant quantity. Drinking too many cups of coffee or tea over a short period of time can result in symptoms of caffeine intoxication, a syndrome that's not only unpleasant, but can potentially lead to death.
2. The amount of caffeine required to give symptoms of caffeine intoxication is surprisingly low. As little as three cups of coffee drank in a short period of time can give rise to thenervousness, flushing, and anxiety, characteristic of caffeine intoxication. While these symptoms are uncomfortable, they're generally not life threatening unless there are underlying medical problems such as poorly controlled hypertension or heart disease. If heart disease is present, lower doses of caffeine can result in abnormal heart rhythms.
3. At higher doses of caffeine, the symptoms of caffeine intoxication can become even more pronounced and troubling. A person may experience significant personality changes and psychological impairment. At this stage, a caffeine intoxicated person can experience marked hyperactivity and disorientation and may see and hear things that aren't there. At this stage, the caffeine intoxicated person will need immediate medical evaluation.
4. The worse case scenario? Caffeine intoxication can lead to death. Although it generally takes a large quantity of coffee, around ninety cups, there are individuals who are of low body weight or who metabolize caffeine more slowly that may experience life threatening symptoms at much lower caffeine levels. Caffeine can also be found in some medications ranging from diet pills to pain pills which can be a source for caffeine intoxication. It's obvious that intake of high levels of caffeine can create serious problems.
5. Is there a way to reduce the risk of caffeine intoxication? The best way to avoid overdosing on caffeine is to be aware of how much caffeine you're taking in on a daily basis and how it's affecting you. Keep in mind that caffeine is found in sources other than coffee and tea, including many soft drinks, chocolate, as well as certain over-the-counter and prescription medications. Always be aware of the caffeine content of the drinks you drink and the pills you take to avoid unpleasant surprises. You can get print out the approximate caffeine content in common beverages and medications at various online sites.
6. If you experience jitteriness or nervousness after consuming caffeine, try keeping a journal of your caffeine intake for a few days along with your symptoms to determine at what caffeine level you experience problems. Keep in mind that you can still enjoy your favorite coffees and teas without risk of caffeine intoxication by choosing decaf instead.
   

How to Make Coffee Reflect Your Lifestyle

The coffee drinking culture is expanding. No longer are our choices coffee or decaf coffee, but we have espresso, lattes, hot chocolate, and other types of drinks invading the local coffee shops. With choices now available, different kinds of people are gravitating toward drinks that match their personality. You can tell a lot about a person by the type of beverage they order at your local coffee shop. Below is how to decipher each drink to match a personality.

Step1

Straight up Coffee: You don't have time for fancy coffee making techniques. Your lifestyle is fast paced, reflected through your need for a caffeinated beverage that is strong and easy in the morning. Steamed milk? Waste of time. Grande Non Fat Hazlenut Latte? Waste of words. Coffee? Perfect. Besides, you never ask a girl out for "A flavored, steam milk, complicatedly named beverage," you ask her out for coffee, because you are a strong, confident man. (Flip man and girl for those of you of the opposite sex, because I care about my female audience.)

Think of a lumberjack. He dons his flannel and large axe, prepared to destroy any tree in his way to provide for his family. He is the epitome of manliness. Can you see him drinking a Venti Carmel Something Or Other? It would be like Chuck Norris exercising along side of Richard Simmons.

Step2

Latte: You like your caffeine, but want it with a side of sophistication and/or metrosexuality. It's not as fattening as cappuccino and provides a sweeter flavor than coffee. A favorite among everyone from the cute girl trying to write her paper in the library to that guy you know in the grocery store who is gay...or straight...or, well, you don't really know, but you know he drinks lattes.

Lattes are also a popular choice for writers, college students, and people in the business world because they scream "I am smart and want to be respected" due to their customizable nature. Where the strong, stubborn lumberjack fails, the lattes picks up the slack in its ability to adapt to any situation. The latte is the "playing hard to get" of coffee shop beverages because its ambiguity keeps you interested.

Step3

Cappuccino: This screams hipster. It's a complicated word for a drink that has fallen out of favor in the past few years. But, just as the hipsters have recently resurrected indie music and bad fashion sense, they've also resurrected cappuccino as their drink of choice. It's a trendy word that not everyone is supposed to understand. Cappuccino hasn't sold out to "The Man," it still has its complicated name and hometown, indie roots.
Order your next one with a side of tight pants and a hat that looks weird, and therefore, makes you trendy.

Step4

Hot Chocolate: You don't need caffeine. You are delicious and you know it. As more of a dessert drink, people wait all day just to finish their day enjoying you. Your coffee drinking friends will be angry at you for ordering hot chocolate at a coffee shop, but secretly, they envy your seductive, chocolaty nature. You don't need caffeine to get you through the day, just the constant reminder that you are awesome. You also may be shallow, boring and have nothing at all to contribute to society, because you only consist of hot water and a packaged mix.

Step5

Tea: You are a soothing, almost spiritual beverage. You come in a wide variety of flavors and colors, changing accordingly for a different season or time of the day. Calm and always understanding, you seem to hover over all of us in a reassuring way, constantly reminding everyone to relax, sit down, and have some tea. However, you are also weak and wouldn't stand a chance in the harsh, abrasive world of coffee drinkers. Your lack of caffeine makes your relaxed spirituality seem more like laziness. Perhaps this is your facade, or maybe you just like a slower paced lifestyle. Either way, you fear coffee and the powers it may bestow upon you.

Step6

Decaf Anything: You're living a lie, pretending to be something you really aren't. "I like the taste of coffee, though!" Lots of people "liked the taste of life" too, but they're dead, just like your lifeless cup of coffee.

15 Effects That Coffee Has on Your Health

Some are trying hard to show the beneficial effects that coffee has on our health, others see it as the devil's beverage. Others say it's rather a bogus. Read on and decide for yourself who's right!

1. Some say that the energy boosting effect of the morning coffee is only in your mind and you should sleep more. The caffeine eases withdrawal symptoms accumulating overnight, but does not make people more alert. Only people who do not regularly drink coffee will get a ‘push-up’ from caffeine, while the British Coffee Association insists that regular drinkers do feel more alert. Regular coffee drinkers swear that their morning caffeine wakes them up, and in case they don’t take it, they feel they have no energy and will surely be less efficient in their activities. Researches show that a first caffeine intake does not make the individuals more alert than those who do not drink coffee are. Others insist that moderate coffee consumption of four to five cups per day is perfectly safe for the general population and has a beneficial effect on alertness and performance even in the case of regular coffee drinkers. Caffeine, the main active chemical of coffee, blocks adenosine, a chemical that makes you naturally drowsy, increasing concentration and reaction speed. But the long term effects can be really tricky. Once the temporary stimulation stops, the brain cells start needing caffeine for stimulation and a sudden neural sluggishness installs.
2. Caffeine has been found to prevent cognitive decline in the elderly women. Women aged 65 and older who consumed over three cups of coffee (or the same caffeine levels in tea) daily scored better over time on memory tests than women who drank one cup or less of coffee/tea daily did. The memory benefits of the caffeine rise with age - coffee drinkers being 30 % less exposed to memory impairment at age 65 and 70 % less over 80. Still, caffeine consumers did not have lower rates of dementia. Caffeine seems to slow the dementia process rather than prevent it. Why caffeine has a slightly different effect on women than it does in men is a puzzle. Caffeine has been found also to protect against Parkinson’s disease and depression, and this could be linked to its inhibiting effect on adenosine receptors. Depression is eased because caffeine increases dopamine, the “happy feeling” hormone, in your brain.
3. Italian researchers found that coffee defends against blepharospasm, an involuntary eye spasm which makes patients blink uncontrollably, which may turn into a severe vision impairment, and in severe cases, this can make the patients functionally blind (despite intact eyeballs) as they cannot impede closing their eyes. One to two cups daily have this effect. The blepharospasm onset age was delayed by coffee drinking, with 1.7 years for each extra daily cup, and this could be due to caffeine’s effect on the adenosine receptors.
4. Everybody knows the laxative effect of coffee. Brewed coffee also contains soluble cellulose fibers, which help the body absorb vital nutrients, keep a lid on cholesterol and fight constipation. The amounts are of 0.47-0.75 grams of fiber per 100 ml. Freeze-dried coffee came out on top. Men comsume on average about 38 g of fiber a day and women around 25 g. A 240 ml cup of coffee could contain as much as 1.5 g of fiber (3.2 cups means 5 g of fiber).
5. High coffee consumption (more than three cups per day for years) increases loss of bone mineral density. Caffeine is a mild diuretic, speeding up the urination cycle, but “steals” calcium which is lost through urine. Long term, heavy caffeine use leads to a rapid development of osteoporosis.
6. The effect of coffee on the cardiovascular health is controversial: some say it’s good, others that it is a risk factor. Caffeine blocking adenosine constricts the brain’s blood vessels. The heart beats rate increases, muscles tighten, the blood pressure booms, blood vessels near the surface constrict and more blood flows to the muscles. Researches show that blood pressure and heart rate spurred in healthy sedentary adults drinking two cans of caffeine containing drinks daily by up to 11 %. But if you’re going to practice sports, the heart beats can increase up to a dangerously high level, while triggering extremities shivering and nausea. On the long term, the unnatural heart racing is unhealthy, and can trigger heart conditions.
7. Caffeine causes sleep disturbances. Don’t even think about drinking coffee or other caffeine containing beverages before sleep. And remember that the alkaloid needs 12 hours to be completely eliminated from your body.
8. A new research has found that coffee could cut the risk of skin cancer. 6 cups of caffeinated coffee daily lowered the likelihood of developing skin cancer by 35 %, while 2-3 cups lowered it by 12 %. Caffeine is believed to impede cells dividing in the tumor, or to work as an antioxidant. One research found coffee and exercising fight against sun-induced skin cancer by 400 %. Other researches suggest that coffee could be beneficial also against breast cancer.
9. Coffee fights gout symptoms! The beverage lowers uric acid levels on short term, easing the most common and excruciatingly painful inflammatory arthritis in adult males. Drinking 4-5 cups of coffee daily significantly decreases the risk of gout by 40 % and over 6 cups per day by 59 %. Tea (which contains caffeine) has no impact on gout incidence, thus other chemical than caffeine induces this effect; the main suspected being the phenol chlorogenic acid, a powerful antioxidant.
10. Two cups of coffee reduce significantly post-gym muscle pain. Caffeine consumed one-hour before going to the gym induces a 48 % decrease in pain; those who drink caffeine before the near-maximum force test have 26 % drop in soreness. Caffeine boosts endurance, and one study discovered caffeine to decrease pain during moderate-intensity cycling. By blocking the receptors for adenosine, released in response to inflammation and implied in pain sensation, coffee could have this effect. Caffeine seems to be more efficient than conventional pain and soreness reliever drugs, like naproxen (the active ingredient in Aleve), aspirin and ibuprofen.
11. Caffeine mixed with acetaminophen (paracetamol),one of the most common painkillers used in the US and Europe could harm your liver. The caffeine was discovered to triple the quantity of a toxic byproduct, N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI), produced by the enzyme that breaks down the acetaminophen. Still, the effects would be determined by the daily consume of 20-30 cups of coffee.
12. Caffeine gets women in the mood for sex, especially in moderate amounts and when the women are not heavy drinkers. The chemical is also known to increase excitability in men. Interestingly, female rats that received the middle dose of caffeine had quicker return visits to the males than the highest dose tested.
13. Researches show that the consume of unfiltered coffee increases the level of cholesterol. Why? Because coffee contains a substance called cafestol which triggers the rise of cholesterol levels. The cafestol blocks a receptor in an intestinal pathway crucial for cholesterol regulation, and is the most potent food chemical to do this. By pouring hot water over the ground coffee, the cafestol is extracted. The same thing happens when the ground coffee is boiled in water by several times, like in the case of Turkish coffee or Scandinavian brew, or a paper filter is employed, like in French coffee. If the coffee is made without the filter, the cafestol remains in the prepared beverage. A cup of unfiltered coffee contains up to 4 milligrams of cafestol that can raise the cholesterol level by 1 %. The espresso coffee contains cafestol, as it is not prepared with a filter. Still, this type of coffee can increase less the cholesterol if you use a small cup. Less espresso means less cafestol, probably just 1-2 mg per cup. Still, 5 cups of espresso can raise the cholesterol by 2 %. Decaffeinated coffee contains cafestol, since removing caffeine does not influence the other compound.
14. Coffee was found to remove 78-90 % of the heavy metals dissolved in the tap water, like lead or copper, because the ground coffee has the molecules not electrically charged or negatively charged, attracting the heavy metals, which are positively charged. Stronger coffee removes a higher amount of the toxic heavy metals. Instead, tea removes just one third of the same amount of lead and has not effect on the copper.
15. Coffee can kill you! Just as any other drug, in small amounts, caffeine (and coffee) is a stimulant. But the coffee plant synthesizes the alkaloid with the purpose of killing.its natural consumers. The grazer eating too much coffee will die. We, too, may be killed. The uncontrolled heart beats are the prelude of a heart attack. Over 400 mg of caffeine (found in 4-5 cups of brewed coffee) can cause caffeine intoxication. Some even snort caffeine powder, which results in a more rapid and intense reaction. The symptoms are just like those induced by any other drug: restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, face flushing, increased urination, gastrointestinal disturbance, muscle twitching, a rambling flow of thought and speech, irritability, irregular heart beat, and psychomotor agitation. Deadly coffee doses have not been tested on people, but in rats the average lethal dose (LD50) of caffeine is 192 mg/kg: 50 % of the rats died after consuming this quantity. In humans, however, the value would be linked to weight and each one’s sensitivity, to about 150 to 200 mg/kg of body mass.

So, you have to drink 80 to 100 cups of coffee very quickly to die… This also varies with the coffee variety, and cup size, as this determines how much caffeine enters your body. Actually, cases of death caused by coffee drinking have not been reported yet (at least from rapid drinking; the chronic effects are another story) but caffeine pills (just 2 g) are much more effective and have been proven lethal.

Coffee Drinking Lowers Women's Stroke Risk

Two or more cups a day boosts protection for nonsmokers, study finds
Drinking coffee appears to lower the risk for stroke among women, with more consumption translating into more protection, Spanish and American researchers suggest.

The finding stems from the tracking of both coffee habits and stroke occurrence among tens of thousands of American women across nearly a quarter century. And it adds to earlier indications that coffee might also offer some protection against diabetes, while not raising the risk for heart trouble.

However, the current evidence also includes a cautionary note for smokers: Their habit seems to wipe out whatever protection long-term coffee drinking might otherwise confer.

"Many people have been very concerned that coffee might actually be a risk factor for stroke, that it might, in fact, increase the risk of stroke," said the study's co-author, Rob M. van Dam, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, in Boston. "But here we saw that it might end up being beneficial rather than detrimental."

The findings were released Monday for the March 3 issue of Circulation.

To explore possible links between coffee drinking and stroke risk among women, the authors analyzed data on more than 83,000 women, who averaged about 55 years old and had participated in the Nurses' Health Study between 1980 and 2004. At the start of the study, none of the women had a history of stroke, heart disease, diabetes or cancer.

Based on the women's answers on seven food-habit surveys administered during the study, the researchers found that 84 percent of the women consumed at least some caffeinated coffee. As well, half said they drank decaffeinated coffee, 78 percent drank tea and 54 percent drank caffeinated sodas.

During the study's 24-year span, nearly 2,300 strokes occurred. More than half were ischemic strokes, which follow blood vessel blockage.

Coffee drinking was not linked to either the lowering or the raising of stroke risk among women who developed high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol.

But after considering factors such as cigarette and alcohol consumption, van Dam and his colleagues found that healthy women who consumed two to three cups of caffeinated coffee a day had, on average, a 19 percent lower risk for any kind of stroke than did women who drank less than one cup a month. Drinking four or more cups a day lowered risk by 20 percent.

Women who drank five to seven cups of coffee a week were 12 percent less likely to have a stroke than were those who downed just one cup a month, the study found.

The team then zeroed in on the impact tobacco might have on the coffee-stroke link, noting that coffee drinkers are often also smokers.

What they found was striking: Among women who never smoked or had smoked but quit, drinking four or more cups of coffee a day conferred a 43 percent reduced risk for all types of stroke. However, among women with similar coffee habits who also smoked, stroke risk fell by just 3 percent.

It remains unclear what specific aspect of coffee plays the principal role in stroke risk reduction. However, the researchers noted that caffeinated tea and soft drinks carried no similar benefit -- implying that some other component in coffee, apart from caffeine, might provide the protective effect.

Whatever the case, the study authors pointed out that certain conditions -- such as insomnia, anxiety, high blood pressure and cardiac complications -- can be negatively affected by coffee drinking.

They further cautioned that the current findings need confirmation with continued research.

"This is quite an early finding," van Dam said. "And previous studies have been quite small. But the data we do have is very convincing in the sense that we feel comfortable that we definitely found no association between high coffee consumption and a higher stroke risk. So women can continue to enjoy their coffee and focus on other things to reduce stroke risk, such as engaging in more physical activity, reducing salt intake and stopping smoking."

Dr. Anthony Comerota, director of the Jobst Vascular Center at Toledo Hospital in Ohio, described the degree of benefit as "somewhat surprising."

"But what is not surprising," he said, "is the deleterious impact of cigarette smoking, which we know is the most potent risk factor -- perhaps other than diabetes -- for heart attack and stroke and general cardiovascular-related risk among both men and women."

Comerota suggested that future research should explore physical activity patterns among coffee drinkers and nondrinkers. "There may be behavior patterns which link increased physical activity with coffee drinking," he said, "and we know the more physical activity one has, the better cardiovascular risk reduction that person enjoys."

Another large study appearing in the same issue of Circulation offered insight into the impact of diet on stroke risk. It noted that American women who closely follow a traditional Mediterranean diet (high in monounsaturated fats, plant-based proteins, whole grains and fish) have a much lower risk for both heart disease and stroke.

As with van Dam's research, this study -- led by Teresa T. Fung of Simmons College and the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston -- was also based on analysis of participants in the Nurses' Health Study, nearly 75,000 of whom were tracked for two decades to see how their dietary habits stacked up against their incidence of both stroke and heart attack.

More information

For more on diet and heart health, visit American Heart Association.

Coffe can reduce risk of stroke

Feb 19 2009

FOUR cups of coffee a day can reduce the risk of a stroke by a fifth, say scientists.

A study involving 83,000 women over a 24-year period showed coffee lovers were less likely to suffer a brain clot.

Researchers found women who drank five to seven cups a week saw their risk lowered by 12 per cent.

In those consuming two to three cups a day, the reduction was 19 per cent and for those on four daily it was 20 per cent. Although the study involved women, it's thought men would also benefit.

But researchers stressed coffee only protected against illness in those who were already relatively healthy.

Strokes kill about 200 people every day in the UK.

Dr Esther Lopez-Garcia led the study at Madrid University which discovered coffee's health benefits.

She said: "Antioxidants in coffee can lower inflammation and improve blood vessel function."

Eight O'Clock Coffee beats Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and Folger's

Thursday, February 5th 2009

Java junkies looking for bargains on great tasting joe might want to put that Starbucks Venti Caffe Americano on the back burner for now. The best coffee to wake up to these days, Eight O'Clock Coffee 100% Colombian, is also a great bargain, according to the March issue of Consumer Reports.The magazine's independent testing firm tested 19 ground coffees and reported that pricey Starbucks Coffee Colombia medium ($11.53 per pound) didn't even place among the top regular coffees, and it trailed among the decafs. Eight O'Clock Coffee 100% Colombian (at a wallet-friendly $6.28 a pound), was judged the hottest ground coffee of all, winning CR's "Best Combination of Taste and Price." Testers raved that the coffee possesses "a complex blend of earthy and fruity, with a bright, pleasing sourness."

In the decaf arena, Folger's ($8.55 a pound) won similar raves from CR. As the lowest-priced top decaf, it has "a touch of fruitiness and earthiness, but papery and cereal aromas make it a good candidate for milk and sugar," testers said.

Folger's and Maxwell House, which along with Starbucks are America's best-selling ground coffees, also ranked below Eight O'Clock. Eight O'Clock costs less than half the price of Gloria Jean's, Peet's and other more costly brands.

Dunkin Donuts was ranked a top scorer in the decaf area, and Folgers Decaf Medium Roast came in third, behind Millstone decaf.

If you want to get more buzz for your money, Consumer Reports recommends that you choose a coffee that tastes fine black, so that you're not shelling out for cream and sweeteners. Choose a good coffeemaker to avoid a weak or bitter brew (a top Michael Graves model costs just $40, says CR) and consider grinding your own for freshest flavor. (CR recommends the Mr. Coffee IDS77, about $20.)

The good news for penny pinchers? CR notes that buying one of these top-ranked coffees could save you $25 to $70 per year over pricier brands - even if you just drink one six-ounce cup per day. When it comes to coffee, money doesn't necessarily get you a better cuppa joe. And that must be a bitter mouthful for the folks at Starbucks to swallow.

Kinds of Coffee Beans

Coffea or coffee is a large variety of flowering plants with over 90 species. They are shrubs belonging to the Rubiaceae family native to southern Asia and subtropical Africa. The coffee beverage is derived from the seeds of its fruit or coffee cherries. Coffee plant grows to a comparatively large height and is more precisely described as a tree.The coffee berries, coffee cherries or fruits usually contain two stones or beans. Coffee beans are mostly made up of endosperm that consists of 0.8 to 2.5 per centum of caffeine. Only a small percentage of coffee cherries have a single bean. This bean is called a peaberry.

Coffee beans are not literally beans. The name originates from the Arabic words gahwa and bunn; gahwa means coffee and bunn means berry. They are the seeds of the coffee plant, and almost all coffee traders call these seeds beans.

Coffee develops under the shade in its natural habitat. Coffee plants grown under the shade, do not deplete the soil's resources and lives two times longer than sun grown varieties. The quality of shade grown coffee is said to be higher than sun grown coffee. The cherries produced by the coffee tree under the shade are relatively smaller than those of commercial varieties.

Many believe that this smaller cherry contracts the flavors into the bean itself. Majority of coffee is grown on plantations with full-sun. Some coffee plantations were prepared with the use of deforestation.

The two main variety of coffee being grown today are Robusta and Arabica. Robusta comprises about 20 percent of the world's production. It is a lower grade coffee with higher caffeine content. Robusta trees are normally grown at lower elevations and easier to maintain and cultivate. This type is typically grown to attain a lower priced coffee in the market.

Arabica coffee supplies 75 to 80 percent of the world's coffee trade. It is usually referred as gourmet coffee by most people because of its superior grade, aromatic properties and desirable taste. Arabica species of coffee are grown all over the world but only a few growers passed the Specialty Coffee Association of America's standard.

Other kinds of coffee plant being grown include Coffea benghalensis, Coffea congensis, Coffea excelsa, Coffea bonnieri, Coffea gallienii, Coffea mogeneti, Coffea liberica, and Coffea stenophylla. Each species has different characteristics.

Green beans are essentially coffee beans not roasted yet. Its volatile and non-volatile compounds are said to appeal to insects and distract animals from eating the coffee fruits. These compounds also contribute to the flavor of roasted beans. Nitrogenous compounds jointly with carbohydrates are significant for the full aroma or fragrance of roasted coffee beans. The non-volatile nitrogenous compounds include trigonelline, alkaloids, protein and free amino acids.

Gourmet Coffee Beans have volcanica, costa rice, Jamaica blue mountain, and kona. Volcanica are grown at 3,000 to 7,000 feet on mountain slopes created by volcanoes and nurtured on volcanic soil. The moisture coming from the clouds and the cool climate combined gives the coffee a smooth and robust flavor.

Costa rica is among the world's largest gourmet coffees with clean, light flavor and fantastic aroma. The magnificent growing condition of this tiny Central American nation is due to the fertile volcanic soil and mild climate.

Jamaica blue mountain is considered as the Rolls-Royce of coffee. It is one of the most appreciated gourmet coffees in the world. This coffee has a strong and intense aroma, balanced acidity, and prominent fruit flavors.

Kona coffee has a rich delicious full-bodied flavor grown from the slopes of Mauna Loa Volcano in Hawaii. Plantation needs a sunny weather, rich soil and ample rainfall. This coffee has a luscious, smooth, intense fragrance and nutty flavor that made it very famous throughout the US.

Coffee Consumption Statistics in US

American Coffee Consumption Trends

In 1999 there were 108,000,000 coffee consumers in the United States spending an approximated 9.2 billion dollars in the retail sector and 8.7 billion dollars in the foodservice sector every year (SCAA 1999 Market Report). It can be inferred, therefore, that coffee drinkers spend on average $164.71 per year on coffee. The National Coffee Association found in 2000 that 54% of the adult population of the United States drinks coffee daily (NCA Coffee Drinking Trends Survey, 2000). They also reported that 18.12% of the coffee drinkers in the United States drink gourmet coffee beverages daily (NCA). In addition to the 54% who drink coffee everyday, 25% of Americans drink coffee occasionally (NCA).

American Coffee Consumption Data

The average coffee consumption per capita in the United States is around 4.4 Kg. Among coffee drinkers (i.e. not per capita) the average coffee consumption in the United States is 3.1 cups of coffee per day (NCA). Per capita men drink approximately 1.9 cups per day, whereas women drink an average of 1.4 cups of coffee a day (NCA).

Coffee's History

The history of coffee dates back more than a thousand years and is as rich as the brew itself. It is believed that coffee plants originated on the shores of the Red Sea, in the Horn of Africa. Initially, coffee beans were eaten as a food, not drunk as a hot beverage. Tribes located in East African would grind the coffee cherries (the fruit containing the pulp and seed - what we now call the coffee bean) and mix the ground pulp with animal fat making a paste. This paste was eaten by tribal warriors to gain energy for battle. Ethiopians, around the year 1000 A.D., created a coffee wine by fermenting the bean in water. Coffee was also native to the Arabian Peninsula where, in the eleventh century, it was first taken as a hot drink.

Like wine during the first century, coffee developed a mystical, religious reputation. Many believed that the stimulating properties of coffee gave a religious ecstasy to those who consumed it. This drink became shrouded in secrecy and associated with the educated people of the times usually priests and physicians. Out of this environment two stories developed to explain the origin of this gift to man.

The most common history of coffee told relates a goat herder, named Kaldi, became frisky after eating the red cherries of a wild plant. After eating the fruit he was excited to feel the effects of caffeine, of course not knowing what that was. Later, it is told, he was spotted by some monks passing by dancing with his herd. After some experimentation, the monks created a drink by boiling the coffee bean. This beverage was consumed just before all-night ceremonies to keep the monks awake.

The second story that is popular involves a Muslim dervish who was sentenced to death by his enemies. He was forced to wander in the desert to die of starvation. During this time he heard a voice telling him to eat the fruit of what was a nearby wild coffee shrub. In his delirium he tried to soften the beans in water. When this failed he simply drank the soak water out of thirst. He was immediately invigorated and believed this to be a sign from God, returning to his homeland to share his discovery.

It was during the fifteenth century that coffee was first cultivated and the Arabian province of Yemen was the most prominent source of coffee. As demand grew past the boundaries of the Near East, the exportation of coffee went through the Yemeni port of Mocha, destined for Alexandria and Constantinople. This trade was lucrative and cloaked in secrecy. It was so closely guarded that no live plants were allowed to leave the country. The restrictions proved to be no match for those Muslim pilgrims who smuggled coffee plants back home after their trips to Mecca. Soon cultivation grew in India.

As trade routes flourished, coffee began to pass through the port of Venice where shipping fleets along the Spice Route brought Arabian merchants with tea, cinnamon, and other luxuries, including coffee. Liquid consumption became the most popular method with street vendors offering the hot beverages next to their cold ones, like lemonade. As Europeans traveled and experienced coffee in Arabia they also began to return home with this new and exotic drink.

The Dutch started the first plantation-styled coffee cultivation, during the seventeenth century, in their colonies in Indonesia primarily on the islands of Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, and Bali. The French, taking a cutting from a coffee tree to Martinique, introducing the plant to the Caribbean and Latin America. Brazil became the worlds largest producer of coffee after a rare plant disease killed the coffee plants in Southeast Asia in the mid-nineteenth century.

It is interesting that today coffee is the second most traded commodity behind oil, and many of the nicknames we have for this drink, e.g. Java and Mocha come from locations that have played a prominent role in the history of our favorite beverage.

Unique way to Start Your Day

The unique what i means here is how you prefer a Coffee Mugs.If you are also a coffee lover then it is quite possible that you agree with me when I say that the taste of my coffee doubles when I sip it from my favorite coffee mug. A boring traditional style is long gone and mugs nowadays are designed in accordance with different preferences or personalities of coffee lovers.The elegant and delicate cups are nice when you have some special people visiting you.

In fact, these are the preferred vessels to serve in, in the so-called "polite society". But you must notice that I am not talking about the coffee mugs. These are appropriate for the less-formal social setting, where one is sitting with friends and having fun sipping coffee or may be during a brain storming session in office.

There are different styles and shapes in which coffee mugs are available. Metals, porcelain, plastics and glass are the materials that are normally used. The shapes of these mugs are varied and can be anything from a usual circle to a heart-shape mug.

Ways to use them

In the recent times, coffee mugs are perfect souvenir items, decoration items and novelty items. In fact, big business organizations nowadays customize them and use it as a promotional item that rolls in both fun of drinking coffee and profit for the business, together. Needless to say, for many coffee lovers, it is still a mug that holds their coffee in the morning and gives them a good start for the day every morning.

So, there are different types of mugs that are available in the market to suit the preferences of different coffee drinkers:

Porcelain mugs

These are one of the most favorite mugs among coffee drinkers since ages. There is nothing that can deny the fact that porcelain mugs are more capable of resisting the heat than metals and plastic mugs and also somehow gives a better flavor to your coffee as well. You may find macho, whimsical and pretty designs of these cups. However, one drawback is that, they can break easily. And they also don't have lid attached over the top so as to avert coffee from spilling, unlike many other coffee mugs.

So, if you are working on a computer or on papers with some important official work, you would definitely prefer mugs made from any other material that has an arrangement to prevent coffee from spilling.

Travel coffee mugs

For such people, there are travel mugs, i.e for coffee drinkers who wishes to avert accidental spills. They are made with an amalgamation of plastic and metal and have the capacity for insulation that keeps your coffee hot for a longer duration. Usually, the coffee in these mugs is sipped from the hole inside the lid so as to avoid any spills. Such hold ups are perfect when you are driving.

Puzzle mugs

The name sounds unusual. Isn't it? So are these unique mugs, example i use here is called " novelty mugs", These "novelty mugs is an Irish coffee mugs that are a beautiful and elegant way to serve any beverage, and most definitely the best way to serve traditional Irish coffee. Typically made of heavy crystal, although some more affordable varieties are available in heavy glass. They come in a variety of shapes but the most common is a tall, beer stein motif with a short, narrow ‘wine glass’ base.

The Irish coffee mug is most often used for the cousin to the ‘hot toddy’ Irish coffee. This blend of coffee and whiskey is delightful on a cold winter’s night and is a traditional Irish remedy for a cold or the flu. Strong black coffee is poured into the Irish coffee mug, a shot of strong Irish whiskey is added to the mix, and then topped with a very generous amount of thick, rich cream. In a traditional Irish coffee the cream is not whipped but many chose to substitute whipped cream for thick regular cream.

Whether you are drinking Irish coffee or any other liquid refreshment, Irish coffee mugs add pizzazz to your experience. A beautiful set will make any service more enticing and they make a great conversation piece as well.

require intuitiveness and manipulation if you want to drink from them. Confused? Well, this is what they do! These mugs have a hidden drinking method that you have to find.

Hence, they enhance the experience of sipping coffee even more, especially when it suits your preference. So, make a careful choice to add onto your coffee drinking enjoyment.

want Complex things..? go making Coffee

this is the challange for everyone " Coffee Making is a Complex Process "

Do you know that the quality of water can change the excellence and taste of your coffee a great deal? When you think about it, coffee making is a complex process. It may be right up there in complexity with preparing a four-course gourmet dinner. Numerous individuals on the other hand will simply opt for a spoon of instant coffee powder dumped into in a large mug of hot water. That is why it is very important - if you want your coffee fit for a gourmet - to make certain that you have good quality water for your coffee.Making a Perfect Cup of Coffee
It's easier than you think after a gourmet meal to make a perfect gourmet cup of coffee. Here are a few important tips you'll need to enjoy unmatched taste and pleasure.

You have found a certain brand of coffee bean, they should only be ground shortly before you're about to brew your favorite coffee. It's paramount that you choose the most exclusive beans. This is thee most important consideration when beginning to brew a perfect cup of coffee.

Numerous people have the strange custom of coffee making by grinding the entire pack of beans, then keeping the coffee in an airtight container. This does certainly save time. It will also bring your cup of coffee sooner. Nonetheless, it will kill the taste and flavor in no time. It is a fact that coffee will lose its flavor very quickly at the same time it is ground. This will also attract more moisture. One of the best ways to sabotage the coffee's taste is to let it get damp. That is why it is imperative that you store you beans at room temperature, only in vacuum containers, and in dry places. It goes without saying then that you should grind it only when you need it.

It is suggested by the experts that if you can't use your beans within two weeks that you freeze them. Frozen coffee will store for more than thirty days if you protect it in several layers of plastic, in an airtight container (air removed). Never re-freeze your coffee beans however. You can grind them while there frozen because frozen beans work in the coffee makers just fine.

The amount of coffee you would use to make a cup of coffee is always the same - 4 even teaspoons of newly ground coffee for each 6 ounces of cold water. It is the attributes of the bean, and never the quantity which yields your wonderful mug of coffee weak or strong. So, when you go out to purchase your bean - buy the best kind of coffee bean.

If you're the kind of host that makes their coffee in a drip coffee maker, it is a good idea to always take out the paper filter system and replaced it with a gold tone coffee filter. This will improve your flavor experience. The gold tone filters give you flawless taste and aroma. And as always, for best drinking pleasure ensure that you drink your coffee within 20 minutes of when you prepared the drink.

The Magic of Coffee

there's a magic in coffee, how Coffee is Made?! i'm surely say "Indeed coffee is magic". The process to make your favorite morning beverage is both complex and tedious. Coffee is consumed worldwide second only to tea. Some places call it a national drink, while others call it an art form. Join me in the journey from tree to cup.The name itself, coffee, originates from the Kaffa region of Ethiopia but there are about 70 species of Coffea. Almost all of the coffee produced in the world comes from only two species. Arabian coffee, called "coffea arabica" and coffee robusta, called "coffea canephora". The best coffees are grown at higher altitudes, in warmer climates on arabica bushes that can reach 20 feet tall but are trimmed to approximately 13 feet tall. They bear a beautiful white flower with a jasmine-like scent.

At 6 months old, the seedlings are planted in fertilized fields. They are constantly tended to with constant weeding and applying fungicides to ward off coffee rust and insecticides to ward off coffee weevil. They will begin flowering at approximately 2 -3 years and produce fruit for as many as 30 years. The trees produce the best fruit if grown in the shadow of taller trees. These taller trees also provide a safe haven for many North American birds wintering in warmer climates.

After the bush flowers, the fruit grows. This fruit is a cherry. The fruit can be manually picked, as it has for centuries, or harvested using machines to shake the fruit from the trees. The coffee beans are inside the cherry and the fruit has to be taken off to avoid spoiling the beans by fermenting.

The centuries-old method of harvesting the beans is dry processing and the beans are laid out in the sun to dry for two weeks. They have to be turned often and spread out to ensure that drying is even.

The more modern method is wet processing and begins as soon as the beans are harvested. The beans go through cycles of washing and then fermentation which allow the softened pulp to rinse off easier and does not damage the beans as much as dry processing. In this method, the beans also have to be laid out to dry or put through a mechanized dryer.

After the processing is complete, the beans are sorted, discarding the beans that are damaged or spoiled. This also ensures that there are no twigs or leaves mixed in with the beans.

The most important step is the final one of roasting. During roasting, the waxy coating, the chaff, falls off and is thrown away when the bean splits. In order to get to the perfect roast, time and temperature is critical. The intent in the roasting process is obtaining a certain roast, either mild, medium or dark roast. To have their flavor and fullness released, the longer the beans are roasted. The bolder tastes are achieved by roasting longer. This explains why the milder blends have lighter beans.

Why Choose a Single Serve Machine?

Coffee drinkers from all walks of life choose specific coffee makers for various reasons. The one machine that is easy to love is the 1 cup coffee maker. There are several reasons this particular machine has become so popular. Whether you are a serious coffee drinker or enjoy an occasional cup, there is no doubt you will love them.The Pros of Owning a Single Serve Coffee Maker

The biggest advantage of these little machines is that every cup will be its freshest. There is no more worry of having a stale cup from a pot that has been sitting around for hours. If you get the drip coffee maker, you have more control over the types of beans you use and the amount of coffee you want to brew.

Another advantage is the convenience. Most of these appliances take up very little space. You can fit them in a small area at home or at work. If you purchase the type that uses coffee pods, you have much less clean-up and no worries about grinding or measuring your own beans. You use one coffee pod per cup then toss it.

It is nice being able to brew a single serve cup and not waste an entire pot because you are the only one drinking it.

The Cons of 1 Cup Coffee Makers

The only disadvantage to having these types of makers is that the ones that use coffee pods require the use of the manufacturers brand coffee pods. This can be a hassle if those specific pods are not readily available in your local supermarket. Fortunately, many manufacturers have made the machines compatible with standard pods which means more variety for the user.

Besides that drawback, there isn't much reason to not own a 1 cup coffee maker. If you feel like your large version will go to waste, don't worry. Drag it out when you have company over. A single serve coffee maker would take awhile to use if you have several people over. I would also consider whether you would prefer drip brew or use coffee pods. I prefer to grind my own beans so a drip brew maker would work best.

Whichever type you choose, you will definitely enjoy a great cup of java!