Posts Tagged ‘coffee’

take a sip

Now, to drink or not to drink coffee? That is the question … Something has been said and has to be said on both sides. Coffee has been alternatively hell and heaven, source of all the diseases or a universal panacea. The truth lies somewhere between the two. During recent decades, the concern about health and food has increased so much that many publications can be found about coffee in this respect. Further studies in Pharmacology are part of the new history of coffee, as the conclusions will encourage or discourage coffee drinking. Caffeine is certainly the best known of all the compounds extracted from the beverage. The stimulating effect had already been studied at the beginning of the Nineteenth century and is still under examination. Caffeine certainly has a positive effect on attention, it reduces the sensation of tiredness, consequently gives a lighter sleep. There is also a question of habit and every individual has to adapt his consumption to his own reactions.

On the other hand, coffee contains phenolic acids, known to have anticarcinogenic properties. Fruit and coffee (mainly with caffeic acid) are the major sources of phenolic acids in the diet. Besides this type of compound, coffee contains other good antioxidants. Therefore, like other beverages, it shows a complex mixture of oxidant and antioxidant activities. Some studies have shown that not only is coffee not carcinogenic in vivo but that it could even protect against colon and breast cancers. Possible mechanisms include the effects of antioxidants in blocking mutations and carcinogen metabolites. Other compounds, the diterpenes cafestol and kahweol, have been shown to increase cholesterol levels, this effect being drastically reduced by drinking filtered coffee. Anyway, they have also been recognized as chemoprotective agents. In conclusion, a reasonable consumption of coffee is certainly harmless for most people.

SOURCE : Coffee Flavor Chemistry, Ivon Flament

roasted coffee beans

To keep their monopoly, the Yemeni rulers ordered that the seeds should be roasted or steamed before being exported. The sources vary concerning the smuggling of raw seeds or plants but agree that the Dutch were at the origin of cultivation of coffee outside Arabia. The town of Mokha (Mocha) on the Red Sea was a flourishing town even before the coffee trade was introduced, because of all the boats and caravans meeting there for trade in incense, myrrh, mother of pearl, etc. It became even more prosperous after the introduction of coffee into European countries, being the center of the new trade. This golden age came to an end near the middle of the Eighteenth century when the quantities of coffee grown in other countries such as Indonesia, West Indies, etc., were important enough to lower the price.

The first largely cultivated species was Coffea arabica which grows well on hilly, well-watered and drained slopes. Nowadays, the ‘robust’ Coflea canephora, var. robusta which has fewer needs and different characteristics, is mainly produced in Africa, and hybrids are also cultivated. Great care has to be taken concerning all the steps from the plant to the cup: collecting, pulping, drying, freeing from the husk, storage, roasting and further storage. Small scale operations may not be successful as complete control of cultivation and production is essential to high quality. Bad storage and bad drying of the berries may be at the origin of ‘stinking’ green beans, as observed in Yemen , even though some of the very primitively treated crops will certainly not reach the international trade.

SOURCE : Coffee Flavor Chemistry, Ivon Flament