TW | Caffeine and You

Nobody forces us to ingest caffeine. It’s not necessary. We choose to do so.

In studies where participants didn’t know they were ingesting caffeine, they opted for caffeinated beverages over non-caffeinated ones. This suggests that something in caffeine makes our brains love it, or at least want it, whether we know it or not.

So even without understanding how caffeine works, it’s easy to understand our attraction to caffeine. Here’s a rundown of the bells and whistles that come with a low to moderate dose of caffeine (100-200 mg for most people, and no more than 300 mg):

Makes you alert: Caffeine quickens reaction times and improves alertness. It reduces fatigue.

Sharpens mental focus: Attention spans last longer. Under caffeine, concentration improves. Memory may or may not improve, but caffeine appears to protect against memory loss, especially when you’re under stress. (Benefits to memory are inconclusive.)

Improves mood: People report increased well-being, happiness, and sociability. They feel energized and less depressed.

Boosts physical performance: Athletes experience improved speed, endurance, and reaction time. Caffeine helps the body burn fat instead of carbohydrate, blunts pain, and can suppress appetite.

Provides therapeutic benefits: Caffeine relieves pain. It’s also a powerful antioxidant. It can protect certain cells from long-term damage. Current research suggests caffeine may also reduce cognitive decline associated with aging, dementia, and Alzheimer’s. It also appears to prevent gallstones, and is used in treatment for Parkinson’s disease, liver disease, and colorectal cancer. It opens up bronchial passages, and helps asthmatics breathe easier. Caffeine leads to increased stimulation of your heart.

At the same time, caffeine can be fickle and flighty in its actions. Caffeine can benefit the heart by dilating coronary arteries and speeding up oxygen delivery. In the brain, caffeine has the opposite effect; it constricts blood vessels, reducing pressure and blood flow to the brain, and relieving headaches. In the lungs, caffeine relaxes bronchial tubes, making breathing easier.

Caffeine Basics: Table of Contents

Wild coffee plants originated in the same region where early humans may have been born: Ethiopia. Around 600 AD, the Oromo, a mountain tribe that still exists in Ethiopia, concocted a primitive “energy bar” by rolling up balls of ground coffee beans and ghee (clarified butter). Here’s an FAQ about coffee, starting with a few entertaining facts:

The green (unroasted) coffee beans carry a nutritious profile: 11% proteins, 8% sugars, 16% lipids, 4% minerals, and about 1% caffeine.
Green coffee beans are roasted and brewed into coffee as we know it.
Global coffee consumption is increasing at a rate of about 2 percent annually.

What is coffee? The tropical evergreen shrub known as Coffea produces red fruit with seeds, which we know as coffee beans. These red coffee “cherries” contain two seeds, and are plucked by hand when ripe. During processing, the seeds are removed from a pulpy outer covering, dried and roasted. Coffee plants thrive at higher elevations, from 1000 to 7000 feet depending on growing conditions and distance from the equator.

What are the different types of coffee beans? Thousands of species of coffee plants exist, but only two are the main sources of commercial coffee beans: C. arabica and C. robusta (also known as C. canephora). Arabica beans are considered more complex and smoother, while robusta beans are stronger in flavor. Robusta plants are hardier, more disease resistant, and grow at lower altitudes. Commercial beans are often named for their country of origin, roasting level, blend, and other flavor descriptors.

How much caffeine does coffee yield? Robusta beans contain twice the caffeine of arabica beans. But the actual caffeine in your cup varies depending on growing, roasting and brewing methods. In this book, we use 100 mg of caffeine per cup of brewed coffee as a standard. See the sidebars for other common examples. Decaffeinated coffee actually contains a small amount of caffeine, about 2-4 mg per cup. (Raw coffee beans contain 1-2% caffeine, by weight.)

Where does coffee come from? The world’s “Coffee Belt” runs between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Latin America grows 75 percent of the world’s coffee, Africa also produces coffee, and Southeast Asia has become an important coffee region. The top five coffee producers are, from most to least: Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, and India. Colombia grows only arabica beans. Vietnam grows robusta beans almost entirely.

What else does coffee contain? Like all plants, coffee contains thousands of chemical compounds. Roasting and other processing can alter these compounds, making some more volatile and destroying others. Coffee is rich in antioxidants, which may provide health benefits separate from those of caffeine. Coffee’s nutrition profile: 11% proteins, 8% sugars, 16% lipids, 4% minerals, and about 1% caffeine.

Caffeine Basics: Table of Contents