Surprisingly, the product closest to coffee is eggplant: both contain chlorogenic acid, which makes both products bitter. Despite this, unlike eggplant, a real religion has been created around coffee at the bottom of the cup. Its adherents spend every day in search of the perfect combination of the four elements: grains, water, steam and fire.
Coffee was discovered in the 9th century in distant Ethiopia, and in 1615 Venetian merchants brought it to Europe, from where the triumphal procession of coffee around the world began. In the twentieth century, full-scale studies began on the effect of coffee on the human body. These scientific studies invariably gave the same result: coffee is healthy, but in moderation. Coffee has both positive and negative effects on our body, and in order to enjoy it without unpleasant consequences, you need to follow a couple of simple tips when drinking it.
Healthy coffee habits
1. Purify the water on which you brew coffee: the absence of harmful impurities in the water will preserve your health and significantly improve the taste of coffee.
2. Drinking too much coffee and wanting to wean yourself from this habit? The next time you brew a drink, mix regular coffee with decaffeinated coffee. The taste will be very similar, and the risks of heart palpitations and insomnia will be less. Also try replacing at least one cup of coffee a day with strong tea or diluting your coffee more and more with water and milk.
3. Want to lose weight but love sweet coffee with milk? Use a sugar substitute and skim/soy milk. Black coffee contains only 5 calories, cappuccino – 80-100, and latte – already more than 200, so draw conclusions. Gourmets and sweet tooth can pour some bitter cocoa, ground dark chocolate or cinnamon into a cup.
4. Want to drink? Drink a glass of cold water and then brew your coffee. This will quench your thirst with a healthier drink and reduce your daily coffee intake. People on a healthy diet are advised to prefer pure water.
5. Worried about the side effects of caffeine? Opt for espresso: a small cup contains just 50 mg of caffeine, while a 200-ml mug of Americano has 135 mg. In addition, espresso is much better in taste and quality than coffee made in a drip-type coffee maker or instant coffee.
To make coffee aromatic and tasty, start by preparing the second important ingredient – pure water. Pure water of moderate mineralization will help to unlock the potential of exotic grains. After all, the more water molecules free from impurities, the better the taste and aromatic ingredients dissolve.
Extraction works on the same principle, which means that a high degree of water purification gives more flavors. Water with chlorine and rust will definitely not make the drink nobler. If your tap water is hard (scale appears after a week), the best solution for softening is not a sorption filter with a softening block, but a reverse osmosis system with mineralization.
If the water in the region is soft and scale does not bother you, it is enough to deeply purify the water with a high-quality sorption filter.
By learning how to make healthy coffee the right way, you’ll love it even more and enjoy an aromatic drink that tastes like the creations of the best coffee houses in the city, whenever you want. However, remember: you need to drink coffee in moderation, because, as we have already found out, its excessive consumption can affect your health in a bad way.
If you know the measure in the consumption of coffee, then you can get not only pleasure from it, but also benefits: coffee relieves headaches, tones blood vessels and improves brain function. And most importantly, coffee perfectly invigorates, so a fragrant drink prepared with clean water will be a great start to any day!
Benefits of coffee for health
Instant results: Accelerates the reaction and improves brain function – caffeine stimulates the nervous system and increases blood pressure.
Relieves headaches: Caffeine has analgesic properties and is often found in pain relievers.
Helps with asthma and bronchitis: the theophylline contained in coffee also dilates and opens the airways. Sometimes patients who have recently been operated on are given medicines containing coffee to stimulate the respiratory processes.
Long term: Coffee contains polyphenols (a type of antioxidant) that make cells more resistant to damage, prevent high blood pressure* and premature aging. Interestingly, the amount of antioxidants in caffeinated coffee is the same as in decaffeinated coffee.
*According to studies, the short-term hypertensive effect disappears with constant coffee consumption.
Trigonelline, another component of coffee, has been shown to reduce the risk of colon and prostate cancer. By the way, it is thanks to this substance that coffee has its characteristic smell.
Coffee alters levels of gut peptides, hormones that control feelings of hunger or fullness, which is quite helpful if you’re on a diet. In addition, it contains only 5 calories per 200 ml.
