"cup of coffee" news and stories

Decaffeinated coffee is often less than 95% caffeine free, which is why doctors often advise caffeine-sensitive patients to avoid it in addition to regular coffee, though the vast majority of coffee drinkers would not be affected by it to a noticeable extent. A new study shows that that small amount of caffeine may be having a greater effect than previously thought. Not only could the small amount of caffeine - about .5 mg per ounce versus as much as 18mg per ounce in non-decaf - add up to a reasonably significant amount after several cups, but it could also trigger a caffeine dependency, just as regular coffee can. Who would have thought you could get hooked on decaf?

The study also noted that the caffeine content of different brands of coffee varied and, of the ones they tested (not all listed), only Folgers Instant was complete caffeine free.

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Granted, I have my own espresso machine (as well as a drip coffee machine), but I still can't understand why people drink instant coffee. Actually, that's not true. I can understand why they drink it: it's fast (instant!) and incredibly easy. In a pinch, I suppose that it is better than nothing when you really need a cup to get you going. The real question is why do some people prefer it to a decent, freshly brewed coffee when taste tests have shown that instant doesn't even come close to non-instant coffees. In fact, one done by the St. Petersburg Times this week tested 11 brands of instant coffee and, out of 100 possible points, the best score was 31. Only one panelist said that she would consider buying the winning brand (Nescafe Taster's Choice) and the others all said that they would not buy it at all.

Instant coffee is made from coffee that has been made and dried . It was invented by a chemist around the turn of the last century, but was not sold commercially until 1938. Generally, the lowest quality beans are the ones used to make instant coffee and the higher quality ones are kept for other brewing methods.

If you drink coffee so rarely that instant is all you want to keep on hand, I can't argue with that, though you might as well pick up a cup at Starbucks instead. But if you drink coffee on a regular basis, isn't it worth the few extra seconds to put a filter and a spoonful of grounds into a machine and hit the "start" button?

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I am addicted to tea. As I've written here before, I drink several cups of tea a day (hot in the fall and winter, iced in the summer - spring is a mix). I really don't think I can even function without it anymore. Which is either a sign that I'm a true lover or tea or I have a serious, serious problem. Not sure which.

But it got me thinking about morning routines. The foods we eat to get us going in the morning. My morning routine consists of getting out of bed, putting my shoes on and heading directly to the stove to turn the stove on before I do anything else. Before I visit the bathroom, before I see if the paper is there, even before I put my contacts on (which once lead to a boiling-water-in-my-right-eye incident, but that's another story). It's my first thought and my first assignment I give myself everyday. And it's not just the caffeine, it's the ritual. It gives me a base to work from at the start of the day.

I don't eat breakfast though (bad, I know). No eggs, no toast, no muffin. But tea is something I need every single day. And it's certainly going to help me get through last minute Christmas chores and work today. 

What's your morning routine?