Education

It’s no secret to those who know me personally that I drink A LOT of coffee, some say too much – I beg to differ…

“I really like coffee.
Actually no – I don’t.
I LOVE COFFEE.
Is this SO bad?”

Since gaining the opportunity to undertake professional barista training in my last ‘real world’ job (yuck!), I have come to truly appreciate fresh espresso coffee in its many forms. With the growing negative media coverage of drinking too much coffee I decided to do a little research about the GOOD things about coffee and reassure myself that I will survive this enjoyable habit.

A very brief coffee history:

• From the energising aroma of a morning espresso, to the smooth cappuccino between friends and the sensuality of a white chocolate mocha on a lazy weekend, coffee has come a long way since its discovery by an Ethiopian goat herder in 1100BC
• Arriving in Italy in the early 1600′s
• and to Australia with the First Fleet in 1788, the art of coffee making continues to be perfected to individual tastes with cultural influences.

For a beginners guide to the wide variety of flavours and roastings available, five of the most popular coffee varieties include:

1. Espresso - A strong coffee brewed by forcing steam under pressure through darkly roasted, powdered coffee.
2. Latte - Espresso and steamed milk below a think layer of smooth, silky milk.
3. Mocha - Rich chocolate, espresso and steamed milk finished with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles.
4. Cappuccino - Espresso and steamed milk beneath a thick layer of velvety smooth milk, dusted with chocolate.
5. Macchiato - Espresso stained with a dollop of creamy milk froth.

Latte is by far and away my number one.

Health Benefits of Coffee:

• Coffee contains antioxidants that help prevent cancer and heart disease.
• Studies indicate that regular coffee drinkers are up to 80% less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease.
• Drinking two cups daily could reduce the risk of colon cancer by 25% and halve the risk of gallstones.
• Emerging evidence suggests that coffee may help manage asthma, stop a headache, boost mood, and even prevent cavities.
• Decaf coffee has been found to provide the same stimulative effect as regular coffee, without the caffeine.

Useless Coffee Facts I came across:

• Brazil is the largest coffee producer, with over 3970 million coffee trees.
• October 1 is the official ‘Coffee Day’ in Japan.
• Americans drink 330 million cups of coffee a day – but no coffee is grown in the USA with the exception of Puerto Rico. <– Must be great for their GDP!

So there you have it, coffee isn’t so bad after all – you may now drink to your heart’s content! And you know, drinking keg beer has it’s good points too! But we’ll leave that for another time…

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