The Newsletter October 2023

Coffee & Health:

Coffee can have both good and bad health benefits, depending on how often you drink it. We will be breaking down all the great health benefits you can gain from drinking coffee!

More energy: I think this one is a given but coffee beans contain caffeine, a natural stimulant that can help you feel more energized. 

Regular bowel movements: Drinking a cup of coffee can give you a boost of energy but it can also make you want to run to the toilet quickly too. Coffee works as a natural laxative and helps bowel movement for around one-third of the population, but I think we've all been there! 

Improved mood: Many people would agree that the cup of coffee can boost your mood, I know I can vouch for this! All it takes is that one cup of coffee in the morning and you might start feeling a bit better about the day to come. There was even a study that showed that people experienced a mood boost 30 minutes after caffeine consumption. 

Reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease:. Coffee contains a number of bioactive compounds that help our health in certain ways, including our brain health. Some evidence suggests that drinking coffee may be connected with a decreased risk of developing some conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and dementia. 

Even if you don't often or never drink caffeinated coffee you can still reap the rewards from drinking decaf coffee as well! Decaffeinated coffee offers a lot of health benefits as well, such as antioxidants, disease protection and even increased alertness.

So, is coffee good for me?

In moderation, yes it is. For many people coffee seems to be a great benefit — that’s 3 to 5 cups daily, or up to 400 milligrams of caffeine. Just try not to over do it!

However, watch out for over-consumption. While the research into coffee’s impact on health is ongoing, there are a lot of good reasons to wake up and have that morning cup of Joe!

Decaf: Friend or foe, it's actually quite clever.

"Death to decaf", "What's the point in decaf", "I drink real coffee, not that decaf crap". Chill out guys, decaf is actually kinda smart.

Caffeine is produced by coffee plants as an insect repellent, hoarding off critters trying to get a chomp of that tasty coffee cherry. 

As a result, coffee grown at higher altitudes has a lower caffeine content (due to the lower temperatures = less bugs) than coffee grown at lower altitudes. 

 Post-harvest decaffeination processes are often at risk of sounding scary and invasive, with terms such as 'chemical soaking' and 'ethyl acetate' resembling medieval torture methods. However, it's really nothing to worry about. 

Swiss Water Decaffeination Process: 

This process is best defined by the lack of invasive extraction of caffeine form the bean. The Swiss Water Process best define their step-by-step recipe online through the button below.

"Step 1: We create our Green Coffee Extract (GCE), made out of fresh water and all the soluble solids within coffee (minus the caffeine), GCE is key to our process.

Step 2: Before decaffeination, the green coffee is rehydrated to prepare for the target moisture level that is ideal for caffeine removal. This step also removes dirt, dust and silver skin.

Step 3: GCE is continuously circulated around the green coffee for a period of 8-10 hours, until there is no more than 0.1% of caffeine remaining in the green coffee. Caffeine is removed from the GCE through a proprietary carbon filter system, and the carbon is sent to a regeneration furnace to burn away the caffeine, so that it can be reused. 

We also continuously monitor the health of our GCE to ensure it can continue to operate at it's best. This way we don't create a new batch of GCE for every new batch of green coffee."

One of the great pillars of the coffee industry is inclusivity. There are some people within the industry that marginalise newcomers, patronise personal preferences and create rhetoric around consuming the highest quality, most expensive and most 'natural' sounding processes. The dismissing of Decaf as a second thought in our industry falls within these issues. Lets be friends with Decaf, it's going to be your best friend when you're 80, anyway. 

Sugarcane EA Process:

EA (Ethyl Acetate) is a naturally occurring compound, derived from the fermentation of sugarcane. EA is used because it can bind with, and extract caffeine within coffee beans. The beans are soaked, usually with water, and EA is added to the solution. Once the coffee has reached a desirable level of caffeine, the liquid is flushed and the beans are rinsed or steamed to remove the residue EA.   

Naturally Decaffeinated Crops:

There is ongoing research into cultivating hybrid coffee plants, resulting from crosses between different varieties, hoping to yield naturally low-caffeine coffee.  

Wholesale Partners: Iydea Vegetarian Kitchen:

A vegetarians dream. Iydea offers hot and cold cafeteria-style fast food that is healthy. 

Steve, the owner, found a gap in the market in Brighton and took full advantage. Everyone knows about Iydea, it is a great spot for tourists to grab an eat-in or takeaway (biodegradable packaging!) breakfast or lunch, it's also a hit with local offices and hospitality colleagues alike. 

The friendly and diverse team create a warming environment, perfect for taking a break from the North Laine madness and decompressing with a Veggie Lasagna and maybe a hot cup of Smokey Bird coffee. 

Location: 17 Kensington Gardens, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN1 4AL