Aloha kakahiaka! (Good
morning in Hawai’ian) Here in Ruidoso,
New Mexico we just say “howdy.” Happy
Tuesday morning and greetings to all you coffee fiends. That’s fiends not friends. I know how you really feel about coffee! The purpose of this blog is to unite coffee
lovers, especially lovers of Kona coffee, and perhaps learn a little about
coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time. Even
though Hawaii is the only coffee-producing state in the US, Americans are the
Number One consumers in the global coffee market. Americans buy more coffee than anyone else
but Norway is Number One in amount of coffee consumed per person.
Studies have determined that both coffee and tea
have health benefits. Providing you don’t load your coffee – or tea – with sugar
and cream, either can be a good source of certain nutrients and antioxidants
linked to disease prevention.
Let’s start with tea. Fresh tea leaves are an incredibly rich source of phytochemicals called catechins, which have potent antioxidant properties. In fact, tea is one of the highest sources of antioxidants in the North American diet. When it comes to health, most of the research has focused on green tea suggesting the beverage may help lower the risk of certain cancers (breast, ovarian) and heart disease. Regular black tea drinkers have also been found to have a lower risk of developing heart disease.
The strongest evidence for coffee’s health benefits center around diabetes. Drinking coffee – at least three cups per day – has been linked to a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes in a number of studies. Coffee – caffeinated and decaffeinated – contains an antioxidant called chlorogenic acid, which has been shown to dampen inflammation in the body, reduce glucose (sugar) absorption and improve how the body uses insulin, the hormone that lowers blood glucose. Coffee also contains magnesium, a mineral linked to blood sugar regulation.
There is a downside with coffee for some people: its high caffeine content. (Tea contains much less caffeine than coffee.) Drinking too much coffee can result in a high intake of caffeine which can disrupt sleep and rob calcium from bones (if you consume too little calcium from foods). And some studies suggest that high intakes of caffeine during pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage.
Women of childbearing age should limit caffeine intake to 300 milligrams per day. Other healthy adults can safely consume 400 milligrams daily – almost 2.5 cups of coffee worth. (One eight ounce cup of regular coffee (filter drip) contains roughly 180 milligrams of caffeine.) One eight ounce cup of black tea has 43 milligrams of caffeine and green tea contains 30 milligrams.
Coffee – both regular a decaf – can also trigger heartburn if you have reflux (GERD).
So what’s better for you – coffee or tea? That really depends on you. If you are not sensitive to caffeine and don’t suffer heartburn, both coffee and tea are considered healthy especially if you skip the sugar.
Let’s start with tea. Fresh tea leaves are an incredibly rich source of phytochemicals called catechins, which have potent antioxidant properties. In fact, tea is one of the highest sources of antioxidants in the North American diet. When it comes to health, most of the research has focused on green tea suggesting the beverage may help lower the risk of certain cancers (breast, ovarian) and heart disease. Regular black tea drinkers have also been found to have a lower risk of developing heart disease.
The strongest evidence for coffee’s health benefits center around diabetes. Drinking coffee – at least three cups per day – has been linked to a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes in a number of studies. Coffee – caffeinated and decaffeinated – contains an antioxidant called chlorogenic acid, which has been shown to dampen inflammation in the body, reduce glucose (sugar) absorption and improve how the body uses insulin, the hormone that lowers blood glucose. Coffee also contains magnesium, a mineral linked to blood sugar regulation.
There is a downside with coffee for some people: its high caffeine content. (Tea contains much less caffeine than coffee.) Drinking too much coffee can result in a high intake of caffeine which can disrupt sleep and rob calcium from bones (if you consume too little calcium from foods). And some studies suggest that high intakes of caffeine during pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage.
Women of childbearing age should limit caffeine intake to 300 milligrams per day. Other healthy adults can safely consume 400 milligrams daily – almost 2.5 cups of coffee worth. (One eight ounce cup of regular coffee (filter drip) contains roughly 180 milligrams of caffeine.) One eight ounce cup of black tea has 43 milligrams of caffeine and green tea contains 30 milligrams.
Coffee – both regular a decaf – can also trigger heartburn if you have reflux (GERD).
So what’s better for you – coffee or tea? That really depends on you. If you are not sensitive to caffeine and don’t suffer heartburn, both coffee and tea are considered healthy especially if you skip the sugar.
The Kona Cowboy Coffee Company is
planning to introduce an Oolong tea this summer, honoring the Chinese workers
who helped to build the West in the gold fields and railroads.
Do you want FREE coffee? The
first member of the Kona Coffee Fiends fb group who comes to the Kona Cowboy
Coffee Company’s Cowboy Coffee Saloon at upcoming trade shows will get a free,
that’s FREE bag of CAFÉ PINON de Nuevo Mexico…our newest fusion coffee made
with a proprietary blend of central American coffees and real New Mexico pinon
nuts!
The purpose of
this blog is to unite Kona coffee lovers and perhaps learn a little about
coffee and all the benefits of coffee at the same time. Join up, become a member, comment and have
fun! You can find the Kona Coffee Fiends
group on Facebook and we’d appreciate it if Facebook users would “LIKE” the
Kona Cowboy Coffee Company page at www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-Cowboy-Coffee-Company/222070817858553.
Just copy and paste to your browser.
You can also find us on Twitter at twitter.com/jackshuster. And on the web at www.KonaCowboyCoffee.com.
You know you’re a coffee fiend
when you don't need a hammer to pound nails.
So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!
So enjoy your coffee, make it Kona, and remember, Kona is the home of the Hawaiian cowboy…and we had cowboys in Kona before there were cowboys in Texas!
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