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