Alcoholic Coffee-The 25 Best Inventions of the Year 2013

Alcoholic Coffee

By TIME Staff Nov. 13, 201340 Comments

Mike McQuade for TIME

Portuguese and Spanish researchers writing in the journal LWT—Food Science and Technology announced the birth of a new coffee-based beverage. They dried used grounds, heated the powder in scalding water for 45 minutes, removed the liquid and added sugar and yeast. Then they let the mixture ferment and concentrated it to boost the alcohol content. The result? A booze that’s about 80 proof, like tequila and vodka. It’s good enough to consume, they found, and its taste might improve with age. But beware: this coffee won’t keep you awake, since most of the caffeine disappears as it brews.

Liver Disease and Coffee

There has recently been a lot of attention in the media around links between coffee and liver health. Markus Peck-Radosavljevic, Secretary General at the European Association for the Study of the Liver, provides an overview of research on coffee and the liver. 

Even though initial reports on the beneficial effect of coffee consumption on liver enzymes appeared around 20 years ago¹, it was not until 2005 that this association was coming under closer scrutiny by clinical as well as basic researchers alike^2-4. Since then, the topic has attracted considerable interest. Coffee consumption has repeatedly been shown to be associated with the reduction of liver enzyme levels, incidence of chronic liver disease, risk of liver cancer (HCC), disease progression in chronic hepatitis C⁵,  reduction in liver fibrosis⁶, response to antiviral therapy in hepatitis C⁷, and the development of fatty liver and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)⁸. Despite considerable efforts, no conclusive evidence about the active ingredient in coffee let alone the exact mechanism of action of coffee on liver disease progression can be elucidated to date. But with coffee consisting of over 1,000 different compounds and the lack of standardization in the coffee preparation used in the cohorts studied, this does not come as a big surprise.

Most recently the focus has mainly been on the effect of coffee on the progression of NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) as well as the development of liver cancer. A large Finnish study, including over 60,000 individuals across a 19 year follow-up period, was able to show a dose-dependent decrease of the rate of HCC-development in the consumption of up to 6 cups of coffee per day⁹. This year’s meta-analysis of the impact of coffee consumption on the risk of HCC-development was able to confirm this association¹⁰. Likewise, a meta-analytic review of the evidence for preventing development and progression of NAFLD by coffee consumption was able to substantiate the protective effect of coffee on NAFLD in the experimental as well as the clinical setting¹¹. Taking the current evidence together, we still don’t have definitive proof of the protective effect of coffee from prospective trials and detailed mechanistic insight into how this could be facilitated. Nevertheless, considering the risks involved, it seems sensible to think about recommending coffee for prevention of liver disease in individuals at risk.

References:

¹Casiglia E, Spolaore P, Ginocchio G, Ambrosio GB. Unexpected effects of coffee consumption on liver enzymes. Eur J Epidemiol 1993;9:293-297.

²Ruhl CE, Everhart JE. Coffee and tea consumption are associated with a lower incidence of chronic liver disease in the United States. Gastroenterology 2005;129:1928-1936.

³La Vecchia C. Coffee, liver enzymes, cirrhosis and liver cancer. J Hepatol 2005;42:444-446.

⁴Gelatti U, Covolo L, Franceschini M, Pirali F, Tagger A, Ribero ML, Trevisi P, Martelli C, Nardi G, Donato F. Coffee consumption reduces the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma independently of its aetiology: a case-control study. J Hepatol 2005;42:528-534.

⁵Freedman ND, Everhart JE, Lindsay KL, Ghany MG, Curto TM, Shiffman ML, Lee WM, Lok AS, Di Bisceglie AM, Bonkovsky HL, Hoefs JC, Dienstag JL, Morishima C, Abnet CC, Sinha R. Coffee intake is associated with lower rates of liver disease progression in chronic hepatitis C. Hepatology 2009;50:1360-1369.

⁶Modi AA, Feld JJ, Park Y, Kleiner DE, Everhart JE, Liang TJ, Hoofnagle JH. Increased caffeine consumption is associated with reduced hepatic fibrosis. Hepatology 2010;51:201-209.

⁷Freedman ND, Curto TM, Lindsay KL, Wright EC, Sinha R, Everhart JE. Coffee consumption is associated with response to peginterferon and ribavirin therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Gastroenterology 2011;140:1961-1969.

⁸Molloy JW, Calcagno CJ, Williams CD, Jones FJ, Torres DM, Harrison SA. Association of coffee and caffeine consumption with fatty liver disease, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, and degree of hepatic fibrosis. Hepatology 2012;55:429-436.

⁹Hu G, Tuomilehto J, Pukkala E, Hakulinen T, Antikainen R, Vartiainen E, Jousilahti P. Joint effects of coffee consumption and serum gamma-glutamyltransferase on the risk of liver cancer. Hepatology 2008;48:129-136.

¹⁰Sang LX, Chang B, Li XH, Jiang M. Consumption of coffee associated with reduced risk of liver cancer: a meta-analysis. BMC Gastroenterol 2013;13:34.
¹¹Yesil A, Yilmaz Y. Review article: coffee consumption, the metabolic syndrome and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2013;38:1038-1044.
 Source: Coffee and Health

Coffee chats: 10 fun facts about coffee

Just the rich, soothing aroma of a fresh brew can get the whole office stirring. This element that makes the world go round, the fundamental fuel to writers, and the devil of caffeine addiction, coffee is one true language that brings cultures together, with over 500 billion cups consumed worldwide. That’s more than 100 times the number of the whole human population. But whether you’re a coffee drinker or not (and according to the stats, you most likely are), here are some fun awakening coffee facts that you can bring up to sound smart, or turn a boring conversation into something more enlightening.

Monkey Business

The Cappuccino is named after the Capuchin monkeys, whose light brown fur resembles the colour of the drink.

 
Weird thing to name coffee after.
Image via animalcorner.co.uk

Coffee Giants

Coffee is produced by many regions in the world such as Asia, Africa, North and South America. 40% of the world’s coffee, however, is produced just by Brazil and Guatemala.

  
Image via freegreatpicture.com

Berry Pits

The coffee bean is actually the pit of the coffee berry, or sometimes called the coffee cherry, which then goes through a thorough roasting process.

 
So, we’re basically drinking fruit juice, right?

Image via flickr.com

Will You Coffee Me?

In Turkey, coffee is such a big part of the culture that at one time it was custom that if a husband did not provide his wife with coffee, it was a solid ground for divorce.

 
“So….we’re good?”
Image via rincondeunescritor.wordpress.com

Keeping Goats Happy

It is said that coffee was discovered by an Ethiopian goat herder up in the highlands, who curiosity was sparked after discovering that his goats were getting all trippy and refusing to sleep after munching on what we know today as the coffee berries.

 
Sleep baa-aaaaad, berries goooood.
Image via gourmet-coffee.com

Coffee Buzz

Scientists have found that the caffeine in the coffee berry and flowers play a role in improving bees’ memory, thus making the flower more memorable, and encouraging pollination by drawing them back again and again.

 
Presenting, the world’s first caffeine addicts.
Image via consciouslifenews.com

License to Kill

Caffeine, like any drug, can be lethal. Approximately 100 cups of brewed coffee per day is the fatal limit to any human. Obviously, you shouldn’t let this fact stop you from enjoying a few cups of coffee a day, because it is the water content in the coffee that will kill you first before the caffeine does. Too much of anything isn’t good anyway.

Image via outsideonline.com

Kopi Luwak

This is the most expensive coffee in the world, at USD600 per pound. If you’re wondering why it is so exorbitant, it’s because it involves digging through the faeces of a Sumatran wild cat to come up with the bean. Yum!

I’m not shitting you. 
Image via bornrich.com

The World’s Drug

The number one sold commodity around the world is fuel. The second? You guessed it – coffee. In the USA alone, coffee sales amounted to $59 billion in the year of 2012.

Image via evictorynews.com

High on Coffee

They don’t just grow anywhere. Coffee berries grow on shrubs or small trees, that can reach the height of 5 metres, and they are best cultivated at heights of 2,500 – 5,000 feet above sea level.

 
Image via evictorynews.com

Nguồn: http://www.360celsius.com/life-style/coffee-chats-10-fun-facts-about-coffee/

Cà phê

CÀ PHÊ là một nguyên liệu thực phẩm có đặc tính cảm quan khá đa dạng. Với hơn 300 mùi có trong hạt cà phê. Cho đến ngày hôm nay, nghiên cứu về cà phê vẫn còn là đề tài thú vị. Đối với những người “gọi là ghiền cà phê”, khái niệm về cà phê vẫn còn đôi điều để trao đổi. Có một câu chuyện thật là anh bạn tôi có lần mời một người có kinh nghiệm 20 năm uống cà phê 1 ly cà phê nhưng rồi nhận được câu “ chú cho anh uống nước gì thế”. Cà phê phải đắng, phải sánh,…Câu chuyện về cà phê có phải vậy hay không?

Có một sự thật là khái niệm về cà phê của người Việt khác với người nước ngoài. Tuy nhiên, cái mà RAMEC  muốn nói đến là tính nguyên bản của CÀ PHÊ. Một trong những nghiên cứu hiếm hoi về cà phê của nhóm nghiên cứu về cảm quan ở Việt Nam (2005) cũng chỉ ra câu chuyện khác biệt về cái gọi là GU CÀ PHÊ của người Việt với người nước ngoài và sự khác nhau về xuất xứ của cà phê Buôn Mê Thuột (2008).

Phần lớn người Việt vào quán cà phê không chỉ uống CÀ PHÊ và có lẽ quan điểm về hiểu và sử dụng CÀ PHÊ đúng nghĩa còn nhiều điều phải bàn luận thêm.

Ở góc độ chuyên môn về công nghệ thực phẩm, chúng tôi chia sẻ thông tin giúp người tiêu dùng có cái nhìn đầy đủ về cà phê cũng như hiểu được CÀ PHÊ từ nguyên liệu đến quá trình bảo quản, chế biến và cuối cùng là TÁCH CÀ PHÊ.

Chúng tôi không có quan điểm phê phán bất cứ ai vì hiểu rằng người bán cần bán cái người mua cần. Điều đó hoàn toàn đúng với thị trường. Nhưng với cái tâm của RAMEC, chúng tôi không chỉ bán cái người tiêu dùng cần mà còn giúp người tiêu dùng hiểu thêm về CÀ PHÊ để có sự lựa chọn phù hợp. Đó cũng mong ước nhỏ chúng tôi cam kết mang lại cho cộng đồng.