For Whom The Pot Perks

Ah, Tuesday... back to work after another long, wonderful weekend! Fortunately for me, I'm always tuned-in to news and current events, so it never takes me too long to catch-up. In the little spare time I had, I was busy with a story I'm working on for Northeast Public Radio. Like everybody else, I have a vice or two, and one of them is coffee. I confess I've been drinking the stuff since I was around 10 years old! Maybe earlier than that ;)

I never liked the designer coffees or the Starbucks kind. Not a fan of DeCaf or Instant. i did go through a period when I wasn't drinking coffee: I tried Postum and also Roasted Dandelion Root. I decided to stick with kava!

THE HISTORY OF COFFEE

The coffee tree is native to Ethiopia. From there it spread throughout the Middle East. Until the 17th century all the coffee of commerce came from Arabia. Slowly, the efforts of Dutch merchants spread cultivation to the East Indies. Coffee cultivation began in the Americas in the early 1700s.

Most of the coffee trees of the Western Hemisphere are said to be descended from a single plant. It was carried from a botanical garden in France to the island of Martinique in the West Indies by Capt. Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu, a young military officer. He kept the tree alive during an arduous voyage by sharing with it his limited ration of drinking water.

Coffee cultivation spread quickly through the West Indies in the next few years. Coffee was first grown in Brazil in 1729... - Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995 Compton's NewMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved

I'm a percolator person. It's so simple... put the grinds in the basket, add cold water, apply heat, when it starts to perk turn down the heat to just below medium, let it go 5 minutes, and VOILA! I add cream and sugar to my cup, and I have noticed changes in the taste of coffees over the last ten to twelve years. I stopped buying Chock Full O'Nuts around 2002 when the taste changed. Around 2007 Folgers changed something: the perked brew tasted more like hot water than coffee. The only brand I currently buy is Maxwell House. I hope they don't change anything in the way they prepare their product!

I always have 2 cups at breakfast. Maybe a cup mid-morning at work, which I take black. Somtimes (but not always) I brew another pot around 6pm, after dinner. It depends on how late I plan to stay up and how much work I have to do.

The debate as to whether coffee is good for people or not has gone on for years. My mom and dad were avid coffee drinkers: 6 to 8 cups a day each, and they both lived thru their 80s.

How to Brew Coffee

Several experts offer hints for making consistently good coffee:
1. Make sure the coffeepot is thoroughly clean.
2. Use fresh coffee (buy no more than a week's supply at a time) and freshly drawn cold water.
3. Use the full capacity of the coffee maker; be sure it is at least three-fourths full.
4. Measure accurately. It is best to use readily available coffee measurers, one measure or slightly more per cup.
5. Find the exact timing that produces the best results in a given coffee maker.
6. Never allow coffee to boil; boiling induces a bitter taste.
7. Serve as soon as possible after brewing.
8. Observe any special instructions provided by the manufacturer of the coffee maker.

Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995 Compton's NewMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Caffeine belongs to a group of drugs called xanthines. All are stimulants of the central nervous system. An ordinary cup of coffee contains about 150 milligrams of caffeine roughly the amount that physicians regard as a "therapeutic dose."

Within the human body, the action of caffeine is physical, not psychological. The drug relieves tiredness, promotes the speed and clarity of thought, and improves idea association. To a limited degree, it shortens reaction time and improves efficiency in well-learned motor tasks, such as typing.

Next time you sit down to enjoy a cup of coffee, think of me!

Tags: coffee, coffee