All About Coffee | Know Your Beverage Coffee (Coffea)

Biedermeier coffee – a lovely and sweet coffee

About Coffee – Coffee lovers around the world reaching for their favourite morning brew probably don’t know much about their daily cup of brew.

What really defines their cup is the type of coffee bean used, how it is roasted, the amount of grind, and how it is brewed.

Coffee traces its origin to a genus of plants known as Coffea. Within the genus, there are over 500 genera and 6,000 species of tropical trees and shrubs.

All commercially grown coffee is from a region of the world called the Coffee Belt. The trees grow best in rich soil, with mild temperatures, frequent rain and shaded sun.

The beans you brew are actually processed & roasted seeds from a fruit, which is called a coffee cherry from some of these coffee shrubs & trees.

Can you believe this cup of coffee in your hand is an intricate mixture of more than a thousand chemicals?

Ever wondered where coffee came from, where these little beans got their start? Get ready to be taken on a journey through time and across continents.

In the very beginning, coffee came from the ancient coffee forests on the Ethiopian plateau in a place called Kefa (Kaffa). The location probably inspired the derived name Coffee from its regional translations and adaptations.

Kaldi and his dancing goats

As the story goes, it starts with the Ethiopian goat herder Kaldi and his goats in 700 AD. Kaldi found his goats acting quite strange.

Kaldi noticed that after eating the berries from a certain tree, his goats became so energetic that they danced and did not want to sleep at night.

He discovered that they were eating red berries and concluded that this fruit was the cause of this odd behaviour.

Kaldi then reported his findings to the Abbot of the local monastery, who made a drink with the berries and found that it kept him alert through the long hours of evening prayer.

The abbot shared his discovery with the other monks at the monastery, and knowledge of the energising red berries began to spread.

Coffee Travels: As the word moved eastwards, the coffee reached the Arabian peninsula and began a journey that would bring these beans across the globe.

• Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted coffee beans. Coffee beans grow in around 80 countries in South and Central America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia, and people all over the world consume the beverage.
• People mix coffee grounds with water, honey, or coconut oil to create a skin scrub that they can use all over the body. It makes a great exfoliation scrub.
• Coffee has a strong colour, and coffee grounds can dye natural fabrics to different shades of tan and brown.
• Plants need nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur to grow. Coffee grounds can conserve the nitrogen content of the soil, which may benefit plant growth.
• Coffee contains diterpenes, which are toxic to insects. This makes coffee grounds a suitable insect repellent for a person’s garden.
• Fleas also do not like coffee grounds. Because of this, a person might be able to try rubbing coffee grounds into their pet’s fur if they have fleas.
• The caffeine in carbonized coffee grounds can eliminate odours by absorbing hydrogen sulfide molecules from the air.
• Coffee painting is done simply by adding coffee (usually instant) to water and varying the strength to get different tones. Coffee painting is known across the world to be a perfect medium for therapeutic arts.
• Rinsing your hair with black coffee can strengthen your hair, help it to grow quicker, and leave it looking it bright and shiny.
• Coffee is used to give you an extra boost of energy before you work out.
• Black coffee is high in polyphenol, an antioxidant that can help fight against plaque-causing bacteria and prevent cavities.

Good coffee is flavoursome and aromatic with a balance of sweetness and acidity. The flavour and aroma range from chocolate and nut to fruity and floral.

Good coffee has a natural sweetness that is complemented by refreshing acidity. Bitterness is always present in coffee, but it never dominates the cup.

The taste is also dependent on how the coffee beans are roasted and that can change the flavour & taste profusely. Roasts can add and take away several characteristics of the coffee taste, making it even more difficult to explain.

You might experience your coffee taste nutty, fruity, or even a little like chocolate. Some coffees will have an earthy flavour, while others may even taste burned.

A general guideline is called the “Golden Ratio” – one to two tablespoons of ground coffee for every six ounces of water. This can be adjusted to suit individual taste preferences.

In fact, I personally use 26mg of ground coffee for 250ml of water and my cup made in a Moka pot comes out perfectly for me.

Coffee begins to lose freshness almost immediately after roasting. So I recommend buying smaller batches of freshly roasted coffee more frequently – enough for one or two weeks.

Exposure to air & moisture is bad for your pre-ground coffee beans. If you keep your beans in an accessible and/or attractive container, it may be a good idea to divide your coffee between daily use & airtight storage.

If you buy whole beans, you can use your coffee grinder to grind the amount you need immediately before brewing your coffee.

• To preserve your beans’ fresh roasted flavour for as long as possible, store them in an opaque, air-tight container at room temperature.
• Coffee beans can be beautiful, but avoid clear canisters which will allow light to compromise the taste of your coffee.
• Keep your beans in a dark and cool location.

You will find it in the coffee aisle in an Indian grocery store and most international grocery stores. To buy your coffee grounds online, simply click here.

The following are the Health Benefits of Coffee (Coffea) or Coffee

• Health Benefits of Coffee for Boosting Energy Levels – Coffee contains caffeine, a central nervous system stimulant known for its ability to fight fatigue and increase energy levels.
• Health Benefits of Coffee as an Antidiabetic Agent – Some research suggests that consuming coffee regularly could be associated with a decreased risk of developing type 2 diabetes over the long term. Coffee may help your body process glucose (or sugar) better.
• Health Benefits of Coffee for Brain Health – Coffee may help protect against certain neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
• Health Benefits of Coffee in Weight Management – Some studies have concluded that higher coffee consumption could be associated with decreased body fat, especially in men
• Health Benefits of Coffee as an Antidepression Agent – Several studies have found that coffee could be linked to a lower risk of depression.
• Health Benefits of Coffee for Liver Conditions – It has been concluded that drinking more than two cups of coffee per day was linked to lower rates of liver scarring and liver cancer in people with liver disease.
• Health Benefits of Coffee for Heart – Some research shows that drinking coffee could be linked to a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, and heart failure.
• Health Benefits of Coffee for Longevity – Coffee could be associated with a lower risk of death, regardless of other factors, like age, weight status, or alcohol consumption.
• Benefits of Coffee Enhance Athletic Performance – Coffee could improve physical performance and endurance when consumed before exercising.
• Health Benefits of Coffee as an Antioxidant – Coffee beans contain polyphenols, which are a type of antioxidant. Antioxidants can help protect the body against free radical damage.

• Some studies have suggested that women who drink a lot of coffee may have a higher risk of bone fractures.
• It may cause irritability and insomnia in nursing infants if a person consumes coffee during lactation.
• There is a possibility of adverse interactions with particular, medications such as certain psychiatric drugs, thyroid medications, heartburn drugs, and antibiotics with excessive coffee consumption.
• Coffee stimulates the adrenal glands, which means that every time you drink coffee (yes even decaf coffee), you’re activating the body’s fight-or-flight response, releasing adrenaline and raising your cortisol levels.
• Consequently, instead of just releasing adrenaline so the body can react to a true natural stressor (a workout, escaping a fire), the adrenals are forced to release adrenaline at a non-natural time, simply in response to your coffee intake. With repetitive stress, the adrenal glands start to burn out from overuse, which can lead to a host of problems.