Introducing Coffee Leaf Tea
Max Rivest and Arnaud Petitvallet were grad students when they realized there’s
more to the coffee plant than its wildly popular beans. The leaves can be turned
into a delicious, clean-tasting tea low in caffeine (on par with decaf coffee) and
surprisingly high in polyphenols and antioxidants. Now business partners,
they say coffee leaf tea offers a much-needed alternative production model
for the coffee-producing countries of the world. Coffee is the second most
traded global commodity next to crude oil, but it’s harvestable for only
three months out of the year, usually December-March. Harvesting coffee
leaves, by contrast, is an ongoing job. It remains to be seen if tea and
coffee drinkers will be quick to embrace the new beverage on the block, but
so far reviews have been positive. “Refreshing,” “no aftertaste,” “pure” and
“not tannic” are some of the descriptors used by early testers.
(Source: treehugger.com)
MAXFACTS
Growing tips, news and trivia
Cultivating Medicine
For St. Paul, Minnesota, vegetable grower Dave Roeser, it’s
not just about salad anymore. He is now adding medicinal
plants to the mix. With his new company, MnPharm, Dave
plans to raise 100,000 genetically modified tobacco
plants that can be used to produce medicine for cancer
and flu vaccines. Scientists believe tobacco, more than
any other plant known to science, is suitable for the
rapid development of vaccines. The process starts when
the plants are exposed to genetic material related to
the disease or virus. The material grows along with
the plant until the plants are harvested and pureed to
extract the vaccine. MnPharm cofounder Jeff Reinert
says the process is similar to genetically modifying
food crops to become more drought-resistant or
more nutritious. Tobacco plants are also being
used for vaccine production in North Carolina,
Delaware and Kentucky.
(Source: twincities.com)
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Maximum Yield USA | April 2015
Understanding TDS
TDS stands for total dissolved solids, and represents the total concentration
of dissolved substances in water. TDS is made up of inorganic salts, as
well as a small amount of organic matter. Common inorganic salts that can
be found in water include calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium,
which are all cations, and carbonates, nitrates, bicarbonates, chlorides
and sulfates, which are all anions. These minerals can originate from a
number of sources, both natural and as a
result of human activities. Alone, a high
concentration of dissolved solids is
usually not a human health hazard.
In fact, many people buy mineral
water, which has naturally elevated
levels of dissolved solids. The US
Environmental Protection Agency,
which is responsible for drinking
water regulations, includes TDS as a
secondary standard, meaning it is a
voluntary guideline in the nation.
(Source: safewater.org)