Posted on

Café Startup Convos – Tara of Lighthouse Café

We had a chance to sit down with Tara from Lighthouse Café and learn about her startup journey.

Tara studied in the culinary world before moving into an admin role after school.

Her dream became to open up a Café that would be engrained in its community. To create a place were people from the community could come together.

When an opportunity to realize this dream came in the form of a location in Mount Albert, a small town east of Newmarket, she jumped at it.

Find out more about Tara’s journey in this episode of Café Startup Convos.

Where we dive into if Lighthouse Café has been a success in business, & becoming a part of the community over its first 10 months.

Plus stay to the end to find out Tara’s advice for people chasing their dream.

Posted on

Café Startup Convos with Oliver from Main Street Bakehouse

When Oliver and his family took over Main Street Bakehouse & Eatery less than a year ago, it was struggling to find it’s form. Since then they’ve turned things around and the Stouffville location is thriving.

It’s become a place that’s gone above and beyond great coffee & food, it’s become a thriving community hub.

With their success in Stouffville, they had an opportunity to open a second location. One in Markham, across from the GO Station. A location that many GO train riders will be thankful for once they open up shop.

Even though it’s still under construction, Oliver welcomed us into their new location. We sat down with him to find out why they decided to take on this challenge. And also learn more about their new journey.

Update: Now they’ve opened and are in the early stages again. If you’re in the Markham Main St. area stop by and say hi!

Posted on

Café Startup Convos with Jeanne from 60Beans

Jeanne was a private consultant before she. joined her sisters to open 60Beans.

Their family had previous ties to the coffee world as they were growing up, so a coffee shop made sense to open with each other.

Their desire was to have something that would have longevity, a place that the family can grow old together having together.

It took a few months, but they found a home in the Junction/Roncesvalles area in Toronto.

It’s a small shop by design as they knew they didn’t want a huge place to take care of, but one that would still take the time to connect with it’s community.

Find out more about Jeanne’s journey in starting up 60Beans in our most recent episode of Café Startup Convos.

Posted on

Cold Pressed Espresso

I see questions on R/coffee and Quora asking about ‘cold pressed espresso’ or ‘cold brewed espresso’.

Most of the answers, and the YouTube videos seem to recommend a recipe using either a) espresso that has been brewed hot and cooled or chilled (yuck!) or b) using espresso beans to make cold brewed coffee concentrate by steeping with water for 12 or more hours.

Let’s step back a bit to review what is espresso. It’s a brewing method – one that involves high pressure and finely ground coffee to produce a concentrated coffee drink in a very short amount of time.

The industry standard is as follows: for a double it’s +/-25 seconds, & the preparation and brewing time is within a minute. With the expectation that it’s served for immediate consumption.

How can we respect the fine tradition of espresso and still make a cold brewed bevvy to quench our summer thirst??

Well, we set our sights to finding out. What we discovered, is amazing. It’s not only possible (with a couple of tricks and tips) but also delicious! Here’s the recipe:

-18 to 20grams of espresso, ground Turkish (tip – if your grinder can’t grind fine enough for Turkish, you can borrow the grinder at your friendly neighbour, neighbourhood grocer or coffee bar)
-with your espresso machine off (and cold) tamp the espresso into your cold double portafilter basket
-lock the handle into your espresso machine
-turn on your espresso machine and without allowing it time to warm up, brew your double shot into a shot glass
– prepare your ‘cold pressed espresso’ drink in your favourite way
– our fave is to fill a glass 2/3 with ice, pour the espresso over, add 3 pumps (3/4 oz) caramel syrup, and top up with almond milk or cow milk

Give it a try, and feel free to contact us with any questions or comment.

.

Posted on

Victoria Day Long Weekend

Wishing you a happy safe Victoria Day Long Weekend.

We also want to tell you about Coffee Beans from the base of Mount Kilimanjaro, which is our featured coffee:

Kilimanjaro Tanzania

Victoria Day Long Weekend Hours

Here are our hours for the Victoria Day long weekend:

Saturday – Open – 9am to 4pm
Sunday – Closed
Monday – Closed

We’re always happy to answer any of your questions about your home brewing technique’s and coffee choices.

Posted on

Barista Movie

What does it take to make the perfect cup of coffee?  Four passionate National Barista Champions from the United States (Kyle Ramage), Ireland (Niall Wynn), Germany (Chloe J. Nattrass) and Japan (Miki Suzuki) represent their countries and their craft in an attempt to win the World Barista Championship in Seoul, South Korea.  The film places particular emphasis on the Japanese Champion, Miki Suzuki, as she attempts to become the first female World Barista Champion in history.  You can check out the trailer here:  Barista Movie Trailer

 

go to the website here:  Barista Films

see it on iTunes here:  Barista Movie – iTunes

follow on Instagram:  Instagram – @baristafilm

Posted on

Mexico La Concordia

producer la concordia                     taste graham, coconut, ginger

certification ft organic                   brew french press, drip

variety bourbon, mondo novo    recommended grind medium

elevation 1,600 m                            use 60g per litre of water

Price:  $14.99 / 400 g




 

Posted on

Guatemala Cafe Justicia

Cafe Justicia is an organic “fair trade plus” coffee grown and produced by Mayan communities in the hillsides above Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.

producer café justicia               taste chocolate, raspberry jam

certification ft organic              brew french press, drip, espresso

variety  caturra, typica              recommended grind medium

elevation 1700 masl                  use 60g per litre of water

Price:  $14.99 / 400 g




 

Posted on

Nicaragua Flor de Jinoteca

Sweet floral fragrance, citric acidity, chocolate flavor, medium body.

producer SOPPEXCCA                    taste  floral, hazelnut butter, cocoa

certification ft org                            brew french press, drip

variety caturra                                    recommended grind  medium

elevation 1100 + m                           use  60 g per litre of water

Price: $14.99 / 400 g




Soppexcca was created by 68 families in the northern department of Jinotega. This organization today plays a vital role to 650 families. It is directly impacting four thousand people working under the Fair Trade certification, in which 60% of its volume of production is sold under the Fair Trade seal, providing an opportunity to invest in the main needs that the process has identified and prioritized.

The stability of the sale price of the crops is a very important factor for the viability of the small agricultural family, constituting the most transcendental aspect: keeping the land ownership in the hands of small producers, as well as sustainability of rural communities. The main actions in which the social premium has been invested, are education, training, schools, gender equity, environment, diversification and health care and finance.

http://www.soppexcca.org/en/

Posted on

Laspada Java Sunda Hejo

Best Java light roast coffee beans

Laspada Java Sunda Hejo

What’s Notable: Coffee was first planted in Java by Dutch colonists in the 17th century.  No wonder we call it ‘java’!

This coffee comes from small holder farmers near the town of Laspada in West Java.  Fresh coffee cherries are carefully chosen and pulped in small batches.  Fermented overnight and washed clean, the parchment coffee is dried on raised beds in bamboo greenhouses.  This is one truly hand-crafted coffee!

Taste:  Soft, ripe fruit tones of plum, cherry and caramel.




Posted on

Monteblanco Colombia

Monteblanco Colombia coffee farm

Monteblanco Purple Caturra Colombia is a complex coffee with a svelte  sweetness and tasting notes of pear and almond, with a syrupy sweet body. Our roast brings body with a silky texture, balanced acidity and a delicately tangy finish.

What’s Unique: A variety named “purple caturra” by family farm manager Rodrigo Sanchez Valencia due to the cherries on these coffee shrubs maturing a dark purple colour rather than the normal red ripe colour for the caturra cultivar.

Crop:  2018
Variety:  Purple Caturra
Elevation:  1730 meters
Region:  Huila
Producer:  Rodrigo Sanchez Valencia
Farm:  Finca Monteblanco
Process:  Washed
Fragrance:  Almond, brown sugar
Tasting notes:  Pear, lychee, praline
Price: 16.95 / 400g


About Finca Monteblanco:  located high along the winding mountain roads of Vereda La Toroca in the San Adolfo municipality above Pitalito, is a family farm managed by Rodrigo Sanchez Valencia in the tradition of coffee cultivation that began with his grandfather.  Monteblanco’s 18 hectares sit on the crest of a hill, with the wet and dry mill at the top and slopes of coffee planted below.

In 2002, Rodrigo participated in a local program teaching local children of coffee producers to cup.  Before that, he and his family had never considered coffee in terms of cup profile.  By learning to differentiate profiles, he and his father and grandfather were able to able to make the connections between the farming techniques they applied and coffee’s attributes in the cup.

At this time, Rodrigo also began to learn about cupping competitions that evaluate the best lots from farms in a region.  He noticed that farms would win one year and then never again, so he decided to investigate how to produce quality coffee consistently.  This led him to explore the trees planted on Monteblanco, were he discovered various cultivars his grandfather had planted in the 1980’s.

One of these varieties is Purple Caturra, a type of Caturra whose cherries ripen to a deep purple color.  All cherries harvested are measured for degrees Brix. Based on sugar content indicated, the team at Aromas del Sur, the umbrella group of Monteblanco, Progreso, and La Loma farms, then designates which processing method is appropriate.  Coffees with 24-27 degrees Brix are processed as washed coffees, beginning with depulping cherries they day they are harvested.

Coffee is fermented between 28 and 32 hours, fully washed with clean water, transferred to the solar dryer for several days, and finally moved to shaded raised beds to complete the drying process. Floaters are removed at the first stage prior to pulping to produce clean, consistent coffees that represent the terroir of the farm.

Rodrigo is proud that he, his wife Claudia Samboni, farm manager Don Gerardo, and the team that works in the fields and at the mill have reached the goal of achieving consistent quality. Each harvest, Finca Monteblanco produces micro-lots that serve as competition coffees around the world, but the farm also consistently produces containers of delicious coffees that appear year-round on café menus and retail shelves.  By applying an ethic of rigorous monitoring, planning, and management of each stage of production and processing, all coffees from Monteblanco showcase their full potential.

Harvesting and processing on Monteblanco have evolved with the times, adapting to a changing climate that yields harvest dispersed through ten months of the year rather than in a concentrated peak.

Antonio Cezar Junior measures degrees Brix
best light roast Colombian coffee
Rodrigo Sanchez on Finca Monteblanco
Young coffee shrubs on Finca Monteblanco
Rodrigo shows Edson Tamekuni the shaded African drying beds
Brazilian coffee team visits Finca Monteblanco
Posted on

How Coffee is Made

How Coffee is Made

If you’ve ever wanted to know about how coffee is made, we wrote this just for you!   Visit our award-winning coffee roasting plant for coffee beans, espresso, and the best coffee equipment available today – from Aeropress, Hario V60, Chemex, Clever Dripper, French Press, Yama Vacuum Siphon, Breville espresso machine and Baratza Encore grinders.

How Coffee is Made - Green Coffee

Green (Raw) Coffee

It starts with the freshest beans. Imported directly from the farmer and stored in cool conditions away from other products, green coffee can have a shelf life of up to 12 months before the flavor and intensity starts to fade. Green coffee is high in chlorogenic acid, an anti-inflammatory, which can reduce blood pressure, and if you have ever heard of green coffee extract, it’s the chlorogenic acid being sought out and promoted as a weight loss aid.

Fun Fact:  Finland consumes the most coffee per capita.

Everyone recognizes a roasted coffee bean. Before it is roasted, the green coffee bean is the seed of the coffee cherry after it is picked, de-pulped, and dried. Coffee cherries grow in bunches along the branches of the coffee shrub.  After the flowering of the fragrant, white blossoms, it takes nearly a year for a cherry to mature . Because it grows in a continuous cycle, it is not unusual to see flowers, green fruit, and ripe fruit simultaneously on a single tree. The best terroir for coffee is rich, volcanic soil and high elevations with mild temperatures, frequent rain and shaded sun. The best coffee is hand-picked, constantly turned as it is dried, and carefully sorted for quality. Green coffee has a shelf life of 6 to 12 months.

How Coffee is Made Home Roasting

Home Roasting

Roasted daily for peak flavour and aroma. Coffee starts to lose aromatic compounds starting the day after it’s roasted, even in a sealed bag, eventually becoming flat and lacking in complex aromas. Over the time of about 6 weeks, oxygen starts to creep into the bean and oxidize it. This causes the increase in bitterness associated with store shelf coffee. Oxidation destroys anti-oxidants, which one of the major health benefits of fresh coffee.

Fun Fact:  During roasting, coffee pops a little like popcorn, twice.

Home coffee roasting is easy! It only takes 7 to 15 minutes and your reward is the freshest coffee around. Green coffee is half the price of good roasted coffee. We have a huge selection of green coffees, each carefully chosen for quality. Coffee can be roasted in many ways, from home coffee roasting appliance, to the oven, on the stove-top, in a popcorn popper, with a heat gun, or even on the gas grill.

How Coffee is Made Roasting Coffee

Roasting Coffee

The craft of roasting coffee is a highly developed skill.

Fun Fact:  Espresso beans and Coffee beans are not different, only the brewing method is.

Whether your goal is to experience the best light roast Colombian coffee, or to savor a bold, dark roast in the french press, coffee has the potential to offer one of the most complex sensory experiences of all the foods and beverages. As green coffee is roasted, acids and sugars react with heat, turning the coffee brown, caramelizing sugars and creating hundreds of aromatic compounds that contribute to a vast array of smells, tastes and textures. Our artisan roasting team is constantly developing and tasting, driven by a passion to bring out the best aspects in every coffee that we source. Every country of origin, every harvest and every lot has different potential and our roaster develops roast profiles that allow the coffees to speak in their own unique voice, creating a pleasing experience in the cup for our customers.

How Coffee is Made Brewing Coffee

Brewing Coffee

Brewing coffee should be easy, fun and tasty.

Fun Fact:  Forty percent of a coffee bean is soluble in water. Only the first 20% tastes good.

There are dozens of ways to enjoy your fresh roast coffee at home. All involve the same basic steps: grind, steep, filter, enjoy!. Starting with a quality grinder, filtered water, a scale and your brewer of choice, spending a little time learning to make a beautiful, aromatic and complex cup of coffee can be a rewarding experience. Whether you enjoy a delicate, floral, citrusy cup or a bold, syrup, dark brew – there is a coffee and a method for you. From french press to drip, aeropress to espresso, siphon to moka pot, we have you covered with a coffee and the tools to do it up right.

How Coffee is Made Cafe

Cafe

Sometimes it’s good to let someone else do the heavy lifting!

Fun Fact:  65% of coffee is consumed at home.

We provide only fresh, roasted-to-order coffee to your cafe. Along with coffee, our wholesale customer gets our expert guidance on the best method and techniques for brewing, along with hands-on training, and all of the cafe supplies needed to keep first-rate coffee your passion. We are obsessed with making the best possible cup of coffee, so don’t shoot us if the coffee tastes better at the cafe. It’s what we do!

Green Coffee - Coffee Roasting - Coffee Brewing - How to Start a Cafe

Posted on

Papua New Guinea

papua new guinea single origin coffee

Nebilyer Papua New Guinea Org A/X

This clean, complex wet processed coffee is sun dried on patios has a baking spice and light-bodied buttery sweetness and a lingering citrus note.

Crop:  2018-19
Drying:  Bourbon, Typica
Elevation:  +1350m
Fragrance:  caramel, spice
Tasting notes:  lemon, cherry, buttery finish
Price:  $14.99 / 400 g





Coffee has been cultivated in the Eastern Highlands for over 80 years. The bulk of it originates from small holder farmers having 1500 and less coffee plants.  Previously, the central valley has been strained because clans and tribes have been at war.  However, with the addition of coffee cultivation, the region has become less hostile.  This specific coffee is a product of a multitude of small holders’ crops originating in many different villages throughout the valley.  The cherries produced by these small holders are taken to the Goroka mill and thoroughly checked for quality control before being prepared for export, resulting in a clean and consistently smooth cup quality.

Pour-over and batch brewing

Espresso

Posted on

La Meseta Colombia

La Meseta Colombia

About La Meseta: The coffee tradition of our country and especially the central coffee-growing region has lead this family group to create, for more than 25 years, a beautiful plantation farm of Colombian soft coffee, blended with the richest flavors and aromas that Colombian mountains have to offer. We also have the tenacity and strength of the region’s hardest working people who contribute to reach our shared objective.

Crop: 2018
Variety: Geisha
Elevation: 2000m
Fragrance: Honey, Floral
Tasting notes: Notes of peach, apricot, tangerine, delicate body
Price: $22.50/340g




What’s a Geisha?
It’s not Japanese!  It’s a coffee variety.  In wine, the analogy might be pinot noir variety.
From another-jim over at home barista:

All Gesha/Geishas are a single coffee varietal introduced into Central America in the 1930s from a Kenyan nursery, which had produced it from Ethiopian seed stocks of unknown origin. It was initially widely planted because it was purported to have superior resistance to some of the then common coffee diseases. However, this was not true, so the varietal was never replanted. Nevertheless, some of it survived by growing from the berries of the originally planted trees. How much these trees changed and hybridized in the few generations since the 1930s is unknown.

The Peterson’s discovered a stand of Geishas on their farm in 2005 (I think), and won the Panamanian COE hands down with a lot taken only from those trees. The lot also set a record at auction. The taste of the coffee was that of a southern Ethiopian coffees, but without the interfering tannin flavors usual in many southern Ethiopian coffees and with a very pleasant sweetness instead. So the hunt was on for these trees, and more were discovered in forgotten corners of central American coffee plantations. The resulting plantings are maturing now, so we are getting a lot of new Geisha/Geshas offerings.

“Geisha” is the actual name given to the coffee in the Kenyan nursery that exported them to Central America. People looking for the original varietal in Ethiopia speculated that the Geisha name was a misnomer for the Gesha province in Ethiopia, so they started using what they assumed was the correct version of the name, “Gesha.” However, none of the coffee varietals located till now in the Gesha province are anything like the Geisha; so the Gesha name may be a complete misnomer, and the original nursery may have called it Geisha for some completely different reason.

About the Producer
In our Company, pay equality is preached, this principle ensures worker’s special protection in decent and fair conditions; therefore, we practice equality.

One of our Company’s greatest objective is to propagate the necessary conditions to attract and train workers with qualified job skills that can enable them to contribute and achieve our Company’s main goals. To accomplish this, our work environment is based on the principles of respect, mutual collaboration and permanent communication.

Our facilities are designed to provide the greatest comfort for our workers, with lodgings, showers, restrooms; complete and healthy meals, and above all, each of our employees is fairly treated.

All of the aforementioned creates affinity from the workers towards the Company’s farms which are characterized by a young, productive and technified coffee-culture.

Posted on

Kilimanjaro Tanzania

Kilimanjaro Tanzania

The peaberry coffee is a perennial favourite around here – with our customers!

Crop: 2018
Variety: Bourbon and Kent
Elevation: 1000 to 2000m
Fragrance: honey, nutmeg, cardamom
Tasting notes: pomegranate, black tea, vanilla
Price: $16.95/400g




What is Peaberry?
Known in Spanish as ‘caracolillo’, it is a type of coffee bean that is separated after drying.  Normally the cherry fruit of the coffee plant contains two seeds that develop with flattened facing sides, but sometimes only one of the two seeds is fertilized.  All coffee plants experience this small natural mutation, and the single oval bean develops rather than two beans with flattened facing sides. Peaberry coffees are particularly associated with Tanzanian Coffee.  The peaberry beans are separated from the flat-sided beans using a sieve.

The Coffee
Coffee is shade-grown in areas inter-planted with bananas which are used for local food and beverage consumption. The banana leaves canopy act as a filter for sunlight. All farmers’ coffee is hand picked and wet processed in a traditional way.

About the Producer
Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative Union is nestled at the foot of the great Mount Kilimanjaro Tanzania that produces mild arabica coffee.  We serve close to 70,000 small producer members on the slopes of the mountain in the districts of Rombo, Moshi Rural, Hai and Siha.  We serve because we see small coffee farmers as a unique mechanism to produce high quality mild Arabica coffee that is grown in  the volcanic soil of Mount Kilimanjaro.  The farmers are the owners of the Union; they are expecting to sell their coffee at highest price through the Union that was formed for social and economic emancipation.
We are certified by Naturland since 2004 for our organic coffee.  This guarantees the end customer that our coffee has been produced without the use of agriculture chemicals during production process from our farmers.  This certification confirms the high level of quality worldwide.
Organic and quality improvement programs are provided to farmers.
Using Fair Trade premium money, KNCU has established an Education Fund to help less privileged farmers to send their qualified children to school.  At present KNCU gives scholarships to more than 400 Secondary School Students.  The future plan of the fund is to cover for tuition fees for those students who will make to the University.

Posted on

Brewing Recipes

cold brew coffee

Here are a few of our Brewing Recipes. Brew like a Pro!

Clever Dripper

23g medium grind (#21H Baratza Preciso)
350g @ 205°F water
Start timer. Pour in 80g of water and gently stir and let bloom for 30 seconds. At 30 seconds in, pour remaining water in, submerging grounds as you pour.  At 2:30, gently stir the top in a clockwise circle. Place on carafe and allow to drain. 3:30 total time

Hario V60-02

20g medium fine grind (#12H Baratza Preciso)
350g @ 205°F water
Start timer. Pour in about 40g of water. Stir to saturate grinds. Bloom for 20 seconds. Slow continuous pour until ratio is reached. Final stir. 3:20 total time

Chemex

42g medium fine grind (#18H Baratza Preciso)
700g @ 205°F water
Pour in about 50g of water. Stir to wet grinds. Start timer. Bloom for 20 seconds. Add 350g water. Pulse pour 100 g every 20 seconds until ratio is reached. When the coffee level reaches the belly button, remove the filter, even if some slurry remains. 4:00 total time

ESPRO Press

22g medium fine grind (#18H Baratza Preciso)
336g @ 200°F water
Start timer, pour in about 40-50g of water. Bloom for 30 seconds. Pulse pour until ratio is reached. 3:30 total time

Kalita Wave 155 series

21g coffee medium grind (#18-22H Baratza Preciso)
350g @ 200°F water
Start timer, Pour in about 50g of water. Bloom for 30 seconds. Pulse pour water in a slow circle until water ratio is reached. 3:00 total time

Kalita Wave 185 series

30g coffee medium grind (#18-22H Baratza Preciso)
450g @ 200°F water
Start timer. Pour in about 60g of water. Bloom for about 30 seconds. Pulse pour in a slow circular motion until ratio is reached. 3:15

Aeropress

18g medium fine grind (#10H Baratza Preciso)
220-240g @ 200° water
Start timer, pour in 220-240g of water. Bloom until timer reaches 1:20, stir. At 1:30 stir again, cap and plunge. 1:45 total time

Cold Brew (Ready to drink)

100g medium grind (#20H Baratza Preciso)
200g @ 202° water
800g @ cold water
Start timer, pour in 200g hot water. Bloom for 1 minute. Slowly pour in remaining 800g of cold water and cover. Let sit for 12 hours. Filter and keep in the fridge

Flash Brewing Mod- Japanese Style Cold Brew Over Ice

Use any above recipe and split the water in half so that half is ice. Place the ice in the carafe or cups and brew the coffee directly over the ice. Note: Brew time will be shorter.
Posted on

Health and Coffee – Mycotoxins Myth

The Myth about Mycotoxins in Coffee
Is your morning cup doing you more harm than help? Study after study has been done on the health benefits of coffee, but not everyone agrees that the benefits outweigh the consequences. Some claim that commercial coffee is contaminated with dangerous mycotoxins, which can cause people to perform badly and have a higher risk of disease.

What are Mycotoxins?
Mold, which is a type of fungus, is found almost everywhere in very small quantities. Mold can grow on edible crops and produce by-products called mycotoxins. There are hundreds of different mycotoxins with different functions. For example, mycotoxins are used to create the antibiotic Penicillin. We’re mostly interested in the two mycotoxins that are found most commonly in coffee: Aflatoxin B1 and Ochratoxin A. Aflatoxin B1 is a known carcinogen and is also commonly found in peanuts, corn, tree nuts, and dairy. Ochratoxin A hasn’t been studied as much, but it has been associated with kidney disease, and it is also commonly found in grains. However, it’s important to remember that “the dose makes the poison.”

Mycotoxin Prevention and Regulation
Generally speaking, high moisture content, high humidity, and high temperatures can promote the growth of mold and related toxins. The standards of processing and storing green coffee can reduce the growth of mold by regulating these factors, and studies have found that the roasting process can destroy up to 80% of mycotoxins. Additionally, the FDA has regulated mycotoxins in food and drinks for years, and the amount that they allow is far below the amount you would have to ingest to cause yourself harm. If you’re really worried about mycotoxins, you can buy single origin coffee from regions at a higher elevation that has been wet processed. Higher elevation reduces the chance of a high moisture content, and wet processing discourages the growth of mold in green beans compared to dry processing.

Bottom Line
Mycotoxins are by-products of mold that can be found in many things, including coffee, grains, and tree nuts, but they are only harmful if they’re ingested in large amounts. FDA regulations only allow a very small amount of mycotoxins in food and drinks, and most coffee is processed with the intention of reducing mold growth. If you want to reduce your exposure to mycotoxins in coffee, you can buy high mountain grown single origin coffee that has been wet processed. At the end of the day, the health benefits of coffee outweigh the negatives, so feel free to enjoy your pick-me-up without worry.

Posted on

Beans and Genes

Beans and Genes

How does coffee really affect our bodies? It turns out the answer is more complicated and unclear than you might expect. Studies upon studies have been done on the long-term health of regular coffee drinkers, with mixed results. Some conclude that daily consumption is linked to a decreased risk of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, or heart disease. Others say that it’s linked to an increased risk of gastrointestinal problems, anemia, or heart disease.

First of all, these studies indicate correlation, not causation. What this means is that regular coffee consumption is linked to these problems and diseases, but it doesn’t necessarily cause them – there could be a third common factor that causes these effects. But one factor that most studies don’t take into account is genes.

Nutrigenomics is the study of the interaction of nutrition and genes. Nutrigenomics says that the health effects that you experience from consuming certain things can be determined in part by your genetic makeup. So let’s apply this to caffeinated coffee and its effect on a person’s risk for heart disease and Parkinson’s.

Heart Disease

A gene called CYP1A2 signals your liver to make one of two enzymes: CYP1A2 fast or CYP1A2 slow. If you have the gene that makes CYP1A2 fast, your liver is able to process and eliminate caffeine quite quickly, leading to a decreased risk of heart disease. If you have the gene that makes CYP1A2 slow, your liver processes and eliminates caffeine more slowly, leading to an increased risk of heart disease.
Isn’t that fascinating? One gene can determine whether your daily coffee habit helps or hinders you.

Parkinson’s

A gene called GRIN2A can affect your nervous system in one of two ways. If the gene acts one way, coffee can decrease your risk of Parkinson’s by up to 60%. If the gene acts another way, coffee doesn’t affect your risk of Parkinson’s.

So can my daily caramel latte be good for me?

The short answer is just what you would expect: no. Even if your genetic makeup is favourable when it comes to the possible health benefits of coffee, those benefits are based on the consumption of black coffee. So have your coffee however you want, but know that most health benefits are negated when you start dressing it up with milk, cream, sugar, and syrups.