Well, I love my coffee. I don’t think about it much though. I mean usually I don’t pay attention to it, it’s more of a comforting morning ritual. But the other day I noticed how flavorful my coffee was. Turns out it was Rwandan. Rwandans make a mighty mean bean, that’s for sure. I get the whole beans. I have a coffee maker with a built-in grinder. I just fill it up with water, a filter, and the beans, then I have one button to push and everything else is done.

It occurred to me that this episode is actually a spinoff of the bean show, episode 124, which came out last year. I highly recommend it.

The bean originated in Ethiopia. It was was found there by Yemenis (people from Yemen), who first cultivated it. Of course, now it’s cultivated in Ethiopia and you can buy coffee from it’s origin, right in your grocery store. I’ll have to do a taste test and see if it’s as good as the Rwandan stuff.

I always wondered why I never saw decafeinated coffee in bean form. But decaf beans do exist. The process involves soaking the beans in hot water or steam and using chemicals to dissolve the caffeine.

I once bought a bag of the world’s most expensive coffee. It’s called Kopi Luwak. The process of producing it is interesting. I won’t go into it. But it’s unique. I think I paid over $200 for less than a pound. I was making stupid money back then, and stupidly spending it.

Ok, is this a diet department episode or what? Let’s talk about the health aspects of coffee.

Now you may have heard that coffee is bad for you. This is kind of a trope, or a meme, or fallacy. According to a Mayo Clinic article, early studies didn’t account for the fact that heavy coffee drinkers also were often smokers and sedentary. More modern studies have found benefits. The Pros include possible protection from Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes, liver disease including live cancer, heart attack, and stroke. Longevity — I mentioned before that coffee does show up often in the diets of blue zone residents.

The Cons? The high caffeine levels can temporarily raise blood pressure, and as long-term hypertensiac … hypertensoid? Someone who has high blood pressure, I can attest to this from personal experience. Women who are pregnant, trying to become pregnant or breastfeeding should be careful about caffeine intake. And if you happen to consume mass quantities of boiled, unfiltered coffee like the cowboys do in western movies, you might have a mild increase in cholesterol. It is also addictive, and quick withdrawal can cause headaches.

Bottom line? Coffee is good, but as always, use moderation and you’ll be fine.

I’m off to get a cup o’ joe! By the way that term may have been a shortening of ‘jamoke’ which was a smashing together (technical term) of the words Java and Mocha. There are several other theories. See the show notes for more details.

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_luwak
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/coffee-and-health/faq-20058339
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cup_of_joe#:~:text=Possibly%20a%20shortening%20of%20%22cup,drink%20of%20the%20common%20man.