Coffee News

This is both a story of good coffee by good people, and of me being a slacker.

I found out about this company nearly a year and a half ago, right when they were getting their business started and right when I first moved to Wheaton, IL.  I thought, How cool!  A fresh roasting company within two miles of where I live!

I even got ahold of them and asked if I could swing by to try their coffee and write them up in GroovyBrew.  But did I do it?  No.  I kept meaning to – they’re only two freaking miles away, for goodness sakes – but I just never got around to it.

Here’s the deal: not only are they a good roasting company that delivers freshly roasted beans, but they have a humanitarian mission.  In their own words:  “…we hire and train ex-offenders so they can experience the joy of turning their lives around through meaningful, productive work and a community of acceptance.  We use a holistic approach to ‘teach a man to fish,’ providing gainful employment, job training, and life skills.  This positively impacts the spiritual, social and economic condition of our employees, their families and the communities where they live.  So when you help yourself to a cup of our coffee, you’ll also be helping those in need.”

It turns out they have a booth at the French Market on Saturdays in quaint little downtown Wheaton, and it also turns out I spent this Saturday morning writing at the La Spiaza coffee house, also in downtown Wheaton.  I finished, packed up, but didn’t really want to head home – it was a beautiful day, and across the tracks I spotted some sort of outdoor market.

The French Market.

There among produce, pottery, leather wallets, and a robotics booth I stumbled across I Have a Bean.  Finally.  And I’m glad I did.

I picked up a bag of their Rwandan Rwabisindu, took it home, popped some in the grinder, brewed it, and have been enjoying it all afternoon.

It’s silky smooth – and I mean luxurious – and the taste is a light coco base with vanilla and pecan notes.  It ends with a pleasant, dry woodsmoke finish.  Freaking delicious and most definitely a groovy brew!

And it’s roasted by a very groovy company.  If you live in the area you can stop by and pick up beans roasted that same day, and those not in the area can order via their website and have it delivered within three days of roasting.

After the infamous Boston “tea party” of 1773, it became a patriotic duty for Americans to avoid tea, which of course was a boon to the already popular coffeehouses.  But then the Continental Congress actually passed a resolution against tea consumption.

“Tea must be universally renounced,” wrote John Adams, “and I must be weaned, and the sooner the better.”

Of course it helped that coffee was grown much closer to the rebellious colonies, and was therefore cheaper.

I just learned via Twitter that my friends over at Buddy Brew just had a break in over at their new store.  Fortunately the thieves didn’t vandalize the store, but they did steal a computer and a camera.

That sucks.

It’s prompted me, however, to do something I’ve been meaning to do for months, and that’s to sign up for their “Perpetual Brew” subscription service.  For only $17 a month it will keep me in fresh coffee automatically.  Also, it will help offset some of their loss.

I highly recommend you do the same.  It takes all the hassle of having fresh roast coffee available all the time.  And you don’t even have to buy a roaster.

And think of it this way … this can be your random act of kindness for the month, and in the bargain – YUMMY COFFEE.  Talk about win-win…

I ran into this article on the Telegraph.co.uk, and found it interesting on several levels.

It states that people who drink three or more cups of coffee a day, deemed “high caffeine users,” are much more likely to hallucinate, as in hear voices or even see things that are “not there.”

Like what?  The article specifically cites “hearing voices or sensing the presence of the dead.”

The researchers conclude that caffeine could heighten the effect that stress has on the body, triggering these hallucinations.  But then they admit it may also be a case of people who are more prone to hallucinations could also be more stressed and therefore more likely to consume large amounts of caffeine.

In other words, they don’t know if it’s the caffeine that’s causing it, or if the caffeine consumption is just another symptom of what ails them.

What I find interesting is that the researchers simply assume that the voices aren’t really there.  How do they know that?

Maybe, just maybe, caffeine heightens some people’s psychic abilities.

So, this is creating a controversy?

Starbucks seems to be under fire from some religious groups who think this new logo design is slutty and against God.

I have a big problem with this.

1) God designed the human body, therefor it is Holy, not slutty.

2) This is freaking mermaid, not a woman, and it’s based on ancient artwork.

3) She’s not engaged in anything pornographic.

4) If God had a problem with boobs, He wouldn’t have put them on people.

5) If Starbucks backs down and changes their logo to accommodate the whining of prudish, off-base, idiotic religious groups, they will lose what little respect I have for them.

Seriously, I could see an uproar if it featured something like the close up of a penis or a woman’s vagina, but this?

Come on, people. Get a life.

I have lots of good news for us coffee drinkers.

For years the coffee industry has been forced into a defensive stance, barraged as it’s been about supposed health risks of the drink. But lately, due to improved study methods and increased focus on the chemicals involved, researches have not only refuted many of the earlier negative claims, but have discovered significant health benefits in the drinking of coffee.

Moderation is the key. Too much of anything — including water — is bad for you. But a moderate amount of coffee, two to four cups a day, can improve your health. We’re not talking decaffeinated here, either, but the pure natural brew.

New research has found:

• Coffee increases alertness and improves the brain’s thinking power (uh, yeah, we know this one).
• Coffee contains a significant amount of antioxidants which help prevent cancer. Studies have specifically shown people who drink coffee are 25% less likely of developing colorectal cancer.
• The combination of coffee and exercise may raise the body’s ability to resist skin cancer by up to 400%.  <- New Finding
• Women who drink coffee reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by up to 33%.
• Coffee can help alleviate asthma by 25%.
• Coffee can diminish the craving for alcoholic beverages.
• Women who drink coffee are 65% less likely to commit suicide.
• Men who drink coffee are 40% less likely of developing gallstones.
• Coffee drinkers show an 80% reduction in risk for cirrhosis of the liver.
• Drinking coffee reduces the risk for Parkinson’s disease two- to three-fold.
• Coffee actually improves physical stamina.
• Coffee helps diminish headaches.
• Coffee has been shown to reduce tooth decay by slowing the growth of the bacteria that causes it, as well as preventing these bacteria from adhering to tooth enamel.

Also studies have shown that coffee does not, as previously thought, cause or contribute to cardiovascular disease. In fact, these studies have shown that coffee drinkers are 30% less likely to develop it.

Another reversal of popular belief, it’s been shown that coffee has nothing to do with bone loss.

So rejoice! Fire up that coffee pot! Revel in your morning dose of coffee.

It’s good for you.