Coffee Drinkers Rejoice! Caffeine and Exercise Found to Prevent Skin Cancer

Good news coffee drinkers, A recent study at Rutgers University found that exercise and caffeine, used together, doubled the levels of the tumor-suppressing protein "phospho-p53. Exercise alone boosted this protein by 18% and drinking two cups off coffee increased this protein by 27%.

So drinking coffee and exercising may prevent cancer in sun-damaged skin cells by increasing the level of a tumor-blocking protein in the body.

"We think this points out a need for more studies to see if the combination will protect people against sunlight-induced skin cancer," said the study's senior researcher, Allan Conney, the director of the Laboratory for Cancer Research at Rutgers University.

This research was conducted as a result of a previous study on Green Tea. It was found that only the caffeinated version of Green Tea helped get rid of DNA damaged skin cells. The decaffeinated Green Tea had no effect to repair damaged skin cells.

Here is What I Recommend as The Best Strategy to Use Caffeine and Exercise Together

1) Don't eat anything 4 hours before working out

2) 30 minutes before training drink two cups of coffee or 3 cups of Green Tea

3) Make sure and perform intense cardio after lifting to take advantage of caffeine's fat burning potential

It looks like mother nature wants us to drink coffee! So Starbucks is a health food store...I knew it! Don't go crazy here...coffee and green tea is great as long as you don't load it down with sugar and cream. Stick with black coffee. My drink of choice is a "Double Tall Iced Americano". This is basically a fancy way of making iced coffee with espresso shots, water and ice. You can make a similar drink with brewed coffee, but it isn't quite the same.

Not only will caffeine reduce your risk of skin cancer, it will give you energy on a low calorie diet to burn body fat like crazy!

Rusty Moore is the author of a controversial fitness blog called the Fitness Black Book. Learn workout routines that give you a sexy lean body instead of a bulky one! Too much muscle is "cheesy"...find out how to look attractive! Visit his site today...

More About Coffee And Health

Good news, coffee lovers! Drinking coffee actually has quite a few health benefits. For many years, drinking coffee was considered to be a vice, and it was not until the past decade that we began to learn that coffee can actually be good for you.

In addition to the benefits that caffeine offers such as mental alertness and acuity, coffee also benefits your health in other ways. One of the most promising health benefits of coffee is its ability to help lower the risk for developing type 2 diabetes. With over a million new cases of diabetes diagnosed every single year, this is good news for all coffee drinkers. The link between coffee and a reduced risk of diabetes is still being investigated, but scientists have been able to determine that just a few cups per day may reduce your risk by up to thirty percent.

Recently, studies at Harvard Medical School have highlighted another benefit to drinking coffee. The studies indicate that coffee has significant anti-cancer properties, and coffee drinkers are fifty percent less likely to develop liver cancer than nondrinkers. There is data to indicate that coffee also lowers your risk for colon, breast, and rectal cancers as well.

There has also been significant research indicating that individuals who consume an average of 3-5 cups per day have a significantly lower risk of developing either dementia or Alzheimer's later in life.

While scientists continue to study the effects of coffee in order to determine its effect on health, it is safe to say that there are many different benefits which can be gained from coffee consumption. In addition to the benefits listed above, coffee is also extremely rich in antioxidants, which most people do not get enough of.

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Coffee News Franchise Establishing Themselves As the Cream of the Crop

William Buckley can tell you first hand that the seeds to entrepreneurship are often found during more difficult times. Almost 20 years ago, Buckley lost his job with one of Maine's largest savings banks due to a merger. After several interim jobs, he discovered Coffee News, a small publication given out in coffee houses and other eateries. The advertising opportunities intrigued him enough to buy his own Coffee News local territory.

To say he took to this business opportunity would be a bit of an understatement. Buckley and Coffee News went together like, well, coffee and the morning paper.

It took only a year for the Canadian based company to see something special in Buckley, and offered him the rights to franchise all of the U.S. Eventually, Buckley would go on to purchase the company and gain control of the world wide publishing and distribution rights. Coffee News now has 1075 franchisees in over 22 countries.

Coffee News is a weekly restaurant publication delivered free of charge to restaurants, coffee shops, hotels, hospitals, nursing homes, doctors offices, walk in medical clinics, employer break rooms or anywhere people sit, and wait or eat. Coffee News only has good news and no bad news and is filled with fun interesting stories, jokes and trivia. Small and medium sized advertisers purchase space in the publication in exclusive ad spaces. Only one business per industry category and restaurants are not allowed to advertise unless in tourist areas.

Like most home based businesses, franchisees can choose to run their territory on a full or part time basis, but he states that they "prefer full time publishers. Some stay at home Moms can publish one or two franchises if the children are in school. On the other hand we have some publishers who own 22 franchises and employ several people."

With over 1000 territories being run, including home offices in Mexico, Venezuela, Spain, Canada, and New Zealand, franchisees come in all shapes and sizes. "We look for people who like people, have good sales and networking skills and are self starters," says Buckley. "If they have a desire to work for themselves and be independent and make in excess of 100k per year, we would like to talk to them. We have had some excellent military retirees, and other early retirees who have done extremely well. They must enjoy going out on the streets to meet the business owners in their stores."

Business is thriving, up nearly 25% this year alone. "Coffee News is a very affordable advertising medium for small to medium sized businesses that do not have large advertising budgets. People love to read Coffee News. It is universally attractive so advertisers get great results."

All this points to a great work from home business opportunity.

According to the Coffee News website, surveys show that the Coffee News publication is read five to seven times. "It has been proven that people absorb more advertising messages before or during eating, as there is a need for mental input - food for thought - during this time period. Coffee News is designed to take full advantage of this fact."

In 2008 Coffee News purchased a large printing company in Houlton, Maine. This facility is responsible for printing over 11 million copies of Coffee News a year. Not outsourcing the printing is one of the many ways the franchisor keeps costs down, making it one of the more affordable franchises to buy into. To buy into this home based business, a franchisee needs only $8000 for their first territory. Additional territories are then discounted to $5500. Financing is also available after the purchase of the first franchise. The average publisher owns 3 franchises.

To help franchisees reach their potential, free 2 1/2 day training sessions are offered led by corporate staff and veteran publishers. Some topics that may be covered are sales, ad design, billing, collections, distribution, marketing, and startup. This program is optional to take, however, 95% of existing Coffee News publishers have attended. Additional support includes mentor programs, personal calls, free Quickbooks software with a built in Merchants services program for charge cards, conferences, newsletters, regional meetings, and online chat groups.

Advertising experience is not a necessity to be a successful Coffee News franchisee. The operations manual not only teaches how to design ads, but also how ads work, giving the franchisee a better understanding of the business as a whole. The tools provided will allow franchisees to help small businesses even in trying times, making this a home based business opportunity that can thrive during recessions.

"Why be limited to a paycheck when you can make as much as you want" offers Buckley.

There are thousands of franchises available, and Buckley is proud to point out that only 2% of them have over 1000 franchisees, a true sign that his quick growth was no fluke. Will this type of success continue? Its safe to say that as long as coffee and the morning paper continue to form a powerful partnership, we can expect to see Coffee News take advantage and thrive.

Eric Stein has always had an entrepreneurial mind, and when the economic downturn hit he turned to the internet to seek an additional means of income. It was the lack of information available in one source that lead Eric to create with his business partner Home Business Bug. Home Business Bug is an up-and-coming home business web site where individuals can find legit home based business opportunities. Read informative and resourceful work from home articles at Home Business Bug. Home Business Bug also offers FREE advertisement to business owners that have a work from home or home based business opportunity. Do you have a home based business or work from home opportunity? Advertise with HomeBusinessBug for FREE.

In Search of the Best Coffee Makers

Coffee may be the most popular beverage in the world. Recent statistics indicate that over 50% of the American population are coffee drinkers and this number would more than likely hold true in many other countries as well. This more than any thing else helps to explain why there is such a wide range of coffee makers available for purchase today.

With such a diverse range of coffee machines, there is more choice for the coffee drinking public than ever before. Main stream popular styles include the Automatic and Manual Drip, Pod, Automatic Espresso, French Press, Percolator, Stovetop Espresso and the Vacuum. Each one of these styles has some unique characteristic that are sure to appeal to a certain segment of the coffee drinking public.

Automatic and Manual Drip Coffee Machines

The most popular style of coffee maker continues to be the automatic drip coffee maker. The basic design is very simple and efficient. Add fresh water to the built-in reservoir, insert a filter in to the handy filter holder, measure your favorite coffee grounds and pour into the filter and then press the start button. Within minutes your senses are excited by the smell of freshly brewed hot coffee! Most models also have a built-in timer and a pot warmer included so that you can set your coffee to brew and be ready at any hour of the day or night, and kept constantly warm as well.

Manual drip coffee brewers do take a bit more work since you need to boil the water using another heat source, but after that it is basically the same coffee making process of putting coffee grounds in the filter and pouring the hot water through the filter so that the coffee liquid is collected in the pot or container below. One great advantage of the manual drip coffee machine is that is can go most any where with you as it is not dependent upon having electricity to operate so it is great for camping and other outdoor activities.

Pod Coffee Machines

These are becoming very trendy and popular in recent years. Working similar to the automatic drip machines, they feature the ability to use pre-packaged containers or pods of specialty coffees to brew great tasting coffee. With many reputable coffee chains such as Starbucks now selling their most popular coffee blends in the pod format, consumers can get the same tasting cup of specialty coffee at home that they had to go out and purchase before at a much higher price.

Automatic Espresso Coffee Brewer

Espresso coffee makers have become much more affordable in recent years and because of this, they are gaining in popularity amongst serious coffee drinkers wanting something more than just a normal cup of coffee. There are currently three types of espresso coffee brewers to choose from, namely semi automatic, fully automatic, and super automatic. As a rule, the more automatic the espresso maker is, the less you need to do to brew your coffee, but unfortunately the more expensive it is to purchase. For example, where a semi-automatic model will tamp the coffee grounds, brew the coffee, fill your cup and eject the old grounds, an entirely automatic model will also grind the coffee for you as well, and the super automatic espresso coffee maker will do all of the above plus having additional features such as built-in water filters and self-cleaning.

Stovetop Espresso Coffee Maker

The stovetop espresso coffee brewers are basically a manual method for preparing espresso coffee when you do not have access to an automatic version or an electrical source of energy. This makes it an ideal coffee maker for taking outdoors on camping or fishing trips if you feel the need to make an espresso cup of coffee. First water is placed inside the underside boiler and then a cone filter is situated inside the boiler and filled with coffee grounds. Next the top is lightly tightened and the brewer is place over the heat source. After a few minutes, once the top of the boiler is filled with the freshly brewed coffee it is removed from the heat supply and the coffee is ready to be served. Here again, the absence of any warming feature means the coffee has to be served immediately.

French Press Coffee Maker

Also known as "press pots" or "plunger pots", the French Press coffee makers are not as common as they once were. Preparing coffee is more work than it would be using any of the coffee makers already discussed as it is a manual coffee machine. The pot is actually a glass or porcelain tube consisted of a stainless, mesh plunger that acts like a filter. To make the coffee you must first measure the coffee grounds into the pot, then pour in almost boiling water. After allowing the coffee mixture to steep for a few minutes, the plunger is then pushed downwards and the liquid beverage is forced into the waiting cup or container. As there is no built-in heating plate or element beneath the coffee container, you must serve the coffee beverage immediately or place it into an insulated container to keep it hot for later.

Percolator Coffee Maker

At one time percolator coffee makers were the standard type of coffee brewers in most households, a role now held by the automatic drip machines. Although not as popular today, they still have their place when a coffee maker is required that can brew large volumes of coffee rather than the 10-14 cup limit or less in most other popular coffee machines sold these days. Modern percolators are available as stove top models and electric and can be programmed like other automatic coffee machines. The coffee making process is based on running water continuously over the coffee grounds, held within a metal filter, as the water is boiled. One drawback of this method is that the coffee often gets stronger and more bitter tasting the longer it goes through the brewing cycle.

Vacuum Coffee Maker

Perhaps the strangest looking type of coffee machine is the vacuum coffee maker. Looking like something from a science fiction movie, the apparatus is made up of two overlapping containers connect by a siphon tube. The filter is located in the bottom section of the upper container. To brew coffee, the user first adds coffee grounds to the upper container, then pours water into the lower container. Next the brewer is placed on top of a stove where the water is then boiled and the resulting steam is passed along through the siphon tube into the upper container. After about 3 minutes the container is removed from the heat source and the steam condenses back into liquid water which is forced through the filter and back into the lower unit. Your fresh pot of coffee is now sitting in the lower unit. An interesting way to brew a cup or pot of coffee!

Needless to say, coffee lovers can select from a wide variety of coffee makers. From cheap stove top coffee pots to high end super automatic coffee machines, there is a coffee machine for every inclination as well as for every budget. Fantastic news! Now here is the unpleasant news. With all the many coffee machines to choose from today, even knowing the style you favor is not enough. Within each of the coffee maker styles noted above there are numerous different brand names and models to choose from.

Fortunately the Internet gives you a quick and really helpful way to unearth what's presently accessible at what price. With a bit of time and investigating it's also possible to weed out the junk from the best coffee makers. Merely go online and visit some coffee maker review websites. Please keep in mind that all coffee brewer review websites usually are not created equal, so you must take what you read with caution. For myself I'd look for coffee review sites where the reviewers include independent test data together with buyer feedback to provide unbiased and truthful information about the coffee makers being reviewed and rated.

Coffee For Your Health

Many of us rely on coffee to get us going in the mornings, wake us up in the afternoons, and prepare us for that special business meeting. Go ahead, have a cup of coffee. It's much healthier than you may be thinking right now.

Coffee is the most consumed beverage in the world. No matter where you go, coffee is usually available. Yet, until recently there's been very little research on the effects of coffee on our health. The researcher's are waking up however. There have recently been studies completed on a variety of health benefits to drinking that simply delicious cup of coffee.

In a study in Italy, it was proven that that brewed coffee contains many antioxidants and consumption of antioxidant-rich brewed coffee may inhibit diseases caused by oxidative damages. When compared to other caffeine containing beverages like tea and cocoa, coffee proved to be the best in helping to prevent disease.

Caffeine in Coffee - Good or Bad?

The caffeine in coffee has often been a source of concern for many. Most people have problems sleeping when they drink coffee right before bedtime. Others will drink coffee to give them that boost of energy caffeine provides. Some even feel their heart rate increase if they drink too much coffee.

Did you know there are also benefits to the caffeine found in coffee? Coffee intake ( due to the caffeine) was associated with a significantly lower risk for Alzheimer's Disease, independently of other possible confounding variables. These results, with future prospective studies, may have a major impact on the prevention of Alzheimer's disease.

Another benefit of drinking coffee has been studied in China. Their research clinically proved the caffeine in coffee helps to prevent Parkinson's disease. Many of us have been led to believe that caffeine is bad for us. True enough, large quantities may hurt us, but the evidence is strong for the benefits it provides.

Coffee - Healthy Tonic for the Liver?

Studies completed in Japan indicated that people who drink more than a cup of coffee a day are less likely to develop liver cancer than those who do not, Japanese researchers say. Coffee also helped lower the risk of cirrhosis of the liver. Chlorogenic acid present in coffee beans has been proven in studies to also reduce the risk of liver cancer.

Harvard Medical School completed a study in 2004 that strongly suggest coffee has preventative qualities for Type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. The authors found an inverse association between coffee intake and type 2 diabetes after adjustment for age, body mass index, and other risk factors. Total caffeine intake from coffee and other sources was associated with a statistically significantly lower risk for diabetes in both men and women. These data suggest that long-term coffee consumption is associated with a statistically significantly lower risk for type 2 diabetes.

Coffee and Physical Fitness

The amounts of water, carbohydrate and salt that athletes are advised to consume during exercise are based upon their effectiveness in preventing both fatigue as well as illness due to hyperthermia, dehydration or hyper hydration. The old issues concerning coffee and caffeine were that it acts as a diuretic, thus causing more fluid loss during activity. Studies have caused researchers to re think this point. These studies suggest that consuming caffeine does not have this effect and can even have beneficial effects on keeping the body fit.

Caffeine does not improve maximal oxygen capacity directly, but could permit the athlete to train at a greater power output and/or to train longer. It has also been shown to increase speed and/or power output in simulated race conditions. These effects have been found in activities that last as little as 60 seconds or as long as 2 hours. There is less information about the effects of caffeine on strength; however, recent work suggests no effect on maximal ability, but enhanced endurance or resistance to fatigue. There is no evidence that caffeine ingestion before exercise leads to dehydration, ion imbalance, or any other adverse effects.

What about the negative effects of coffee?

Coffee is enjoyed as a drink by millions of people worldwide. It contains caffeine, which is a mild stimulant, and in many people coffee enhances alertness, concentration and performance. Although it contains a wide variety of substances, it is generally accepted that caffeine is responsible for many of coffee's physiological effects. Because caffeine influences the central nervous system in a number of ways and because a small number of people may be particularly sensitive to these effects, some people have attributed coffee to all sorts of health problems.

Caffeine is not recognized as a drug of abuse and there is no evidence for caffeine dependence. Some particularly sensitive people may suffer mild symptoms of withdrawal after sudden abstention from coffee drinking. A 150ml cup of instant coffee contains about 60mg caffeine, filtered coffee slightly more; for those who like coffee but are sensitive to caffeine, the decaffeinated beverage contains only 3mg per cup.

Coffee drinking can help asthma sufferers by improving ventilator function.

There is no evidence that coffee drinking is a risk for the development of cancer. For several types of cancer there is disagreement between studies but again, other aspects of lifestyle may be implicated. There is even a strong suggestion that coffee may have a protective effect against colon cancer. A possible explanation may lie in the many antioxidant substances present in coffee and which are currently subjects of active research.

In some sensitive individuals, ingestion of coffee after a period of abstinence may cause a temporary rise in blood pressure but there is no hypertensive effect in the long term. Coffee made by the Scandinavian method of boiling or by the cafetiere method may cause mild elevation of plasma cholesterol concentration in some people, but instant, filter coffee, and liquid coffee extract have no such effects. Overall there is no influence of coffee drinking on heart disease risk.

There is no sound scientific evidence that modest consumption of coffee has any effects on outcomes of pregnancy or on the wellbeing of the child. Bone health is not affected by coffee drinking. Adverse effects in some published studies have been attributed to aspects of lifestyle that are often shared by coffee drinkers, such as smoking and inactivity. Coffee drinking can help asthma sufferers by improving ventilator function.

There is no reason for people who are prone to ulcers to avoid coffee.

Research continues and must be subjected to critical scrutiny and re-evaluation. At the present time, there is no reason to forego the pleasurable experience of moderate coffee drinking for health reasons. Go ahead... Have a cup of delicious coffee!

Hilda Maria is a stay at home mother of five, who enjoys writing about coffee and giving custom coffee mugs and coffee cups as gifts!

Home Coffee Roasting

Home Coffee Roasting - Makes all the difference

As I sit here one the deck with my daily morning cup of coffee, I realize... just a few years ago I'd have had a cup of dark strong, stovetop brew with some milk to ease the taste. No more!! Now there's almost every kind of coffee available that you can imagine.

Roasting at Home

First, we'll start with the fact that you can buy green coffee beans and roast them to your liking right in you own home. One way to roast coffee beans at home is to skillet fry the beans until they are brown. They need to be cooked somewhere between 460F degrees and 530F. Beans must be kept moving so it won't cook them unevenly. The roasting must stop at the right time and cooled down quickly. This is the old method but definitely won't taste like today's methods and needs proper venting.

Another way to roast coffee beans is with a hot-air corn popper. Hot-air poppers roast pretty quickly causing a bright, medium roast and strong flavored dark roasts. Giving a clear-cut taste opposite of beans roasted in a gas oven or in a stovetop popper. This may be a little easier than other methods. There is less to worry about, such as setting the temperature just right.

Although a great taste, there is a down side to using these poppers. First of all only not all poppers are designed to roast coffee. You should only use the ones with the proper roasting chambers. This way makes a less amount each time than other methods. Roasting with the popper will also cause smoke to be more difficult to vent. Most of these poppers can be used to make French or Espresso coffee, which is darker but are not recommended. This may cause your popper to be over worked and shorten its life.

Roasting beans in a gas oven was also popular. You could roast more at a time and the oven did the venting for you. Just set the ovens temperature like baking. This had to be a much easier way and the results were rather good. Don't forget, the timing and cooling process for all roasting is very important and may be different in other blends to achieving the goal for a great cup of coffee.

The only way you are going to find out which technique you might enjoy to use is to find a whole bean coffee roasted style that you already like, then try to make it yourself at home. Do a little experimenting!

Brewing Methods

Next let's move on to the many different brewing methods. There are several different ways in which to brew coffee. Before you choose a coffee maker you need to understand first what you demand out of the machine. It will be a question only the person using it can answer. Let's examine the differences a little closer.

The filter drip is the most popular method used to brew coffee because it is easy to operate and consistent. Water is poured in a chamber where it is heated and slowly poured over the ground coffee. This can be done two ways. It can be electronically dripped or manually poured over the grounds. Some electric machines can be preset to have the coffee ready for you when you wake up in the morning. Others may prefer the taste of hand-brewed coffee for a different flavor.

The French drip is another form of drip coffee making, which is made without paper filters. A separate top sits above the porcelain coffee pot and acts as the strainer as the water soaks into the grounds. Working its way through the strainer, coffee liquid makes its way to the bottom pot for hot steaming coffee.

The Percolator was the preferred way to make coffee in the 1950's. Now coffee drinkers see the light that the coffee made this way was thin, watery and bitter. Most people may remember it by the perking pot and the aroma it gave off.

The Neapolitan flip device is made up of two segment. The whole product comes in aluminum, copper or stainless steel. An area in between the two segments holds the coffee grounds. The lower part is poured with water and put directly on the stovetop to heat. While boiling the steam goes through a hole under the grounds. After that, the pot is removed from the stove, flipped over to drip the water on the grounds, which go into the serving pot. The down side to this is that it only makes about 3 or 4 cups per serving.

There are two different types of espresso makers, stovetop and household electric counter top model. A nice characteristic about the counter top model is it can steam milk for cappuccino and latte's. Stovetop on the other hand have two parts similar to the Neapolitan flip method only no flipping needed.

French Press is a trendy European way that allows for more oils and coffee solids that give you a cup of coffee with a lovely smell and has a dense body. More of your strong coffee drinkers would prefer this technique. Although good and strong, some grounds may enter the coffee during process.

Vacuum procedures are more involved and are used for ceremonies mostly by the Japanese. They are rare and very hard to find.
The Middle Eastern way is popular of course in the Middle East and also Greece and Turkey. Their form of making coffee is also very different and comes out to be dark, thick and syrupy tasting. Because it is so rich, one or two cups a day would probably be all I could drink.

Last but not least on the list, the cold water method Simply soaking the coffee grinds in cold water for about a day, straining the grounds, and storing the liquid in a refrigerator for a few weeks. When you want a cup, boil some water and add liquid to desired taste.

Makes a rather mild cup for those of you who like it that way.

If you're not into roasting the beans yourself, your choices are still many. Coffee manufacturers have given us an almost unending list of different blends and flavors. How the coffee's ground after its roasted will have a major effect on the taste of the coffee. There are regular, coarse and finely ground coffees. The taste is also affected by the combination of the type of coffee used. The two categories of trees from which the coffee beans come from are called Arabica and Robusta. The Arabica is a milder coffee and the Robusta a much stronger coffee.

Another important addition to the coffee world has been the addition of many flavorings, and flavored creamers. If you haven't browsed through coffee selections lately, you owe it to your taste buds to check out the many varieties and flavors of coffee.

Gourmet Coffee Habit Costing Consumers as Much as $1,500 Yearly

Gourmet coffee consumers rarely consider the cost of their daily coffee in terms of the expense to brew premium whole bean coffee at home (50 cents to 75 cents) with prices of a pound of gourmet coffee beans versus a two or three cup a day ($4.50 to $6.00) coffee drinking habit when purchased at premium coffee houses. A recent Washington Post article discussed Seattle law students spending money from their student loans for Starbucks coffee across the street from the Seattle University School of Law.

Erika Lim, director of career services at the law school has launched a campaign to reduce coffee consumption by students attending the university on student loan money. She points out that students are spending education loans on luxuries like latte instead of necessities like a loaf of bread. That borrowed money takes years to repay and many students don't do the math to see that study time with 2-3 cups of coffee at Starbucks over 4 years can cost them significant sums - as much as $4500 in principle, interest and fees on their student loan - over the course of their education. An online calculator has been posted for those interested in calculating their caffeine expenses at


Gourmet Coffee drinkers have become accustomed to paying $2 or more per cup for fresh brewed coffees at Premium coffee houses - and many sources are predicting those prices may increase to as much as $4 per cup soon due to expected increases in green coffee prices. But smart gourmet coffee consumers have long known that premium coffee brewed at home costs just 12 cents or so per cup, depending on preferences for coffee strength.

Many coffee producers recommend starting with 1 tablespoon of fresh ground gourmet coffee beans per standard 6 ounce cup of water. Starbucks recommends double that amount for stronger coffees at 2 tablespoons per 6 ounce cup. A pound of gourmet coffee (that is 16 Ounces or 1 Lb.) divided by 1 1/2 Ounces comes to roughly 10 pots of 10 cups (6 Ounce cups) equaling 100 cups for the cost of one pound of gourmet coffee beans. At the average of 1.5 tablespoons per 6 ounce cup and average size of 12 ounce coffee mug, you can expect 50 cups of home brewed coffee per pound of gourmet beans!

Prices of premium gourmet coffee beans range between $10 and $18 per pound, making a cup of home-brewed gourmet coffee, made fresh to your liking, cost only between .10 cents and .25 cents per cup or between $1.00 and $2.00 per pot of coffee! Even the rarest and most expensive coffee sold, the exotic Kopi Luwak, at $175 per pound, is still less than $1.75 per 6 ounce cup when brewed at home! So if you have expensive tastes and want a 12 ounce mug of the rarest and most expensive coffee on the planet, you still need only pay what some premium coffee houses charge for a latte ($3.50) for that rare privilege.

When consumers learn that they can purchase gourmet whole bean coffee for between $10 to $18 per pound, then fresh grind and brew at home for significantly less than gourmet coffee companies charge, many see home brewing premium gourmet coffee as luxurious treat. Purchasing a thermos or a large travel mug to take coffee with them from home makes drinking rich, fresh roasted coffee a possibility for about one-seventh the cost of buying that coffee from expensive and crowded coffee shops.

Many so-called premium coffee houses keep their coffee heated on warmers after brewing, but this practice causes the flavor to turn bitter after less than an hour of warming. It is actually more likely you will get a rich flavorful cup of coffee from an insulated thermos or insulated type pump containers. Reheating coffee can destroy the flavor of good gourmet coffee - just as quickly as extensive warming.

Coffee purists prefer to make individual cups with a coffee press, fresh grinding beans for each cup and drinking the entire amount brewed before it turns cold to get the maximum enjoyment from their beans. Microwave a good cup of coffee that has gone cold and you'll see how much better it is freshly brewed. Using good clean, fresh water is essential since coffee is 99% water and bad tasting tap water can quickly ruin even the best fresh ground beans.

You can enjoy great gourmet coffee more and pay less for the privilege by starting with whole beans and grinding them yourself with a $20 coffee grinder. Make only what you can drink or carry with you in a nice thermos or travel mug instead of reheating coffee later. Use good tasting water and keep your brewing equipment clean to prevent the rancid bitterness that can come from previous grounds in crevices.

You can brew at home with fine gourmet coffee beans, fresh ground and brewed in a French press coffee maker, carry a fancy thermos of great coffee to work or school and enjoy the best coffee available for far less money than you would spend at crowded and expensive premium coffee house.

The History Of Coffee

Coffee - THE Drink of Choice

Did you know coffee is the most consumed beverage in the world. How did coffee get this ranking? What country first figured out coffee was safe for consumption? When was the first drink of coffee prepared? Where did the first coffee shop come in being?
There are many questions about the starting point of drinking coffee. It has been so long ago no one really knows all the facts. But, one thing is for sure, coffee is the most consumed beverage on the planet.

The Beginning of Coffee

It looks as if the first trace came out of Abyssinia and was also sporadically in the vicinity of the Red Sea around seven hundred AD. Along with these people, other Africans of the same period also have a history of using the coffee berry pulp for more than one occasion like rituals and even for health.

Coffee began to get more attention when the Arabs began cultivating it in their peninsulas around eleven hundred AD. It is speculated that trade ships brought the coffee their way. The Arabs started making a drink that became quite popular called gahwa--- meaning to prevent sleep. Roasting and boiling the bean was how they made this drink. It became so popular among the Arabs that they made it their signature Arabian wine and it was used a lot during rituals.

After the coffee bean was found to be a great wine and a medicine, someone discovered in Arabia that you could also make a different dark, delicious drink out of the beans, this happened somewhere around twelve hundred AD. After that it didn't take long and everyone in Arabia was drinking coffee. Everywhere these people traveled the coffee went with them. It made its way around to India, North Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, and was then cultivated to a great extent in Yemen around fourteen hundred AD.

Other countries would have gladly welcomed these beans if only the Arabs had let them. The Arabs killed the seed-germ making sure no one else could grow the coffee if taken elsewhere. Heavily guarding their plants, Yemen is where the main source of coffee stayed for several hundred years. Even with their efforts, the beans were eventually smuggled out by pilgrims and travelers.

Coffee Shops Appear

Around 1475 the first coffee shop opens in Constantinople called Kiv Han two years after coffee was introduced to Turkey, in 1554 two coffee houses open there. People came pouring in to socialize, listen to music, play games and of course drink coffee. Some often called these places in Turkey the "school of the wise", because you could learn so much by just visiting the coffee house and listening to conversations.
In the sixteen hundreds coffee enters Europe through the port of Venice. The Turkish warriors also brought the drink to Balkans, Spain, and North Africa. Not too much later the first coffee house opens in Italy.

There were plenty of people also trying to ban coffee. Such as Khair Beg a governor of Mecca who was executed and Grand Vizir of the Ottoman Empire who successfully closed down many coffee houses in Turkey. Thankfully not everyone thought this way.

Coffee Tips Arrive

In the early sixteen hundreds coffee is presented to the New World by man named John Smith. Later in that century, the first coffee house opens in England. Coffee houses or "penny universities" charged a penny for admission and for a cup of coffee. The word "TIPS" (for service) has it's origin from an English coffee house.

Early in the 17th century, Edward Lloyd's coffee house opens in England. The Dutch became the first to commercially transport coffee. The first Parisian café opens in 1713 and King Louis XIV is presented with a lovely coffee tree. Sugar is first used as an addition to coffee in his court.

The America's Have Coffee

Coffee plants were introduced in the Americas for development. By close to the end of the seventeen hundreds, 1,920 million plants are grown on the island.

Evidently the eighteen hundreds were spent trying to find better methods to make coffee.

The Coffee "Brew" in the 20th Century

New methods to help brewing coffee start popping up everywhere. The first commercial espresso machine is developed in Italy. Melitta Bentz makes a filter using blotting paper. Dr. Ernest Lily manufactures the first automatic espresso machine. The Nestle Company invents Nescafe instant coffee. Achilles Gaggia perfects the espresso machine.
Hills Bros. begins packing roasted coffee in vacuum tins eventually ending local roasting shops and coffee mills. A Japanese-American chemist named Satori Kato from Chicago invents the first soluble "instant" coffee.

German coffee importer Ludwig Roselius turns some ruined coffee beans over to researchers, who perfected the process of removing caffeine from the beans without destroying the flavor. He sells it under the name Sanka. Sanka is introduced in the United States in 1923.

George Constant Washington an English chemist living in Guatemala, is interested in a powdery condensation forming on the spout of his silver coffee flask. After checking into it, he creates the first mass-produced instant coffee which is his brand name called Red E Coffee.

Prohibition goes into effect in United States. Coffee sales suddenly increase.
Brazil asked Nestle to help find a solution to their coffee surpluses so the Nestle Company comes up with freeze-dried coffee. Nestle also made Nescafe and introduced it to Switzerland.

Other Interesting Coffee Tidbits

Today the US imports 70 percent of the world's coffee crop.
During W.W.II, American soldiers were issued instant Maxwell House coffee in their ration kits.

In Italy, Achilles Gaggia perfects his espresso machine. The name Cappuccino comes from the resemblance of its color to the robes of the monks of the Capuchin order.

One week before Woodstock, the Manson family murders coffee heiress Abigail Folger as she visits with her friend Sharon Tate in the home of filmmaker Roman Polanski.

Starbuck's Hits the Coffee World

Starbucks opens its first store in Seattle's Pike Place public market in 1971. This creates madness over fresh-roasted whole bean coffee.
Coffee finally becomes the world's most popular beverage. More than 450 billion cups are sold each year by 1995.

The Current Coffee Trends

Now in the 21st century we have many different styles, grinds, and flavors of coffee. We have really come a long way even with our coffee making machines. There's no sign of coffee consumption decreasing. Researchers are even finding many health benefits to drinking coffee. Drink and enjoy!