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Monday, March 30, 2009

Is Coffee the Fruit of the Devil

The original history of drinking coffee is difficult to verify. Legend has it that a sheepherder was the first to realize the effects of coffee while tending his sheep.

His sheep started to become very active after eating a mysterious berry from a plant. The sheephearder tried the berry himself and had the same results.

There is a rumor that a religious monk told the sheephearder not to eat the berry as it was fruit from the devil. However, there is also a rumor that monks did eat the berry to help them stay awake and pray.

Another legend is that long ago, there was an Arabian man who was banished to the desert. He boiled and ate an unknown plant.

He could survive in the harsh desert just by eating the plant. Residents of a town near the desert believed that the mans survival was a message from the gods.

The plant was then named Mocha, after that town. It is said that the coffee plant was originally found only in Ethiopia.

Ethiopian warriors used it as food while they went on raids. Coffee migrated to Arabia, and the Arabians began to market coffee in the middle east.

The first to actually drink coffee as we know it today were the Turks. They added spices such as clove and cinnamon to create a sweeter taste.

Soon after, coffee houses started to pop up all over Europe as the beverage gained popularity.

Today, people all over the world enjoy drinking coffee throughout the day. There are many brands and flavors of coffee for everyone to enjoy, so try some?

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/coffee-articles

Types of Coffee

All coffee varieties can be classified into one of two broad types. These varieties are known as ‘Coffee Robusta’ and ‘Coffee Arabica’. Arabica varieties of coffee are generally considered to be more flavourful. Well-known Arabica coffees include, but are not limited to:


Colombian Milds — these varieties include coffees from Colombia, Kenya, and Tanzania
, and are known as washed Arabica


Costa Rican Tarrazu — this variety is found in the highlands outside of San José


Ethiopian Harrar — the variety comes from the region of Harar, Ethiopia


Ethiopian Yirgacheffe — this variety comes from the Yirgachefe district in the Gedeo Zone of the Ethiopia.


Guatemala Huehuetenango — this variety is grown at over 5000 feet in the northern region, one of the most remote growing regions in Guatemala


Hawaiian Kona — this variety is grown on the slopes of Hualalai in the Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii


Jamaican Blue Mountain — this variety come from the Blue Mountain region of Jamaica


Java — this variety comes from the island of Java, in Indonesia


Kenyan — this variety is known to have a bright, "acidic" flavour


Mocha — this variety is Yemeni coffee that was originally traded through the port of Mocha


Sumatra Mandheling and Sumatra Lintong — these varieties come from North Sumatra, Indonesia


Sulawesi Toraja Kalossi — this variety is grown at high altitudes on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia


Tanzania Peaberry — this variety is grown on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania


All of the aforementioned coffees are considered to be some of the best tasting and finest coffee varieties in the world today. However, you are unlikely to find many of these varieties at your local supermarket or coffee shop. This is where Witham’s Coffee comes into the picture. Witham’s Coffee is widely regarded as one of the premier licensed coffee sellers. To find out more about how to get access to some of the best coffees in the world, visit http://withams.com.au/.coffee sellers. To find out more about how to get access to some of the best coffees in the world, visit
withams.com.au

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/coffee-articles

Coffee Benefits to Your Health

What was bad news is now good news for coffee lovers. Earlier findings showed that coffee might raise the risk of major diseases and linked to everything from headaches to cancer. However new research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, of more than 100,000 coffee lovers, including 84,000 women showed that women who drank two or three cups of coffee a day were 25 percent less likely to die of heart disease (the number one killer for women). Coffee drinkers were also found 18 percent less likely to die from something other than cancer or heart disease.

Latest research shows that the coffee habit may actually help you live longer, reduce your risk of premature death, protects you from other ailments. According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people over 65 who drank four or more cups of coffee a day had a 53 percent lower risk of heart disease than non-coffee-drinkers. It may also lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, protect your brain against Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, gallstones and fight against liver and colon cancer by filtering out pollutants and keeping your digestive system running smoothly.

Why a sudden findings change? Simply because most early studies focused on caffeine, and some – such as those studies that show female coffee-drinkers had a higher risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) than non-drinkers – failed to account for other risk factors, such as smoking, diet or alcohol consumption. Latest research is looking beyond caffeine to evaluate other substances in coffee, including antioxidants and other substances that provide health benefits to help protect cells in the body against damage.

A recent study by Joe A. Vinson, a chemistry professor at the University of Scranton -Pennsylvania, it was found that Antioxidants in a cup of coffee, regardless of whether or not your coffee is caffeinated, are quantitatively superior source of antioxidants to those in a typical serving of grapes, dates, blueberries, raspberries, and oranges. Coffee may be the primary source of antioxidants as we simply consume more coffee than any other source of antioxidants.

“Because Americans drink so much coffee, they get more of their antioxidants from coffee than from any other dietary source. Nothing else comes close,” says Joe Vinson.

They concluded that the average adult consumes 1,299 mg antioxidants daily from coffee. The closest second largest source was tea at 294 mg. The next highest source was bananas at 76 mg, dry beans at 72 mg and corn at 48 mg, the typical adult American.

It does not mean that one should stop eating fruits and vegetable which, of course, have a much higher nutritional value; higher content of vitamins, minerals and fiber. Sadly to say that the Americans do not eat enough fruits and vegetables but rather in the average they drink 1.64 cups of coffee daily coffee is the largest source of antioxidants according to the Agriculture Department.

Overall, the decision to consume coffee should be based on your personal health profile. Drink accordingly. Also, keep in mind that, like any other herb or other substance you might consume, dosage is very important. Few people will be especially bothered by one or two cups of coffee, however, on the negative sides, coffee can cause a number of problems for susceptible individuals, particularly for those gulping down in large doses per day.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/coffee-articles