I love coffee. I hope you do too. There is a ritual that comes with making it and the smell is wonderful. While others are yawning and trying to get their days going, coffee is like a punch in the face to wake you up into the real world. Perhaps you drink coffee all the time or merely sometimes, yet do not quite fully understand how pivotal it is to your success. If so, here is some news for you!

1. They are more physically active
When caffeine enters your blood stream, it acts like fuel. It also increases the adrenaline level in your body to significantly enhance your physical performance. Some suggest that you have a cup of coffee roughly an hour before you hit the gym or engage in a physically engaging exercise.

The acts of kindness began at 7 a.m. Wednesday with a woman, her iced coffee and a stranger's caramel macchiato.

The woman paid for her own drink, then asked to pay for the drink of the person behind her in the drive-through. That person returned the favor and paid for the person behind, and so did that person, until the employees at the St. Petersburg Starbucks on Tyrone Boulevard began a tally on green laminated paper near the drive-through window.

By 1:30 p.m., the chain had reached 260 customers.

Long-haul truck drivers who drink coffee or other caffeinated drinks are significantly less likely to have an accident than their uncaffeinated peers.

Australian researchers looked at data on 530 drivers recently involved in a crash, comparing them with 517 who had not had an accident within the past 12 months. All were driving tractor units with one, two or three trailers.


The researchers interviewed all the drivers, gathering information about various health and lifestyle issues, including caffeine consumption over the past month. The study was published online in BMJ.

Another Starbucks may soon pop up around the corner, as the world's biggest coffee company plans to add at least 1,500 cafes in the U.S. over the next five years.

The plan, which would boost the number of Starbucks cafes in the country by about 13%, was announced at the company's investor day in New York Wednesday. Taking into account Canada and South America, the company plans to add 3,000 cafes in its Americas region.

Worldwide, the company says it will have more than 20,000 cafes by 2014, up from its current count of about 18,000. Much of that growth will come from China, which the company says will surpass Canada as its second-biggest market.

Coffee is one of the most pervasive drinks on earth, found nearly everywhere from Tucson to Timbuktu, from Beijing to Burundi. There is hardly a culture where it is not entrenched, one of the first things billions of hands reach for every morning. Like its main competitor, tea, it is said to have health benefits. Both have an active ingredient, caffeine, which helps to wake us up and keep us going. Coffee drinking, however, is a comparatively recent activity, far younger than tea or alcohol consumption.

Brewing coffee is as much of an art as it is a science. The history of coffee brewing equipment is rich, and methods of brewing are culturally dependent. Of the thousands of coffee machines and coffee brewing devices invented since the advent of coffee consumption, only a few have gained worldwide popularity. The coffee brewing methods discussed below are recommended since they have been found to maximize the extraction of the beneficial flavors of coffee, while minimizing the extraction of bitter coffee compounds and undesirable components.

Your early cups of coffee may now do more than simply clear the morning haze.

According to a group of Chinese researchers, a few cups of coffee per day may help prevent the onset of Type 2 diabetes. Funded by various Chinese authorities, the study has been published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

According to the Chinese scientist’s research, some major coffee components and metabolites are able to inhibit the toxic aggregation of hIAPP (human islet amyloid polypeptide) — which has a suspected link to the onset of Type 2 diabetes.

The Psalms of Coffee
Caffeine is my shepherd, I shall not doze.
It maketh me to wake in green pastures:
It leadeth me beyond the sleeping masses.
It restoreth my buzz:
It leadeth me in the paths of consciousness for its name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of addiction,
I will fear no Equal (tm):
For thou art with me; thy cream and thy sugar they comfort me.

Saya melangkahkan kaki saya memasuki pintu masuk Starbuck, Supermall, pada hari Senin malam yang baru lalu dan menuju ke counter.

Saya melihat sebuah buku dengan judul "Onward" yang ditulis oleh Howard Schultz, di atas counter dan barista yang sedang bertugas merekomendasikan saya untuk membeli dan membacanya.

What is decaffeinated coffee?
According to legislation within the EU markets decaffeinated coffee is a coffee with a caffeine content reduced to 0.1% or less in roasted coffee beans, and to 0.3% or less in soluble/instant coffee.

Decaffeinated coffee is available as a choice for those consumers who wish to enjoy the taste and aroma of coffee without experiencing the mild stimulant effects provided by the caffeine.

For many years, coffee was considered a vice,  linked with sleepless nights and cigarettes.

But  scientists have discovered that coffee contains potent  antioxidants that can fight numerous ailments, including  heart disease and diabetes.  According to the  American Coffee Association, 54 percent of Americans drink  coffee on a daily basis, and they drink, on average, over  three cups each.

Hidup kita seperti kopi dalam analogi tsb di atas, sedangkan cangkirnya adalah pekerjaan, jabatan, dan harta benda yang kita miliki.

Pesan moralnya, jangan pernah membiarkan cangkir mempengaruhi kopi yang kita nikmati. Cangkir bukanlah yang utama, kualitas kopi itulah yang terpenting. Jangan berpikir bahwa kekayaan yang melimpah, karier yang bagus & pekerjaan yang mapan merupakan jaminan kebahagian. Itu konsep yang sangat keliru. Kualitas hidup kita ditentukan oleh "Apa yang ada di dalam" bukan "Apa yang kelihatan dari luar".

Secara pribadi saya tidak tahu apa betul ada kaitan antara kopi yang kita minum dengan kepribadian kita. Seorang teman mengirimkan artikel ini di Facebook saya dan saya putuskan untuk share disini.

Saya pribadi adalah type peminum "black coffe". Mungkin yang kenal saya secara pribadi baru bisa menilai apakah black coffee yang saya minum menggambarkan kepribadian saya.

Ini artikelnya:

Secangkir kopi tidak hanya sekadar buih dan terkadang gula yang mengendap di dasarnya. Karakter dan kepribadian Anda dapat tecermin di sana. Dua pakar bahasa tubuh asal Australia, Judi James dan James Moore, mengklaim bahwa selera dan pilihan kopi seseorang sebenarnya dapat mengandung makna tertentu.Menurut mereka, selera kafein dapat mengungkap banyak hal, seperti kepercayaan diri, tingkat stres, dan bahkan kehidupan seksual. Berikut ini uraiannya seperti yang tercukil dalam buku The You Code.

Effects of caffeine

Caffeine acts as a stimulant to the heart and central nervous system, and is also known to increase blood pressure in the short term, although there's no conclusive evidence of long-term effects on blood pressure.
The effects on blood pressure are most likely when caffeine is taken in excessive quantities or by people who are highly sensitive to it. People who are hypertensive (have habitual high blood pressure) are advised to avoid caffeinated drinks, and pregnant women should limit their intake of caffeine to less than 300mg a day.

Caffeine and weight loss

Caffeine has been shown to have very modest effects on increasing metabolism, and is sometimes added as an ingredient to weight loss pills. These pills often make claims about speeding metabolism to 'effortlessly melt' excess fat, but in reality the amount of calories that slimming pills containing caffeine would actually burn is very small.
Caffeine may also suppress appetite, but without making other changes to your diet and lifestyle caffeine is unlikely to make a significant difference to your weight.

Coffee

Coffee has been linked with a number of the risk factors for coronary heart disease, including increased blood pressure and raised blood cholesterol levels. But no relationship has been found between drinking coffee and the likelihood of developing coronary heart disease.

Coffee may be beneficial in some areas of health - for example, research has found it may reduce the risk of developing gallstones and kidney stones.
It's difficult to suggest a safe limit for coffee intake because of the huge variation in caffeine content across different brands and an individual's sensitivity to the drug. People with high blood pressure and pregnant women are advised to limit their caffeine consumption.
For the rest of the population, there's no evidence coffee does any long-term harm. Caffeine does have a very mild diuretic effect but, drunk in moderation, you don’t need to increase fluid intake to any significant degree as the loss of fluid is very minimal.

Tea

Tea contains some useful minerals such as zinc, manganese and potassium, and scientists are researching its potential to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and some cancers.
Tea contains antioxidant substances called flavonoids, which have been shown to help slow or inhibit the chemical reactions thought to take place during the development of coronary heart disease.

Green tea

There's also a lot of interest in the health benefits of green tea, particularly in relation to cardiovascular health. Again, this is due to flavonoids, which are powerful antioxidants found in high concentrations in both green and black teas. The concentration of these compounds depends on how long the tea has been brewed, but can range from 125mg to 140mg.
Some studies have compared the concentration of these antioxidant compounds to that found in fruit and vegetables. Flavonoids bring potential benefits to heart health, as well as possible reductions in the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.

Caffeine and iron absorption

Both tea and coffee contain polyphenols that can bind to iron, making it difficult for our bodies to absorb. Avoiding tea and coffee during and around mealtimes is important for people at risk of iron deficiency.

The article is taken from:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/healthy_living/nutrition/healthy_caff.shtml