Coffee -- It Does A Body Good

There is nothing in the world more wonderful than the perfect cup of coffee. When my friend Fiona and I were chatting at dinner last night, she said she remembered the delicious coffee my father used to make. Oh, indeed it was. She remembered the first cup of coffee she ever had was on a sunny, Saturday morning at my house. She remembers we had toast and peanut butter, hot coffee and the colored comics from the newspaper, and she said it was one of the most relaxing Saturday mornings she had ever spent. From that day on, she was hooked on good coffee.

My father's coffee spoiled me for anything but the perfect cup of coffee. My dad used to put eggshells into his ground coffee beans, and it turns out there is a scientific reason for this. The calcium in the eggshells cuts the bitter flavor, and makes the coffee smooth and mellow. This is a trick Barstucks should learn, because their coffee is -- as my father would call it -- rot gut. My father made his coffee in a siphon brewer. These were invented in Germany in 1830s, and folks stopped using them in the 1970s but siphon brewers are now making a comeback in 21st century.  And no wonder, because they make the best coffee.

And the good news is, coffee is actually good for you.  Yes!  According to Tomas DePaulis, Phd, a research scientist at Vanderbilt University, "For most people, very little bad comes from drinking it, but a lot of good." "At least six studies indicate that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are up to 80% less likely to develop Parkinson's, with three showing the more they drink, the lower the risk. Other research shows that compared to not drinking coffee, at least two cups daily can translate to a 25% reduced risk of colon cancer, an 80% drop in liver cirrhosis risk, and nearly half the risk of gallstones."

Apparently coffee contains oodles of antioxidants.  Well, who knew?  I just know that if it's made well, it's delicious, but if it's poorly made, it's tastes foul.  If all you're used to drinking is Barstucks coffee, do yourself a favor and invest in some really good roasted beans, a good coffee maker, and learn how to make the perfect cup of coffee.  You won't regret it.  Then all you'll need is a Saturday morning, and the colored comics from the newspaper.  Enjoy!