Java Jim

What is it that prompts our need for that morning cup of Joe? Why is it that we can’t drag ourselves into consciousness without first taking a sip of a triple shot nonfat latte? It’s the caffeine, of course. Caffeine is a natural stimulant. In fact, caffeine is actually considered the most widely used psychoactive drug in the world.

Caffeine is actually the most widely used psychoactive ‘drug’ in the world. About 80% of the total world population consumes caffeine, in tea, in coffee, in sodas and even in chocolate, on a daily basis. Fully 90% of Americans consume caffeine in one form or other each day. Half of those 90% ingest more than 300 milligrams of caffeine on a daily, day to day basis. Caffeine makes things work.

The question becomes then, why is caffeine so necessary and what is it that makes it so appealing? In scientific terms caffeine is known as trimethylxanthine and its molecular formula is C8H10N4O2. As a pure substance, caffeine is odorless and white in appearance and acidic in taste.

The German scientist Friedrich Ferdinand Runger discovered caffeine in the year 1819. He christened it kaffein, given that it could be derived from the beverage coffee.

Caffeine occurs naturally in some species of plants, which use it to keep away potentially fatal insects. Caffeine is actually a natural pesticide.

Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system. It acts quite literally like a pick me up. Ingest caffeine and you’ll feel less drowsy, more alert and ready to go. This is why so many people rely on it to wake up in the mornings. Caffeine also has diuretic characteristics, although studies have shown that these aren’t necessarily significant. Caffeine takes about 30-45 minutes to be absorbed by the body. The duration of its effects varies, but for the average healthy adult, it lasts around 4-5 hours.

There are varying opinions as to the effects and benefits of caffeine. High caffeine consumption which is considered to be more than 6,000 mg/day (most Americans consume about 280 mg/day, while about 20-30% consume more than 600 mg) is considered to be adverse to one’s health. It can lead to sleeping problems and it is addictive.

The more caffeine you consume, the more tolerance for it you build, meaning that you have to take more to feel its effects; it’s the same with other drugs. Caffeine tolerance or adaption is developed quickly. It can be addicting. Consumers of large quantities of caffeine do often experience withdrawal symptoms such as headaches and nausea.

When consumed in moderation, caffeine can enhance physical and mental performance. Studies have shown that caffeine can improve endurance in athletes especially in high intensity activities.

Percolated coffee contains around 80-135 mg of caffeine per serving; drip coffee, on the other hand contains 115-175 mg of caffeine. A Starbucks coffee, tall, 12 ounces contains 240 mg of caffeine. Green tea contains 30 mg, while black tea contains 50 mg.

Caffeine is not recommended in large quantities for pregnant women. Although the findings are as yet inconclusive, there is some evidence to suggest that caffeine may affect the formation of the fetus or possibly increase the risk of miscarriage. It may also affect fertility. That being said, there is no direct link connecting caffeine to miscarriage.

Some religious followers don’t consume caffeine-Christian Scientists, Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists, among others.

Coffee lovers and caffeine addicts all over have argued for years and years over which type of coffee maker makes the best coffee. The question will never been answered satisfactorily since it’s merely a matter of personal choice. And there are many choices!

Originally, coffee beans were chewed like vitamins or even candy. The effects were well known by ancient civilizations as they fed them to warriors before battles. Their descendants, however, figured out a more pleasurable way to enjoy coffee beans, and thus was invented real brewed coffee.

Even cowboys came to love their coffee as they herded cattle and led wagon trains out West. Many still believe that the only true perfect cup of coffee can be achieved using a percolator over an open fire. Cowboys didn’t care about sugar and milk, they drank their coffee black – and sometimes thick. The same percolators were used at home, over the open fire of a stove. And anyone who ever percolated a pot of coffee will tell you the same thing – percolators boil over and can cause quite the mess!

Fast forward to the late 1950s. A leading houseware manufacturer invented the electric percolator and women scooped them up by the thousands. These worked on the same principle – water boiling up through the coffee grounds – but they had built it controls and monitoring devices to virtually prevent any messy mishaps. Just follow the simple directions and within minutes you’ll have very good cup of java.

In the early 1970s an even newer coffee maker – the “drip” model – was brought to market and, once again, housewives couldn’t buy them fast enough. The results were the same but the technology differed a bit. Instead of the water boiling up through a holder where the coffee grounds were placed and turning into coffee as they flowed back down again, the water was boiled separately and dripped little by little from the top, through the grounds. The difference was that water only hit the coffee grounds once, as opposed to the percolator method where the coffee would keep recycling through the wet grounds.

Nothing much changed until the late 1980s when gourmet coffees became a hit and machinery to brew these new coffees was made available to residential homes, not just restaurants and coffee houses. Machines that made cappuccino and espresso and latte became the rage. Much more expensive than the regular coffee makers everyone used for their morning caffeine hits, these machines were big, bulky, expensive – and selling like hot cakes. Coffee lovers proudly displayed their new espresso machines right next to their regular coffee makers.

As other cultures continued to influence American cuisine, we became familiar with the French press and what is affectionately known as “the Cuban coffee maker” – two coffee makers that produce very strong brews, tastes that need to be acquired by the average American. The French press is similar to a drip coffee maker since the water in effect still drips through the coffee grounds. However, the water drips very slowly because the grounds are very fine. When they get wet they turn into a sort of clay, forcing the water to take its time going through, and building up strength as they do so.

Whether you prefer your coffee strong, average, or even a variety, there’s a machine to suit your needs.

It’s a well-known fact that coffee keeps you awake. It’s similarly well-known that this is down to the fact that coffee contains caffeine. But do you know why it is that caffeine has this effect? Is it the caffeine itself? Or is something else going on in your body to stop you feeling drowsy?

What happens is that caffeine serves to inhibit the effectiveness of the chemical that reacts in the brain to make us sleepy. This sounds a bit worrying, but is simply a natural chemical reaction, whereby adenosine – which occurs naturally in the body – can’t perform its proper function.

Adenosine is produced naturally in the body as a result of our daily routine. Our brains feature adenosine receptors, that this chemical binds itself to, which helps to slow down our brain’s nerve cell activity, leading us to get drowsy and fall asleep.

As a by-product of this binding, blood vessels within the brain are dilated, which serves to let more oxygen to the brain whilst you are asleep. It seems funny that one of the chemicals that is produced by exercise – adenosine – has the counter-intuitive effect of causing you to fall asleep, but natural that it would allow more oxygen in.

Caffeine has a similar constituency to adenosine – at least it does from the point of view of your nerve cells. So caffeine will bind itself to your adenosine receptors in the same way that adenosine does. Caffeine, though, doesn’t have the effect of slowing down the nerve cells. In fact, as the receptors can’t detect any adenosine, the nerve cell activity now actually speeds up.

Caffeine also has the opposite effect from dilating the blood vessels, leading to them constricting. If you have particular types of headache, this is the reason some cures include caffeine, to restrict the flow of pain-causing blood cells getting to the brain.

As the caffeine is blocking the adenosine from slowing down nerve cell activity, there is increased activity within the brain. Our bodies then react by assuming we’re in some kind of threatening situation, so hormones are generated which trigger the release of adrenalin – the well-known ” fight or flight” chemical.

Everyone realises that the last thing you need when you want to get to sleep is a boost of adrenaline. Which is essentially why coffee keeps you awake – with the adrenaline leading to tense muscles, a faster heartbeat, and even a feeling of excitement that is certainly not conducive to dropping asleep.

Sales of coffee are soaring in America. One of the largest areas of sales are in espresso, cappuccinos, and lattes. While you may think that it is only possible to get a good espresso at a drive through coffee stand, by choosing from the many espresso coffee makers available for home brewing, you can make a great cup of espresso at home.

The least expensive espresso coffee making machines begin at a price of under fifty dollars.

These inexpensive espresso coffee making machines use steam power to force the hot water through the coffee grounds. There is a sealed chamber that the water is placed in. As steam pressure builds the water is forced out and through the grounds that have been tightly packed. True espresso lovers say that the water is not forced through the grounds in a steam machine with enough pressure to produce a cup of true espresso.

These inexpensive espresso machines also often have a valve that allows to steam to be redirected through a side vent for steaming milk.

More expensive coffee coffee makers with the pump for forcing the hot water through the coffee can cost over five thousand dollars, although some very well liked models cost only one hundred fifty dollars.

If you are purchasing the more expensive machine and steaming milk is important to you, be sure that the machine you choose has this feature, as several of this type of machine do not offer the option.

If you want to have a quality cup of espresso, one like the Italians have in their home, then take a look at the many stovetop espresso machines available. Some cost less than the cheapest of the steam driven machines and most cost less than the least expensive pump driven machines. They can brew several cups of espresso in just a few minutes. Many espresso lovers cannot tell the difference between stove top espresso and the most expensive of the pump driven machines.

. Remember that espresso cups are very small, generally 1. 5 to 2 ounces. If you buy a nine cup espresso maker, it will only produce 18 ounces of espresso at one time. That is about enough to fill one large coffee mug, but enough to make two quads from the local coffee shop. You should only expect to make two coffees for the average American using the nine ounce espresso maker.

The only complaints about the stovetop espresso coffee machines were for the cheapest of models that were made in PRC rather than in Italy. These models tend to have internal parts break and replacement parts are not available, making it necessary to replace the entire espresso maker.

To brew the best cup of espresso, no matter what coffee maker you have, you will want to purchase high quality freshly roasted beans. Many of the beans sold in bulk at the local grocery store have already passed their prime from the time of roasting. The difference in coffee between the drive through and what you make at home can usually be attributed to the beans that you choose.

Do not buy beans in large quantities unless you make large amounts of espresso every day. Coffee beans are best when used within a week after roasting and ground fresh for each brewing of coffee.