Coffee Health Risks: For the moderate drinker, coffee is safe says Harvard Women’s Health Watch

Three to four cups a day appeared to offer some protection

Tea and coffee drinkers have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a large body of evidence shows.

And the protection may not be down to caffeine since decaf coffee has the greatest effect, say researchers in Archives of Internal Medicine.

They looked at 18 separate studies involving nearly 500,000 people.

This analysis revealed that people who drink three or four cups of coffee or tea a day cut their risk by a fifth or more, say researchers.

The same amount of decaffeinated coffee had an even bigger effect, lowering risk by a third.

Type 2 diabetes usually starts after the age of 40 and develops when the body can still make some insulin, but not enough, or when the insulin that is produced does not work properly. Type 2 diabetes is treated with a healthy diet and increased physical activity. In addition to this, medication and/or insulin is often required.

The identification of the active components of these beverages would open up new therapeutic pathways for the primary prevention of diabetes mellitus The study authors

If the findings prove true, doctors may well start advising people to put the kettle on as well as take more exercise and watch their weight, say the researchers.

When the authors combined and analysed the data, they found that each additional cup of coffee consumed in a day cut diabetes risk by 7%.

Lead researcher Dr Rachel Huxley, from the University of Sydney in Australia, said because of the finding with decaffeinated coffee, the link is unlikely to be solely related to caffeine.

Instead, other compounds in coffee and tea – including magnesium and antioxidants known as lignans or chlorogenic acids – may be involved.

Special brew

“The identification of the active components of these beverages would open up new therapeutic pathways for the primary prevention of diabetes mellitus.

“If such beneficial effects were observed in interventional trials to be real, the implications for the millions of individuals who have diabetes mellitus, or who are at future risk of developing it, would be substantial.”

Dr Victoria King, of Diabetes UK, said: “Without full information about what other factors may be influencing the type 2 diabetes risk of the studies’ participants – such as their physical activity levels and diet – as well as what the active ingredient in tea or coffee appears to be, we cannot be sure what, if anything, this observed effect is down to.

“What we can be sure of is that the development of type 2 diabetes is strongly linked to lifestyle, which means that many cases could be prevented by keeping active and eating a healthy balanced diet that is low in fat, salt and sugar with plenty of fruit and vegetables.”

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8411605.stm

New Urbanists in particular, are a very progressive, forward-thinking group who “support regional planning for open space, context-appropriate architecture and planning, and the balanced development of jobs and housing. They believe their strategies can reduce traffic congestion, increase the supply of affordable housing, and rein in urban sprawl.” (Source: www.wikipedia.com) Furthermore, New Urbanists focus on green initiatives and the reduction of green house gasses through alternative methods of transportation. “Giving people many choices for living an urban lifestyle in sustainable, convenient and enjoyable places, while providing the solutions to peak oil, global warming, and climate change”. (http://www.newurbanism.org/newurbanism.html). These communities incorporate innovations and ideas such as walk-able urbanism, electric transportation, and renewable energy, just to name a few.

So you see, any of these places could be the perfect home for our prototype kiosks. Granting an opportunity to test innovations and challenge assumptions resulting in insights that will lead the way to our ability to serve amazing coffee in a new and exciting way.

I found this excellent map highlighting the most prolific coffee regions and thought that it ought to be on our page!

BEAN BELT: From humble origins in Africa, coffee cultivation wandered east and west, eventually forming a belt roughly bounded by the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

Growing regions typically offer moderate sunshine and rain, steady temperatures around 70ºF (20ºC), and rich, porous soil. In return the delicate tree yields beans that are an economic mainstay for dozens of countries and about 25 million people—and, among natural commodities, have a monetary value surpassed only by oil. Of the two main coffee trees, arabicas beget the better beans—and about 70 percent of the harvest. The harsher beans of the hardier robusta tree account for about 30 percent. (www.nationalgeographic.com)

Colonel Palheta is dispatched to French Guiana, ostensibly to mediate a border dispute. Eschewing the fortress-like coffee farms, suave Palheta chooses a path of less resistance—the governor’s wife. The plan pays off. At a state farewell dinner she presents him a sly token of affection: a bouquet spiked with seedlings.

From these scant shoots sprout the world’s greatest coffee empire. By 1800 Brazil’s monster harvests would turn coffee from an elite indulgence to an everyday elixir, a drink for the people. (www.nationalgeographic.com)

It is with great pleasure that we can officially introduce Mr. Henry Huston, “The Professor,” as a partner of the EVOBEAN Coffee Company.  Professor Huston comes to EVOBEAN as a seasoned entrepreneur whose skills have been recognized and appreciated as nothing short of invaluable.  Allow me also to note his infallible character.  Although he may try to disagree, the professor is a man whom exudes professionalism, a superior understanding of business strategy, a kindhearted humor and youthful charisma that will no doubt propel EVOBEAN to a level otherwise unobtainable.

As you all know we are on the cusp of launching a project started one year ago this very month.  The bean has seen its fair share of challenges, but as the team has grown deeper in its understanding of one another and overall belief in this venture’s objectives, these challenges have been met and overcome with greater efficiency and more laughter.  It is our greatest honor to be a part of such a diverse group of professionals and peers.

Professor, welcome.  And behalf of us all, LETS POUR SOME COFFEE!!!

Sincerely,

Team Evo

On the return passage to Martinique, wrote de Clieu, a “basely jealous” passenger, “being unable to get this coffee plant away from me, tore off a branch.”

Then came the pirates who nearly captured the ship; then came a storm which nearly sank it. Finally, skies grew clear. Too clear. Water grew scarce and was rationed. De Clieu gave half of his allotment to his stricken seedling.

Under armed guard, the sprout grew strong in Martinique, yielding an extended family of approximately 18 million trees in 50 years or so. Its progeny would supply Latin America, where a dangerous liaison would help bring coffee to the masses….

 (www.nationalgeographic.com)

The Dutch cleared the initial hurdle in 1616, spiriting a coffee plant into Europe for the first time. Then in 1696 they founded the first European-owned coffee estate, on colonial Java, now part of Indonesia.

Business boomed and the Dutch sprinted ahead to adjacent islands. Confident beyond caution, Ansterdan began bestowing coffee tress on aristocrats around Europe…. (www.nationalgeographic.com)

History tells us other Africans of the fueled up on protein-rich coffee-and-animal-fat balls—primitive PowerBars—and unwound with wine made from coffee-berry pulp. Coffee later crossed the Red Sea to Arabia, where things really got cooking

ESCAPE FROM ARABIA
(Circa 1000 to 1600)

Coffee as we know it kicked off in Arabia, where roasted beans were first brewed around A.D. 1000. By the 13th century Muslims were drinking coffee religiously. The “bean broth” drove dervishes into orbit, kept worshippers awake, and splashed over into secular life. And wherever Islam went, coffee went too: North Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, and India.

Arabia made export beans infertile by parching or boiling, and it is said that no coffee seed sprouted outside Africa or Arabia until the 1600s—until Baba Budan. As tradition has it, this Indian pilgrim-smuggler left Mecca with fertile seeds strapped to his belly. Baba’s beans bore fruit and initiated an agricultural expansion that would soon reach Europe’s colonies… (www.nationalgeographic.com)