Just to point out that whilst all the information in this infographic is based on scientific research, I wouldn’t take it as fact. Some of it is already in question and I sure more will be in the years to come. So don’t make any life changing decisions after reading it; and if for some strange reason you’re inspired to save up a year’s worth of coffee and make a bath with it (a bit like Cleopatra’s famous milk baths) i’d love to hear from you. I’d imaging though that your skin may end up looking a not too disimilar colour to David Dickinson’s.

Coffee and Antioxidants

Some of you may remember the headlines generated from a report published by the University of Scranton (Pennsylvania, USA) in 2006, claiming that coffee was the number one source of antioxidants in the American diet. Dr Joe Vinson and his colleagues examined over 100 different food items and found that even though coffee (per serving) did not have the highest levels of antioxidants, as it was so widely consumed, it was the highest source in the average American diet.

Chlorogenic Acids

According to Emma Davies’ article in Chemisty World, the most abundant group of antioxidants in coffee are chlorogenic acids (CGAs). CGAs occur naturally in the coffee plant. They’re thought to be part of its defence mechanism, protecting it against: infection, insects and small animals; as well as acting as a screen to harmful UV radiation. In fact, CGAs are thought to perform this role in unison with caffeine. So it would be safe to presume that the higher the levels of caffeine in a plant (and therefore its beans) the higher the levels of CGAs.

Is Bad Coffee Better for us?

Given this research I’ve come up with a hypothesis that bad coffee is better for us as it has higher levels of antioxidants. What I mean by bad coffee, is coffee brewed using Robusta beans and steep for over 5 minutes. This is for two reasons:

1. Coffee grown at lower altitudes, such as Robusta varietals, on average contains higher levels of caffeine compared to coffee grown at higher altitudes. This is due to the fact that at lower altitudes there are more natural predators to defend against. The more predators the stronger a plant’s natural defences need to be i.e. higher levels of both caffeine and CGAs.
2. Davies states that CGAs give coffee much of its bitter taste. Now bitter tasting coffee usually signals one thing: over-extraction. As a perfectly-extracted or even under-extracted coffee tastes less bitter, do we assume that this coffee contains fewer CGAs? Are CGAs like caffeine and are one of the less soluble compounds found in coffee?

Acid Reflux

What would appear to support my second point is the development of the Aerobie Aeropress. When Alan Adler set out to design the Aeropress he had two main aims for his coffee maker: to make less bitter coffee and to not cause drinkers acid reflux. Through his research he found that a shorter extraction time reduced the occurrence of acid reflux. How is this link? Well, acid reflux is believed to be caused by CGAs, therefore this would suggest there is a relationship between shorter extraction times and lower levels of CGAs.

So Should we Drink Bad Coffee?

No way! This is only a theory. I’d love to hear from anyone who agrees or disagrees with it. But there are plenty of other food items with a much higher content of antioxidants, like dates, so there’s no real reason to sacrifice delicious, tasty coffee, just for the sake of our bodies.

Irish Coffee is said to have originated at Shannon International Airport. The story goes that when some American passengers disembarked from their plane on a miserable winter’s evening, sometime during the 1940s, the bartender, John Sheridan, added whiskey to their coffee to help warm them up. When asked whether the coffee was Brazilian, Sheridan replied “No its Irish Coffee”.

Irish Coffee Recipe

You will need: coffee (preferably Central American in origin), whiskey (blended rather then single estate, Irish for extra authenticity e.g. Bushmills, Jameson etc), brown sugar, double cream and a wine glass to serve it in.
 

1. Brew some coffee in a cafetiere or other steeped method. Central American coffees work best, but feel free to experiment with other origins.
2. Whilst the coffee is brewing, lightly whisk some double cream until it’s roughly twice its original volume and has started to thicken slightly. It should still be pourable.
3. Add ½ a teaspoon of brown sugar (more if you have a sweet tooth) and 25ml of whiskey to a pre-heated wine glass.
4. Then pour over approximately 150ml of coffee. The coffee should come up to around 1cm from the top of the glass (if you’re using a bigger wine glass you may need to add more whiskey and coffee. Keep it 1 part whiskey to 6 parts coffee).
5. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved.
6. Next pour over the cream and fill the glass right to the top. The aim is to get the cream to float on top of the coffee. To help do this, balance a tablespoon upside down over the glass, with the tip of the spoon resting just above the coffee. Now pour the cream over the back of the spoon so it slowly trickles into the coffee. If the cream sinks, its not been whisked enough.
7. Serve. Traditionally, you drink the coffee through the layer of cream, so you shouldn’t stir it anymore.

Happy New Year!

You can find the full survey results here.

Something I didn’t cover in the infographic was the sales volume of the two versions. When the survey was made the ESE version was outselling the Domepod version 3 to 2. I’m not sure about other retailers, but we now find the Domepod the more popular version. Currently the Domepod is outselling the ESE version 7 to 1.

2. Porlex Hand Grinders: From £29.95 – ideal for those who don’t have a grinder or moan when they go away because they can’t find a decent cup of coffee. These grinders are great: you can literally take them anywhere (I read last week of someone using one on an aeroplane – although he did get some funny looks), they grind evenly and consistently and they’re easy to clean. We’ve also just started stocking storage bags for these grinders.

3. Love Cups & Mugs: From £21.95 – ideal for that special person in your life. I don’t think I need say more.

4. Motta Tamper: £18.95 – ideal for the home barista who still uses the plastic tamper supplied free with their espresso machine. Not only does it look and feel good, it’ll make their espresso taste even better.

5. Bialetti Mukka Express: £49.95 – ideal for cappuccino lovers. This machine will make cappuccinos without the hassle and without requiring any (well much) skill. Just put it on the stove and let it do its thing.