A Stimulating Friend of Millions

Posted by Bobby Brown on February 27, 2019 - 4:47pm

More than half of American adults drink coffee every day, and few foods cause as much divided loyalty as the coffee bean. From where you choose to purchase, from dark roasts to light, whole bean or ground, coffee remains a point of love and strong opinion at every turn.

Botanical evidence places the first wild coffee plants in Abyssinia, on the central plateaus of what is today Ethiopia. The fruit of these wild plants was eaten by nomadic herdsmen, who crushed it together with animal fat, then formed it into balls that they carried with them for snacks. One suspects the herdsmen found that, as a bonus, they were able to stay awake longer and were in a generally more cheerful mood.

The coffee plant made its way to what is now Yemen about 1,500 years ago, where it became a cultivated crop. From there the culture of coffee moved to Constantinople and eventually to Europe, no doubt in part through the extremely social Suleiman Aga (ambassador from the Ottoman Empire to the court of Louis XIV), who threw flamboyant coffee parties for the French nobility.

In the early 1700s, through a series of political and romantic intrigues, a stolen coffee plant made its way to the West Indies and from there to Central and South America. About 150 years later, coffee seed from Brazil was introduced in Kenya and Tanzania, several hundred miles south of coffee’s original home in Ethiopia.

Coffee is grown around the world in the Coffee Belt, the frost-free band between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, and the best coffees are grown at the higher altitudes. The relatively cooler temperatures at the high altitudes slow the growth of the coffee fruit, and as a result produces a denser, harder bean, with more flavor.

Coffee offers few nutrients, but it does contain more than 1,000 naturally occurring chemicals, some of which are potentially healthful (and others potentially harmful) in ways not well understood.

Research indicates that coffee may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and stroke. Some studies suggest that coffee may also reduce the risk of certain cancers, including prostate cancer, although the findings are inconsistent. Research also suggests that coffee may help protect against Parkinson’s disease, depression, and cognitive decline. But most of these potential health benefits are based on observational studies, so they don’t prove cause and effect.

Coffee’s main claim to fame is caffeine. Caffeine is a psychoactive substance that stimulates the central nervous system. It improves reaction time, mental acuity, alertness, and mood, Caffeine wards off drowsiness and can help people wake up and feel better in the morning.

The amount of caffeine in any single serving of coffee depends on a number of factors, including the variety of coffee, where the beans were grown, the year the beans were grown, the type of roast, the fineness of the grind, the brewing method, the length of brewing, and the proportion of coffee to water.

The effects of caffeine vary from person to person. Most people can safely tolerate up to 400 milligrams a day, the amount of caffeine in four cups of freshly brewed coffee. Large amounts (more than 500 to 600 milligrams a day) may cause adverse effects such as insomnia, restlessness, nervousness, and trembling. Too much caffeine can temporarily boost heart rate and cause palpitations. Stopping caffeine suddenly may also cause temporary withdrawal symptoms like headache and irritability if people who drink a lot of coffee suddenly stop. Tapering consumption gradually over several days can help to prevent the symptoms of caffeine withdrawal.

Still, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers caffeine to be “Generally Recognized as Safe,” and most studies on long-term negative effects have been refuted by more recent research.

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