Nourishments—

Coffee: Drink Of The Devil Or Elixer Of The Saints?

By Nancy K. Crevier

Café au lait, cappuccino, espresso, macchiato, frappaccino, café mocha, regular, light or light and sweet: whatever you name it, however you drink it, freshly ground and carefully brewed, the coffee bean yields a tasty brew that is enjoyed by millions of people around the world. Over 400 billion cups of coffee are consumed every year from beans harvested on plantations from Africa to South America to the Hawaiian Islands.

Indigenous to Ethiopia, coffee plants made their way to Arabian countries in the early 1100s, and were later smuggled to India and the Caribbean Islands as valuable cargo. Two species of coffee exist, Arabica and Robusta.

Connoisseurs of the beverage prefer the smoother qualities of coffee varieties grown from the Arabica bean over the more bitter and more highly caffeinated Robusta varieties. Many commercial blenders use higher amounts of the Robusta beans to offset costs, and nearly all instant coffees are made from the Robusta beans.

Where the bean is grown will affect the taste and caffeine content of the coffee. Arabica varieties grown  include the Colombians, Ethiopian Harrar, Hawaiian Kona, Jamaican Blue Mountain and Java, all of which may be blended with other varieties to develop a signature flavor for a particular coffee shop or clientele.

The benefits and detrimental qualities of coffee have been argued through the ages. Once declared the “drink of the devil,” coffee consumption among Europeans gained in popularity in the 1600s once the religiously derided drink received the blessing of Pope Vincent III. (Monks had discovered the stimulating effects of  the coffee bean, which contains the caffeine, centuries earlier, and had used it to help them stay awake through long prayer sessions.)

European coffee houses popularized the brew, American revolutionaries declared it the official drink of our country, and over the centuries it has become the stimulant of choice to revive tired students, to jump-start exhausted parents, to clear the brains of office workers, and to revitalize the overworked laborer.

On the plus side, caffeine increases the effectiveness of pain killers, reduces the occurrence of gallstones in men, reduces the incidence of diabetes, liver cirrhosis, and colon and bladder cancers, as well as the incidences of heart disease. It can stimulate the mind and increase short term memory recall.

Most recently, coffee has been found to be a valuable resource of antioxidants. Coffee also creates a positive environment for social gatherings, as the recent revival in coffee houses supports. Many of these benefits, however, hinge on the consumption of at least four cups of coffee a day.

That may be too much for sensitive drinkers, who can find themselves in the throes of caffeine psychosis. Caffeine psychosis is a syndrome in which heart palpitations, anxiety attacks, focusing difficulties, confusion, delusions and depression, as well as feelings of intense euphoria afflict a person. Usually, a simple decrease in caffeine consumption provides relief, but many people suffer for years before the simple diagnosis is made.

The “buzz” is, however, that the average consumer reaps the beneficial qualities of coffee without the negative side effects.  With holidays behind us and a long, cold winter still to face, what could be better than taking the time to renew old friendships over a hot cup of java?

It’s time to head to the coffee shop.

The Perfect Cup

4 tb freshly ground coffee beans (how finely they are ground will affect he strength of the finished cup)

12 oz filtered water (not tap or distilled water)

While the automatic coffee maker brews an adequate cup of coffee, the French press is professed by true coffee lovers to deliver the ideal cup of coffee.

The coffee should be brewed 4 to 5 minutes. Longer brewing imparts a bitter flavor. Less time does not allow the best flavor to be extracted from the grinds.

If using an electric coffee maker, transfer the coffee to an insulated pitcher after 20 minutes to avoid a burned taste. Coffee brewed in a French press should also be transferred to an insulated pitcher, as the press loses heat rapidly once the brewing time is over.

Yield: 2 cups of delicious coffee.