Women and Coffee

I do not know about you, but for me, coffee drinking, especially in the morning or early evening, is more than a simple habit or cultural characteristic. Actually, it has become a necessity without which I cannot open my eyes and stand on my two feet all day. According to researchers, I am not alone. Nearly 80% of the U.S. population drinks coffee on a daily basis. The caffeine measured to be contained in a cup of coffee, me and you daily consume, is around 80-130 mg. But while the medical community has warned the public of the health risks associated to caffeine intake, there still is very little linking between coffee and health problems, except in a very few cases.

Coffee, which is a beverage served cold or hot, comes from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, almost always referred to as coffee beans. But regardless of its tremendous market success-coffee is the second most commonly traded commodity in the world surpassed only by petroleum-coffee has been blamed to be the cause of a variety of disorders ranging from indigestion to cancer, at one time or another. Since it is the main source of caffeine, which is a stimulant, coffee has had an almost constant role in the news pertaining to health problems in recent years. Surprisingly, most of these warnings and urgent health reports, describing problems like the human airways clogging, are aimed at women.

But while even doctors have been very critical of the role of coffee in women's health, the fact of the matter remains; there is little proof that any risk to women exists from coffee drinking, especially when consumed in moderate amounts. As a matter of fact, reports have even suggested that coffee even lessen the risks of some diseases in women, such as bladder cancer. Unfortunately, since the health problems examined in relation to their linkage with coffee consumption have not yet reached indisputable results, women have reached a stage that it is almost difficult to believe anything involving the health risks of coffee and women.

The reasons why coffee has been getting such a bad reputation are based on the fact that of all drinks containing caffeine, coffee has the highest concentration amount, far exciding that of sodas. In addition, since doctors advice pregnant women to be cautious and avoid caffeinated beverages while carrying an infant, despite there being no evidence of any serious health risks involved, women tend to consider coffee drinking almost as if they were performing some kind of sin and avoid drinking it in fear of the unknown consequences. On the other hand, new research has revealed that coffee is actually beneficial to a person's health. For example, the diuretic effect of coffee has proved that it lessens the incidence of bladder cancer in smokers, and drinking coffee regularly is also reported to lessen the onset of Parkinson's disease.

So, what should we ladies do? The best advice that anyone can believe is the trusted advice of their doctor. Question your doctor if he/she restricts coffee and follow their advice, but stay current on health news. Although it seems impossible to know which study to believe, we have to train ourselves to tell the difference between hypothesis and fact. Being educated about our health will always make us women feel better in the long run.

Kadence Buchanan writes articles on many topics including Health , Cooking , and Beauty

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Coffee Connoisseur 101

Like most things in life, if you'd just delve into a particular topic, you'd be amazed at the rich tapestry of culture and stories involved with it. A great example is that of coffee. Now to the average consumer, they may not think too much of it. They know that it's widely accessible, and that it tastes good. And if you want to make some at home you'd just buy a coffee maker and some beans.

Well that is a great outline for the coffee culture, but you can literally expand on each specific element of coffee ranging from it's history, to how it's purchased, how to properly taste test coffee, roasting strategies, grinding techniques, brewing tips, serving styles, and how to grow coffee itself.

If you are remotely interested in coffee, then you owe it to yourself to get some books on this massively interesting topic. There are even entire careers beyond being a server within the coffee industry from the science of coffee, to business, and logistics. It's much more than meets the eye and yet it's something we take for granted on a daily basis.

I am sure that once you've learned more about the nuances and intricacies of coffee, your coffee days will never be the same. You will know that being a connoisseur is not just about being a pretentious know-it-all who makes others feel dumb, but someone who truly knows how to enjoy real coffee.

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America's Perception of "Gourmet" Coffee

It's an enormous industry involving many players in the supply chain—the growers and farm workers, the processing mills, exporters and importers, small-batch roasters and huge commercial roasters, coffeehouses and cafes—all of who do their part to bring coffee to you, the final consumer. Coffee is the second most-highly traded commodity in the world next to oil.

Considering how large the coffee industry is, how much of what's marketed as gourmet could actually be considered truly gourmet coffee? Which, unfortunately, doesn't seem to apply to the coffee most Americans drink on a daily basis. By definition, it implies rare, expensive, high-quality, or at least sophisticated in some form of its preparation and service. You'll find one word dominates the label rhetoric: "Gourmet." Gourmet, it's such a over-used term. Take a walk down the coffee aisle of a grocery store and read the labels.

In fact, the reality is they're much likelier selling the exact opposite of high quality coffee beans. That being the case, it becomes hard to believe the ads and labels on store shelves claiming rich, delicious, gourmet coffee. Sad to say, it's estimated only 10 percent of coffee sold is considered poor to satisfactory in quality.

Dark roasting covers a multitude of sins, including any flavor flaws. It's precisely because of their low quality. While there are some specific coffees that taste wonderful as a dark roast, there's a reason most coffee today is roasted so dark. Not necessarily true. Somehow the influential marketing gurus at roasting companies have managed to convince the masses that dark roasted coffee equals gourmet coffee. For instance, consider the ever applauded Dark Roast.

Why use expensive, high-grade beans for flavored coffee, since the natural flavors themselves will never be detected over the added flavorings of Irish cream, French Vanilla, or Hazelnut. And then there's flavored coffee—a low-quality bean masquerading as gourmet coffee.

And for a true connoisseur of coffee, that's what you should be looking for. A lighter roast shows that the roaster has confidence in the quality of the beans. Of course the actual lightness of the roast will depend on your personal taste. Similar to grilling a steak, a great coffee will often taste great as rare to medium, or, in coffee terms, light to medium. Though the marketing says otherwise, coffee that is indeed gourmet should never require extensive roasting.

current trends of coffee consumption

Here are some highlights from the 2008 Coffee Drinking Trends report: The 2008 report has recently been made available, and the NCAUSA web site gives a brief summary of what the organization has found out about how we Americans like our coffee. The report has become one of the bibles of the coffee industry. Each year, the National Coffee Association of the USA publishes their report on National Coffee Drinking Trends.

• 17% of the adult population consumed a gourmet beverage on a daily basis in 2008 and 14% in 2007.
  
  Drinking gourmet coffee has become a national pastime. It's not just the explosion of Starbucks across the nation that's fueling it, though their marketing has certainly awakened the taste buds of a whole generation. These days, you can buy your gourmet coffee at any number of places. Here are just of the few 'new' outlets for gourmet coffee.
  
  
  • McDonalds, which started selling Newman's Own Organic coffee a while back, has started marketing the McDonalds Café concept, with lattes, cappuccinos and McDonalds Gourmet coffee as of January 2008.
    
  • Burger King's BKJoe brand is roasted by Douwy Egberts, the second largest coffee roaster in the world, expressly for BK.
    
  • Target, the national department store chain, packages and distributes its own brand of gourmet and single origin coffees.
    
  • Store 24, a major East Coast convenience store chain, offers Green Mountain Roasters gourmet coffee in all of their stores.
    
  • 7-11, national convenience store chain, has made the gourmet coffee bar a central part of their new store design, and offers a wide variety of ready-to-go coffee for consumers on the run.

Here are some more highlights form the report: The Senseo, Tassimo and Keurig systems have all increased sales and feature gourmet coffees in their coffee lines. Another factor in the increase of gourmet coffee drinking is the popularity of single serve coffee systems, which make it easier to have gourmet coffee at home every morning.

• Adults 25-59 led the upswing with 19% of daily gourmet coffee drinkers. This is an increase of six percentage points from 2007.
  
  
  
  • In the young adult demographic, coffee drinking was down last year in that age group; with 44 percent reporting that they drink coffee as opposed to 47 percent the previous year.
    
    
  • On the other hand, 18 to 24 year olds are becoming serious coffee drinkers. In 2005, only 26 percent of young adults in that age bracket considered themselves coffee drinkers. By 2007, that figure was up to 37%, making the 18-24 year old coffee market the fastest growing segment of the market. Older adults, in the 40 to 59 year old bracket, are also big coffee drinkers. This age group increased from 59 percent to 61 percent over the previous year, and those age 60 and over report the most coffee consumers - 74 percent of adults in that age bracket reported that they drink coffee every day.

• Consumption of cups per day by consumers age 18-24 continued to trend higher in 2008. Young adults who drank coffee consumed an average of 3.2 cups per day as compared with 3.1 in 2007, a significant increase over 2005's level of 2.5 cups per day.
  
  Our generation grew up thinking of coffee as a morning pick-me-up and after dinner drink for adults only. The 18-24 year old group has a different view of coffee, thanks to the coffee shop culture. Where older generations gathered at the local soda shop, these kids made the local coffee shop their afternoon hangout. Starbucks and other local chains improved their coffees with flavors, sugar and many creams. This makes their coffee more appealing to the younger crowd. As those kids graduate from high school and move on to college, they're finding that their love of coffee moves along with them.
  
  
  
  • Past year consumption of iced and frozen coffee is up significantly from 2007 levels.
    Maybe it's the heavy marketing? Nothing tastes quite as good on a hot summer afternoon as a tall glass of iced coffee, but until the past few years, who knew? These days you can get your iced coffee fix at your local McDonalds, Burger King or Dunkin Donuts, or you can brew it yourself at home. The most popular frozen and iced coffee drinks include:
    
  • Dunkin Donuts, who claim that they practically invented iced coffee, has been selling their coffee over ice for years. In the late 90s, they added the Coffee Coolata, which could be topped with whipped cream.
    
    
  • Wawa, a popular convenience store located throughout portions of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia is a popular location for coffee enthusiasts in these east coast states. They have sold over 195 million cups of their freshly brewed coffee. Wawa uses their own blend of coffee beans and make quality coffee a top priority.

Overall, Americans enjoy coffee daily and everybody has their favorite location to get their coffee fix. Over the years, these trends change while coffee is introduced to new demographics. All of these coffee trends show that coffee is a popular drink among many age groups and is part of American culture.

Here are some highlights from the 2008 Coffee Drinking Trends report: The 2008 report has recently been made available, and the NCAUSA web site gives a brief summary of what the organization has found out about how we Americans like our coffee. The report has become one of the bibles of the coffee industry. Each year, the National Coffee Association of the USA publishes their report on National Coffee Drinking Trends.

• 17% of the adult population consumed a gourmet beverage on a daily basis in 2008 and 14% in 2007.
  
  Drinking gourmet coffee has become a national pastime. It's not just the explosion of Starbucks across the nation that's fueling it, though their marketing has certainly awakened the taste buds of a whole generation. These days, you can buy your gourmet coffee at any number of places. Here are just of the few 'new' outlets for gourmet coffee.
  
  
  • McDonalds, which started selling Newman's Own Organic coffee a while back, has started marketing the McDonalds Café concept, with lattes, cappuccinos and McDonalds Gourmet coffee as of January 2008.
    
  • Burger King's BKJoe brand is roasted by Douwy Egberts, the second largest coffee roaster in the world, expressly for BK.
    
  • Target, the national department store chain, packages and distributes its own brand of gourmet and single origin coffees.
    
  • Store 24, a major East Coast convenience store chain, offers Green Mountain Roasters gourmet coffee in all of their stores.
    
  • 7-11, national convenience store chain, has made the gourmet coffee bar a central part of their new store design, and offers a wide variety of ready-to-go coffee for consumers on the run.

17% of the adult population consumed a gourmet beverage on a daily basis in 2008 and 14% in 2007.

Drinking gourmet coffee has become a national pastime. It's not just the explosion of Starbucks across the nation that's fueling it, though their marketing has certainly awakened the taste buds of a whole generation. These days, you can buy your gourmet coffee at any number of places. Here are just of the few 'new' outlets for gourmet coffee.

• McDonalds, which started selling Newman's Own Organic coffee a while back, has started marketing the McDonalds Café concept, with lattes, cappuccinos and McDonalds Gourmet coffee as of January 2008.
  
• Burger King's BKJoe brand is roasted by Douwy Egberts, the second largest coffee roaster in the world, expressly for BK.
  
• Target, the national department store chain, packages and distributes its own brand of gourmet and single origin coffees.
  
• Store 24, a major East Coast convenience store chain, offers Green Mountain Roasters gourmet coffee in all of their stores.
  
• 7-11, national convenience store chain, has made the gourmet coffee bar a central part of their new store design, and offers a wide variety of ready-to-go coffee for consumers on the run.

• McDonalds, which started selling Newman's Own Organic coffee a while back, has started marketing the McDonalds Café concept, with lattes, cappuccinos and McDonalds Gourmet coffee as of January 2008.
  
• Burger King's BKJoe brand is roasted by Douwy Egberts, the second largest coffee roaster in the world, expressly for BK.
  
• Target, the national department store chain, packages and distributes its own brand of gourmet and single origin coffees.
  
• Store 24, a major East Coast convenience store chain, offers Green Mountain Roasters gourmet coffee in all of their stores.
  
• 7-11, national convenience store chain, has made the gourmet coffee bar a central part of their new store design, and offers a wide variety of ready-to-go coffee for consumers on the run.

McDonalds, which started selling Newman's Own Organic coffee a while back, has started marketing the McDonalds Café concept, with lattes, cappuccinos and McDonalds Gourmet coffee as of January 2008.

Burger King's BKJoe brand is roasted by Douwy Egberts, the second largest coffee roaster in the world, expressly for BK.

Target, the national department store chain, packages and distributes its own brand of gourmet and single origin coffees.

Store 24, a major East Coast convenience store chain, offers Green Mountain Roasters gourmet coffee in all of their stores.

7-11, national convenience store chain, has made the gourmet coffee bar a central part of their new store design, and offers a wide variety of ready-to-go coffee for consumers on the run.

Here are some more highlights form the report: The Senseo, Tassimo and Keurig systems have all increased sales and feature gourmet coffees in their coffee lines. Another factor in the increase of gourmet coffee drinking is the popularity of single serve coffee systems, which make it easier to have gourmet coffee at home every morning.

• Adults 25-59 led the upswing with 19% of daily gourmet coffee drinkers. This is an increase of six percentage points from 2007.
  
  
  
  • In the young adult demographic, coffee drinking was down last year in that age group; with 44 percent reporting that they drink coffee as opposed to 47 percent the previous year.
    
    
  • On the other hand, 18 to 24 year olds are becoming serious coffee drinkers. In 2005, only 26 percent of young adults in that age bracket considered themselves coffee drinkers. By 2007, that figure was up to 37%, making the 18-24 year old coffee market the fastest growing segment of the market. Older adults, in the 40 to 59 year old bracket, are also big coffee drinkers. This age group increased from 59 percent to 61 percent over the previous year, and those age 60 and over report the most coffee consumers - 74 percent of adults in that age bracket reported that they drink coffee every day.

Adults 25-59 led the upswing with 19% of daily gourmet coffee drinkers. This is an increase of six percentage points from 2007.

• In the young adult demographic, coffee drinking was down last year in that age group; with 44 percent reporting that they drink coffee as opposed to 47 percent the previous year.
  
  
• On the other hand, 18 to 24 year olds are becoming serious coffee drinkers. In 2005, only 26 percent of young adults in that age bracket considered themselves coffee drinkers. By 2007, that figure was up to 37%, making the 18-24 year old coffee market the fastest growing segment of the market. Older adults, in the 40 to 59 year old bracket, are also big coffee drinkers. This age group increased from 59 percent to 61 percent over the previous year, and those age 60 and over report the most coffee consumers - 74 percent of adults in that age bracket reported that they drink coffee every day.

• In the young adult demographic, coffee drinking was down last year in that age group; with 44 percent reporting that they drink coffee as opposed to 47 percent the previous year.
  
  
• On the other hand, 18 to 24 year olds are becoming serious coffee drinkers. In 2005, only 26 percent of young adults in that age bracket considered themselves coffee drinkers. By 2007, that figure was up to 37%, making the 18-24 year old coffee market the fastest growing segment of the market. Older adults, in the 40 to 59 year old bracket, are also big coffee drinkers. This age group increased from 59 percent to 61 percent over the previous year, and those age 60 and over report the most coffee consumers - 74 percent of adults in that age bracket reported that they drink coffee every day.

In the young adult demographic, coffee drinking was down last year in that age group; with 44 percent reporting that they drink coffee as opposed to 47 percent the previous year.

On the other hand, 18 to 24 year olds are becoming serious coffee drinkers. In 2005, only 26 percent of young adults in that age bracket considered themselves coffee drinkers. By 2007, that figure was up to 37%, making the 18-24 year old coffee market the fastest growing segment of the market. Older adults, in the 40 to 59 year old bracket, are also big coffee drinkers. This age group increased from 59 percent to 61 percent over the previous year, and those age 60 and over report the most coffee consumers - 74 percent of adults in that age bracket reported that they drink coffee every day.

• Consumption of cups per day by consumers age 18-24 continued to trend higher in 2008. Young adults who drank coffee consumed an average of 3.2 cups per day as compared with 3.1 in 2007, a significant increase over 2005's level of 2.5 cups per day.
  
  Our generation grew up thinking of coffee as a morning pick-me-up and after dinner drink for adults only. The 18-24 year old group has a different view of coffee, thanks to the coffee shop culture. Where older generations gathered at the local soda shop, these kids made the local coffee shop their afternoon hangout. Starbucks and other local chains improved their coffees with flavors, sugar and many creams. This makes their coffee more appealing to the younger crowd. As those kids graduate from high school and move on to college, they're finding that their love of coffee moves along with them.
  
  
  
  • Past year consumption of iced and frozen coffee is up significantly from 2007 levels.
    Maybe it's the heavy marketing? Nothing tastes quite as good on a hot summer afternoon as a tall glass of iced coffee, but until the past few years, who knew? These days you can get your iced coffee fix at your local McDonalds, Burger King or Dunkin Donuts, or you can brew it yourself at home. The most popular frozen and iced coffee drinks include:
    
  • Dunkin Donuts, who claim that they practically invented iced coffee, has been selling their coffee over ice for years. In the late 90s, they added the Coffee Coolata, which could be topped with whipped cream.
    
    
  • Wawa, a popular convenience store located throughout portions of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia is a popular location for coffee enthusiasts in these east coast states. They have sold over 195 million cups of their freshly brewed coffee. Wawa uses their own blend of coffee beans and make quality coffee a top priority.

Consumption of cups per day by consumers age 18-24 continued to trend higher in 2008. Young adults who drank coffee consumed an average of 3.2 cups per day as compared with 3.1 in 2007, a significant increase over 2005's level of 2.5 cups per day.

Our generation grew up thinking of coffee as a morning pick-me-up and after dinner drink for adults only. The 18-24 year old group has a different view of coffee, thanks to the coffee shop culture. Where older generations gathered at the local soda shop, these kids made the local coffee shop their afternoon hangout. Starbucks and other local chains improved their coffees with flavors, sugar and many creams. This makes their coffee more appealing to the younger crowd. As those kids graduate from high school and move on to college, they're finding that their love of coffee moves along with them.

• Past year consumption of iced and frozen coffee is up significantly from 2007 levels.
  Maybe it's the heavy marketing? Nothing tastes quite as good on a hot summer afternoon as a tall glass of iced coffee, but until the past few years, who knew? These days you can get your iced coffee fix at your local McDonalds, Burger King or Dunkin Donuts, or you can brew it yourself at home. The most popular frozen and iced coffee drinks include:
  
• Dunkin Donuts, who claim that they practically invented iced coffee, has been selling their coffee over ice for years. In the late 90s, they added the Coffee Coolata, which could be topped with whipped cream.
  
  
• Wawa, a popular convenience store located throughout portions of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia is a popular location for coffee enthusiasts in these east coast states. They have sold over 195 million cups of their freshly brewed coffee. Wawa uses their own blend of coffee beans and make quality coffee a top priority.

• Past year consumption of iced and frozen coffee is up significantly from 2007 levels.
  Maybe it's the heavy marketing? Nothing tastes quite as good on a hot summer afternoon as a tall glass of iced coffee, but until the past few years, who knew? These days you can get your iced coffee fix at your local McDonalds, Burger King or Dunkin Donuts, or you can brew it yourself at home. The most popular frozen and iced coffee drinks include:
  
• Dunkin Donuts, who claim that they practically invented iced coffee, has been selling their coffee over ice for years. In the late 90s, they added the Coffee Coolata, which could be topped with whipped cream.
  
  
• Wawa, a popular convenience store located throughout portions of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia is a popular location for coffee enthusiasts in these east coast states. They have sold over 195 million cups of their freshly brewed coffee. Wawa uses their own blend of coffee beans and make quality coffee a top priority.

Past year consumption of iced and frozen coffee is up significantly from 2007 levels.
Maybe it's the heavy marketing? Nothing tastes quite as good on a hot summer afternoon as a tall glass of iced coffee, but until the past few years, who knew? These days you can get your iced coffee fix at your local McDonalds, Burger King or Dunkin Donuts, or you can brew it yourself at home. The most popular frozen and iced coffee drinks include:

Dunkin Donuts, who claim that they practically invented iced coffee, has been selling their coffee over ice for years. In the late 90s, they added the Coffee Coolata, which could be topped with whipped cream.

Wawa, a popular convenience store located throughout portions of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia is a popular location for coffee enthusiasts in these east coast states. They have sold over 195 million cups of their freshly brewed coffee. Wawa uses their own blend of coffee beans and make quality coffee a top priority.

Overall, Americans enjoy coffee daily and everybody has their favorite location to get their coffee fix. Over the years, these trends change while coffee is introduced to new demographics. All of these coffee trends show that coffee is a popular drink among many age groups and is part of American culture.