Most of us cannot think of anything else in the morning till we have had our cup of coffee - the most popular beverage on planet earth! In fact, it is the coffee, which truly wakes us up. Ever wondered, what makes us depend on it or rather make us feel that we cannot live without that morning dose of booster? Did you ever ponder about coffee beyond that rich aroma which perks up your mood?

THE DELICIOUS HISTORY OF COFFEE

Coffee, we all know, is a beverage of Ethiopian origin. It is said that Kaldi, a goatherd, found his goats eating bright red berries from a dark-leafed shrub. Usually calm and responsible, the goats began dancing, frolicking and singing. Kaldi shared his discovery with local monks who concocted a drink by boiling the berries. After the drink, the monks realized that they had the stamina to pray for long hours. Later, a particularly curious monk, who liked the sweet aroma of a burning coffee branch, pulled the charred berries from the fire, ground them down and prepared a black beverage. This liquid was the first coffee. The traditional coffee has been transformed tremendously. Coffee has traveled far and wide and has undergone tremendous changes in methods used to unlock its flavor - or the art of brewing!`

THE BITTER TRUTH ABOUT COFFEE

The biggest drawback for coffee started with the realization that it could stimulate the senses and give a feeling of enhanced stamina for working long hours! That it surely does, but what happens later, when we want to work ceaselessly just by gulping down coffee, is a matter of concern. This is because coffee simply stimulates the central nervous system and increases the stress hormones in the blood streams, thus making a person feel unnaturally alert. Consequently induced alert state tends to subdue the body’s natural instincts and prevent it from relaxing. Thus begins a coffeeholic’s journey. At the end of which, apart from developing dark circles under the eyes, one also acquires acidity problems, irregular palpitations and more. This causes undue stress and leads to various kinds of disorders.

IS COFFEE NUTRITIONALLY RICH?

Coffee by itself is relatively nutritionally inert. One teaspoon of coffee has about two calories of energy. The rest may come from the other ingredients like sugar. In fact, most of the energy in restaurant brewed espresso comes from fats. Coffee does not contain many vitamins, however it does contain plenty of Niacin. It is rich in its mineral content however.

IS COFFEE HARMFUL ?

Coffee’s effect on health has been attacked throughout the ages - as soon as its stimulatory effect was quickly noted ! Coffee lovers claim that the basis for accusations on coffee is absolutely unscientific. Perhaps the peak of the anti-coffee hysteria occurred during the nineteenth century, with coffee being blamed for every imaginable illness and disorder.
More careful research has been conducted in the last few decades and the results have been mixed. Most of the focus has been on coffee’s most (in) famous component, caffeine. Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, a bitter alkaloid that probably forms part of the coffee plant’s defense system. Many of the effects of caffeine are obvious, depending upon the quantity consumed: increased alertness, anxiety, irritability, interference with sleep, and jitteriness. It works as a mild diuretic. Caffeine can cause headaches, but also, as a vasoconstrictor, has in certain instances been used to help relieve migraine headaches.
Caffeine consumption has been linked to short-term increases in blood pressure, heart rate, and to occasional irregular heartbeat. There are some studies linking coffee and caffeine to osteoporosis, but they have been largely inconclusive. But caffeine is not coffee’s only component. A study conducted in the Netherlands found that the coffee diterpenes cafestol and kahweol increase serum lipid levels (causing a rise in total cholesterol, low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides) and affect liver function
Coffee stirred up a debate shortly after it was discovered. The debate, like its aroma lingers on!