Saturday, December 10, 2011

College-Style

College-Style

Travel Mugs of the World Unite!

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 09:39 AM PST

By Megan of George Brown College. Follow me on Twitter @meggles_07.

**Writer’s note: I would just like to thank my best friend/almost-brother Ben for inspiring this article. His love of coffee and the giant mug from which he drinks it was the starting point for this.**

Ben with all his coffee!!

It’s the second most traded world commodity after oil. When it is harvested, it starts out as a bright red berry, which is then stripped down until all that’s left is a small green bean. The bean is then roasted to whichever darkness fits your liking. Have you guessed that we are talking about yet? It’s the gods’s own nectar: coffee!

A Short History of Coffee

Now if you are a coffee-obsessed college student like myself, you’ve got to study up on these coffee facts. They are about as important as your upcoming Chemistry final…

  • The first coffeehouse opened in Istanbul in 1554.
  • The history of coffee goes back at least as far as the thirteenth century.
  • The earliest credible evidence we have of people drinking coffee was in the middle of the fifteenth century in the Sufi monasteries of Yemen.
  • Coffee eventually coffee spread from the Middle East to Italy, Finland and the rest of Europe. Finally, it came across the ocean to Indonesia and then to the Americas.

That explains a lot, but why do I need my cup of java? It all started with Dancing Goats. Legend has it that Ethiopian shepherds first noticed the effects of caffeine when they saw their goats appearing frisky and “dancing” after they had consumed coffee berries. After that, coffee started to be eaten as a form of edible energy. African tribes are credited for mixing coffee berries with fat to create a supplement that was eaten to regain energy.

Photo Credit

Where Does Coffee Come From?

Wait, my coffee doesn’t come from the grocery store? No silly! All coffee in the world is grown in “The Bean Belt,” an area stretching from The Tropics of Cancer to The Tropics of Capricorn. To help you picture what kind of climate it takes to grow coffee, the only state in the United States that can grow coffee is Hawaii. Coffee grows on trees, which can grow up to 30 feet tall, but are cultivated to grow only to 10 feet so that they can be harvested easily.

What’s in My Cup O’ Joe?

I drink coffee. I drink espresso. Actually, espresso is not a particular type of roast, bean or blend. The only difference between a Latte, Mocha, Cappuccino, Espresso, Americano or Breve is the way in which your delicious coffee is prepared. Feeling some American pride? Drink an Americano. The term was coined by American GIs stationed in Italy during WWII who would order their Espresso with water to dilute the strong flavor.

Latte:                       Espresso, Tons of Milk, Foam

Mocha:                   Espresso, Chocolate Syrup, Milk, Whipped Cream

Cappuccino:          Espresso, Milk, Tons of Foam

Breve:                      Espresso, Half & Half, Foam

Espresso:               Espresso (It’s just that good)

Photo Credit

This is my life-long dream: make a monkey out of coffee

How does Caffeine work?

In your brain there is something called Adenosine which is a compound consisting of Adenine combined with Ribose, one of four nucleoside units in RNA. The Adenosine in our brains only wants to hang out with certain other receptors. When the Adenosine finds another receptor, it makes your body feel tired. When Caffeine shows up to the party, however, it attaches to the same receptors that Adenosine is trying to attach to, and it can no longer attach itself. Your pituitary gland reacts to this problem by calling an emergency adrenaline meeting. This gets your body producing adrenaline which wakes you up, and, in addition, caffeine increases your Dopamine levels which help your nervous system.

Health Benefits of Coffee:

As if we need more reasons to drink coffee, here are a list of health benefits the lovely drink gives us!

  • Coffee drinkers are less likely to have Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease or dementia
  • We have fewer cases of certain cancers, heart rhythm problems and strokes
  • It’s said that the Caffeine in coffee can help you proof-read better! That will certainly help while your writing your essay at 2 a.m.!

So go forth coffee drinkers of the world. Indulge… in moderation.

Thoughts?

So, how do you enjoy your coffee? Where’s your favourite place to get it from? Comment below and let us know.

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