Article on Coffee

COFFEE: Healthy or Unhealthy?

                Maybe there is a cup of coffee on your desk right now but is that coffee healthy or unhealthy? The odds lean towards the latter, but if certain parameters are met, coffee can actually provide health benefits. This article will tell you the medicinal and helpful uses of coffee to our health.

Coffee is also known as Coffea Arabica. It is a brewed beverage with a dark, slightly acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. It is also a dark-brown, aromatic drink made by brewing in water the roasted and ground beanlike seeds of a tall tropical shrub (genus Coffea) of the madder family. It is native to the East African tropics but is now cultivated in tropical areas worldwide.

Coffee was discovered around 1000 AD when a flock of goats were observed jumping in excited fashion when they grazed on coffee berries (each of which contains two coffee seeds or beans). The goatherd, an Arab referred to by some as Khalid and others as Kaldi, decided to eat some of the fruit himself and he immediately felt more alert. As for how it came to be commonly roasted, according to one account some beans were accidentally burned but found to be better tasting that way. However it is also known that the beans were roasted to prevent germination as coffee was a trade secret, so that may have been the real reason they are now commonly sold in roasted form.

The fermented, sun-dried and roasted seeds of the coffee plant are commonly known as coffee beans. Coffee beans contain between .06% and .32% caffeine, a powerful stimulant, along with theophylline, a mild stimulant and muscle relaxer. One of the few bitter foods remaining in the Western diet, coffee enhances perception and increases physical performance by stimulating the nervous system, increasing heart output and improving the flow of digestive juices. Also, as powerful diuretic, coffee is used to treat acute diarrhea and headaches, and it is also used for detoxification and cleansing.

Previous studies have also indicated that drinking coffee lowers the risk of diabetes. In one study researchers looked at more than 28,000 post-menopausal women over a period of eleven years. Women who drank more than six cups a day were 22 percent less likely to develop diabetes compared to women who drank no coffee. The researchers found that the more coffee a person drank, the more beneficial effects it had in reducing diabetes.

Some would say that coffee improves concentration and alertness, boosts mood, and decreases suicide risk. In fact, just the smell of coffee relieves stress in animals. This popular drink also controls asthma and can even halt a full-blown attack in its tracks. Additionally, coffee can stop migraine headaches, curb appetite, prevent tooth decay, and increase the effectiveness of aspirin and other analgesics (Anacin and Excedrin both contain caffeine).

In conclusion to this, coffee, which is the favorite beverage for breakfast can be harmful and healthful at the same time depending on the how many cups of this a person intakes. It is always important to remember that any excess of even the healthiest coffee is bad for our health.

Narration Paragraph AV Presentation :)

Coffee: Healthy or Unhealthy? (Argumentation)

Coffee has encounter lots of intrigues and issues about its health effects. Some researchers say that it could give you an open-mind after drinking. It enhances your mind setting and energizes your body. Others say its a good for our body system for it can help us in preventing cancer cells and other severe diseases. But as the study goes on further, some nutritionist found out that the more caffeine in our body, the more it push us to life' threatening disorders such as insomnia and pregnancy defects. Results show that it could also affect women in their old age for this caffeine causes osteoporosis. That is why they remind the public to lessen their intake of caffeine-related beverage and generally, coffee. But as the debate continues, the real solution to this problem is the control of the people to the consumption of coffee. The moderate drinking can be helpful and at the same time, too much is dangerous. It depends upon us, consumers, on how to take this gift of nature as a helpful one.

Caffeine in Coffee (Cause and Effect Paragraph)

The caffeine, which is the major components of coffees and other caffeine-related disorders, has proven to be the cause of sleep disorders, mind disorders and the most severe, insomnia. Researchers said that the major cause of this is too much consumption of an amount of caffeine sufficient to produce the symptoms specified by DSM-IV-TR as criteria for the disorder. The precise amount of caffeine necessary to produce symptoms varies from person to person depending on body size and degree of tolerance to caffeine.  The effect of the long-term consumption of caffeine has the effect of fertility problems and with bone loss in women leading to osteoporosis in old age. On the other hand, moderate doses of caffeine improve athletic performance as well as alertness. Caffeine in small doses can relieve tension headaches, and one study found that a combination of ibuprofen and caffeine was more effective in relieving tension headaches than either ibuprofen alone or a placebo. Coffee consumption also appears to lower the risk of alcoholic and nonalcoholic cirrhosis of the liver. This good effects are the results of good and moderate consumption.

Source : http://www.minddisorders.com/Br-Del/Caffeine-related-disorders.html

The Coffee Tree (Description Paragraph)

Coffee trees are mostly described according to their kinds. Robusta coffee is more robust (resilient) than the Arabica trees, but produces an inferior tasting beverage with higher caffeine content. The white coffee flower has five petals and a scent resembling that of jasmine. The flowers last only 2-3 days. The coffee berries are cherry-sized and green at first, turning dark red later on. The ripening takes eight months. The coffee tree starts flowering at 2-4 years old and it can simultaneously have flowers and berries in all stages of development.  The coffee tree can grow to heights of 10 meters if not pruned, but producing countries will maintain the coffee at a height reasonable for easy harvesting. The coffee tree requires a mean temperature of 66-77 degrees Fahrenheit. Thus, the coffee tree is a tropical plant. The coffee plant cannot stand frost but does not die from an occasional cold night. It needs lots of water, requiring annual rainfall of 59 inches.

Source: http://www.rarecoffee.com/school/coffeetree.asp

Grinders of Coffee (Description of A Mechanism)

There are two different coffee grinders used widely in the world and these are how their machine works.

The Blade Grinders is the most inexpensive grinder which uses a metal blade to chop up the beans. The blade cuts up the beans and you control the fineness by how long you let the grinder run. On the other hand, the Burr Grinders crush the beans between a moving grinding wheel and a non-moving surface. The positioning on the burr is what regulates the ground size, which allows for a more consistent grind. The Wheel Burr uses the less expensive of the two burr grinders. The wheel spins very fast, and these grinders can be noisy. The higher speed rotation makes these grinders messier as well. Lastly, best grinders you can get are conical burr grinders. The burr spins slower than the wheel model, which makes them quieter and less messy. You can use a conical burr grinder for oily or flavored coffees and it's not likely to clog, like the other kinds of grinders. 

The Cup of Coffee (Narration)

There was once a group of alumni who visited their old professor. Minutes later, they started to talk about their stress in work and about their families. Their professor came and brought them a large pot of coffee together with his cups of various kinds: porcelain, plastic and glass cups. Each alumni served themselves and make their own coffee. All of them chose the porcelain and expensive cups while the plastic cups remained untouched. Then the professor said, "Life can also be that cup of coffee." Someone immediately asked him curiously, "Why did you say so sir?". He said that its normal for us to chose the expensive and material things but it doesn't add any quality to our life just like the cup of  coffee. We must live simply, love truly and taste the true meaning of life.