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Kings Queens and the Coffee Bean
Coffee and Health
The debate rages, and most likely will continue to rage, about the effects that coffee drinking has on our health. It all depends on which report or study you read as to whether coffee drinking is good for you or bad for you. Everybody seems to have an opinion, and both camps are adamant that their opinion is the correct one.
There is one school of thought that says that coffee is addictive…and, of course, ANY kind of addition is a very bad thing and should be avoided at all costs. This group says that coffee is a stimulant and that it makes those who drink coffee nervous. It increases the heart rate, they say, and it also raises the blood pressure. It is true that, for health reasons, some people should eliminate or at least limit the amount of caffeine that they
consume, and I am not advocating otherwise. If you doctor tells you to lay off the coffee, then you should follow his or her orders to the letter.
Then there is the school of thought that says that coffee is actually good for you. This group of people, and the reports and studies that they cite, will tell you that coffee is a stimulant that actually increases your concentration and productivity. They will tell you that drinking coffee "relieves boredom, decreases depression, increases alertness, increases physical stamina, and increases performance on boring or repetitive tasks." That sounds like a list of good things!
Drinking coffee is often part of many social situations. We drink coffee first thing in the morning for its stimulating effect, of course, but then we drink coffee at other times of the day with friends or family as part of a ritual of human interaction. And sociability is part of human health, too.
See Also:
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An Old-Fashioned Coffee Klatch
Coffee Mugs
I love my coffee mug! I use it everyday. There isn't anything particularly fancy or special about my coffee mug, except that is my coffee mug and it holds enough coffee to actually do some good, unlike those itty bitty cups with the tiny little handles that my wife prefers. I hate those cups. My fingers get stuck in the handles and they don't hold enough coffee.
Not that I have ever paid a lot of attention to my coffee mug. It is just there every morning. I fill it up with coffee and carry it around with me from room to room as I prepare to go to work, or it sits within easy reach as I read my newspaper. It keeps the coffee hot for awhile, and I don't have to refill it but just occasionally.
Anyway, I got to thinking about the coffee mug and wondered who thought up the perfect design. I never did find out who the inventor of the coffee mug was, but it seems that the coffee mug is actually a "take-off" of the old beer stein. When you think about the two designs, they are certainly similar.
Coffee mugs are man-sized. The smallest ones hold 12 ounces, and there are coffee mugs that hold as much as 20 ounces. Coffee mugs have also been modernized. Old coffee mugs were either made of tin or ceramic. Today, there are plastic and stainless steel coffee mugs, and coffee mugs that are insulated. There are coffee mugs that are made for travel, too. There is a top that prevents the coffee from spilling even when the coffee mug is tipped over. That sounds like a good idea.
Maybe I'll go buy one that is insulted and made of space-age plastic with a top that prevents spills. |
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Coffee Filters
Iced Coffee
Wow! The temperatures are soaring so it must be summer. Those nice hot cups of coffee that we were enjoying fully only a few months ago now just look…well…HOT, like the weather. Hot drinks certainly lose their appeal when the mercury climbs, but the taste of coffee never loses its appeal, so the answer is obvious. Serve iced coffee! Now, there is a great idea.
Coffee is taste that is great only at extremes. Hot coffee is wonderful, and iced coffee is just as wonderful. Anything in between those temperature extremes is just awful and totally unacceptable. Luke warm coffee, tepid coffee, slightly cool coffee -- they all taste bad. There may be a scientific explanation, but I have no idea what that explanation might be. All I know is that hot coffee is good, and iced coffee is good.
Now, you can't keep hot coffee hot for a long period of time. It tends to gain strength by the minute. But you can keep cold coffee cold for as long as you want. When you make a pot of coffee, immediately pour it into a container that can be refrigerated. Here is where you stir in any flavored coffee syrups, because they will dissolve well in the hot coffee. Then when the coffee cools, refrigerate it and you are all set.
To prevent a tall cold glass of iced coffee from being weakened by melting ice, you can also freeze some coffee in your ice cube trays and use them rather than regular ice cubes.
There are some ways to really jazz up the iced coffee that you serve your guests. Try one of the many iced coffee recipes that you can find on the Internet, and have fun! Many of the iced coffee recipes will call for the use of whipped cream, and you can also find recipes for flavored whipped cream that will make your iced coffee drinks really spectacular.
Related Topics: Coffee Maker Cleaning,
River Coffee, The Daily Coffee Grind
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