By Terra Simms
It’s cleaned, dried, roasted, ground and brewed, and is second to oil in world trade.
Four out of five Americans drink it; in fact, they consume more than 400 million cups a day, according to Food & Drink Weekly.
It comes in endless flavors and variations, and despite our addiction, choosing between plain black brew and that mysteriously alluring non-fat vanilla cafe latte can be daunting for any coffee drinker. “I’m no coffee connoisseur,” said sophomore accounting major Melanie Duttlinger, who, like most of us, isn’t exactly an expert when it comes to coffee.
From bean to machine
Understanding the different kinds of coffee is the first step to purchasing your cup.
An espresso, for example, is a process. It comes from the Latin word “expresere” meaning “to press out.” A pumping machine pushes hot water through the bean, taking about 25 seconds to produce an ounce of thick, rich, smooth liquid. Espressos come in shots; a solo is a single shot, double is two and so on. The sweeter the coffee the less espresso is in it.
cappuccino is an espresso topped with equal amounts of foamed and steamed milk.
Understanding what you’re drinking is important, but knowing how much to order is important, too. Most coffee shops have tall, grande and venti, which means small, medium and large. Small usually is 12 ounces, medium is 16 ounces and large is 20 ounces.
“The caramel macchiato is the most popular,” said sophomore psychology major Danielle Newton, who works at the new Tulip Tree Cafe in the University of Louisville’s Ekstrom Library. A caramel macchiato is vanilla syrup and steamed milk topped with milk foam and freshly brewed espresso.
Evolution of an addiction
Newton also said customers at the cafe sometimes ask about the history of coffee.
But the story of when, where and how coffee was discovered is still up in the air. One story involves a goat-herder eating a red cherry from a coffee shrub and liking it. Others speculate that it was found near the Red Sea in the seventh century. Later in history, it is said that the Turks introduced coffee to Europeans in 1669 and it quickly spread to New Amsterdam, now known as New York, replacing tea as the morning beverage.
Regardless of its origins, coffee has come a long way over the centuries, and Americans – especially the never-sleeping college student populous – have evolved unique preferences for it.
“It depends on the flavor of coffee, whether you like it or not,” said Jillian Tipping, a sophomore English major who also works at Tulip Tree. “If you want a real bitter taste, you want more shots of espresso. If you want a sweet taste get some sort of a latte.”
Not all it’s ground up to be
Despite its popularity, coffee is served up with its share of drawbacks.
“I used to drink it when I was younger, but I didn’t like being so jittery,” said senior English major David Wright. According to the Clinical and Biological Research in Caffeine and Health, a cup of dripped coffee has 115-175 milligrams of caffeine, an espresso has 80-100 milligrams, instant coffee has roughly 65 milligrams and decaffeinated has 3 milligrams.
“I drink two a week, or when I have days with lots of classes,” said sophomore Derek Monzon. “I know it keeps you awake.”
It also stains your enamels if you’re a regular drinker. Dr. Robert H. Staat, professor of microbiology at the School of Dentistry, said, “The caffeine in coffee, soft drinks damages your teeth increasing the risk for tooth decay.” Lessening your intake would decrease the amount of tooth decay and stains.
Headaches can also occur with caffeine withdrawals. According to Clinical and Biological Research in Caffeine and Health, during withdrawal the blood pressure drops, causing an excess of blood in the head and leading to a headache that can last one to five days. People reported being irritable, unable to work, nervous, restless and sleepy due to caffeine withdrawal.
But according to the National Coffee Association in a 2003 drinking study, 166.6 million Americans drank coffee, up 5.2 million from 2002 and 8.6 million more than in 1999.
With all the cafes and eateries offering coffee beverages, finding which cup, whether tall or venti, bitter or sweet, finding the bean in you could produce the best wake up in your mouth or one hell of headache.
