The Hub November 2016 | Page 7

Brett Henderson As the days get colder, we ache for something cozy. On a dark cold Monday morning, the alarm suddenly interrupts that peaceful sleep you crave to recover from the weekend’s festivities. You toss and turn and think of 500 reasons not to get out of bed before you drag yourself out and remember that the best part of waking up might just be Folgers in your cup. Stumbling to the kitchen with eyes half open, you reach for your favourite mug; the day can finally begin with a cozy warm cup of coffee just the way you like it. Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted coffee beans, which are the seeds of berries from the Coffea plant. The genus Coffea is native to tropical Africa, and Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius and Réunion in the Indian Ocean. Coffee plants are now cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial regions. The two coffee plants most commonly grown are the highly regarded arabica- some of the earliest evidence of coffee drinking comes from Yemen - and the less sophisticated but stronger robusta. After the ripe coffee berries are picked, processed, and dried, the seeds (referred to as beans) are roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired flavour. Coffee may be brewed by boiling, steeping or pressurizing. Brewing coffee by boiling was the earliest method, and Turkish coffee is an example of this method. Brewed coffee from typical grounds prepared with tap water - the way most of us do it - More coffee facts Science says the best time to drink coffee is between 10 and 11:30 a.m. and 2 and 5 p.m. Men may be more susceptible to the effects of caffeine than women Most Americans get more antioxidants from coffee than they do from both fruits and vegetables combined (which is not necessarily a good thing) contains 40 mg caffeine per 100 grams and no essential nutrients in significant amounts. In espresso, however, likely due to its higher amount of suspended solids, there are significant amounts of magnesium, the B vitamins, niacin and riboflavin, and 212 mg of caffeine per 100 grams of grounds. Talk about concentrating your jolt of joe! Besides the ubiquitous Tim Hortons and the growing number of local Starbucks, you can still find almost a hundred independently owned coffee shops in our region by looking at findmecoffee.com Review your favourite spots, rate their brew, and make recommendations on social media to your friends and family. The only thing better than relaxing with a cup of coffee is being able to pour one for a friend.So enjoy a warm cozy cup of coffee this month and we’ll see you in December! Tell us on Facebook about your adventures with food this month, or tweet us @thehubWE #foodmatters November 2016 - The HUB 7