The Coffee Conflict

If coffee has as many health benefits as some research suggests, I may live to be 100. But like most ingredients in our world, there are conflicting statistics out there with the general consensus that it’s okay when consumed moderately.

What is coffee? The two most common types coffee beans grown are Arabica and Robusta. Brazil is the largest producer of coffee beans followed by Vietnam, Columbia and Ethiopia, being the other top ranking exporters across the 70 global coffee producers in the Americas, Southeast Asia, India and Africa.

The coffee bean is a seed grown on the coffea plant. When the fruit is ripe, it is handpicked using one of two methods - ‘Selective picking’ where only the ripe fruit is selected  or ‘Strip-picking’ where all fruit is harvested regardless of its level of ripeness. The latter being more indiscriminate, the fruit is often sorted post harvest to improve the quality.

The coffee berries are then processed either using a ‘wet’ or ‘washed process, a ‘natural’ or ‘drying’ process or a more exclusive method, the 'Kopi Luwak' excretion process which believe it or not produces the highest quality coffees. Read more here.

So is coffee good for our health? As we know, coffee can make us anxious, shaky, dehydrated and increase our heart rate if over consumed (more than 3-4 cups a day). Some coffee drinkers may also experience insomnia, headaches and heartburn depending on their physiological condition. All of these symptoms are mainly due to the presence of caffeine in the coffee bean - approximately 95mg per average cup. Research suggests that the consumption of 400mg of caffeine per day is a safe amount, but everyone’s health profile differs. When you experience any negative symptoms, it might be a good idea to reduce the amount of coffee you drink or substitute a good decaf option into your daily regime that contains reduced amounts of caffeine. And good news for women, a recent Harvard study suggests that consuming caffeinated coffee in midlife may promote healthy aging and longevity.