drink more coffee
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17 Jan
Benefits of Coffee

Drink More Coffee in 2018

Reasons why you should drink more coffee in 2018!

Here is 3 really good reasons to drink more coffee this year!

It’s that time of the year again, a time when, in pursuit of self improvement, we make deals with ourselves to get healthier, be kinder, be more spontaneous and cut back on the things that aren’t very good for us. For some people their New Year’s good intentions includes the aim to cut down on coffee consumption in the misguided assumption that they’ll be doing something good for themselves. However here are a few reasons to embrace the bean and drink even more coffee in 2018.

1. It’s actually good for you!

Last year we were inundated with more and more news articles that showed that the benefits of coffee are gaining ever increasing approval from scientists and health professionals. From preventing heart disease and strokes and even lowering risk of neurological conditions like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease coffee drinkers who drink 3 -4 cups per day have better health outcomes than non-coffee drinkers. A variety of compounds, including antioxidants are to thank for the health benefits.

2. It can be good for the environment!

Unfortunately not all coffee is grown in an environmentally sustainable and friendly way, but by choosing to drink speciality coffee you are choosing a coffee that not only tastes great – but is better for the environment as well.

A coffee plantation grown under the shade of the natural forest canopy is one of the few production systems that can conserve vital habitats and biodiversity. Currently, extensive areas of tropical forest are being converted into coffee fields, which contributes to overproduction of low-quality produce, deforestation and loss of biodiversity. Coffee is grown in 13 of the worlds 25 biodiversity hotspots – areas of high vulnerability and biological importance. Of the 11.8 million hectares used for coffee production around the world in 2001, only 2.3 million hectares in Brazil are not planted in areas of former or current rainforest (Halweil 2002).

The actual environmental benefits from introducing sustainable coffee production systems in a region depends both on the location, the history of the coffee production and which principles that are included in the specific certification guidelines used. In shade-grown coffee, the focus of the certification is to establish a production system that mimics the natural forest and benefits the environment in the region. Fair trade encourages environmentally beneficial measures, but it is not the main focus of the certification scheme. According to the organic guidelines, agrochemicals are ruled out, but the crop does not have to be grown under shade to be certified as organic. However, shade trees are often included since they are necessary for the fertilization of the system

3. It can change the lives of others!

125 million people around the world depend on growing coffee to earn their livelihoods. Despite the fact that Coffee is the most valuable and widely traded tropical agricultural product and 25 million smallholder farmers produce 80% of the world’s coffee many of them fail to earn a reliable living from coffee. For most of these growers their fortunes are tied to the rise and fall of the commodity markets where coffee futures are traded on the stock market. A decline in global coffee prices can mean poverty for vulnerable farmers.

But speciality coffee roasters are choosing to engage in Direct Trade with coffee producers in developing countries. This is good for the growers as it circumnavigates the insecurities of the global markets and pays pre-approved prices. This is good news for the consumer also as it means the roaster and the growers have an ongoing dialogue that ensures increasing quality time and time again. Which means better coffee all round!

So go ahead and drink more coffee this year as part of your new year resolution!

Coffee can be the right choice of drink to help keep you healthy
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01 Jun
Benefits of Coffee

Coffee can be the right choice of drink to help keep you healthy

Coffee can be the right choice of drink to help keep you healthy. Now a days everyone is trying to be as fit and healthy as possible. Some of the areas that we keep an eye on are our eating habits and taking more exercise. It can be hard juggling work life, family, friends and exercise. You manage your daily food intake, but now you’re looking to cut down your sugar consumption even more.

In the past when you’ve been thirsty you’ve reached for that bottle of fizzy drink, energy drink or glass of juice, but just how much sugar is really in these drinks?

The average Irish person consumes a whopping 24 teaspoons daily. To put that in context, last year the World Health Organisation revised its guidelines to recommend that adults get no more than 10 per cent of their daily calories from ‘free’ sugars or those added by manufacturers. With 1 teaspoon amounting to approximately 5 grams of sugar, every time you drink a can of fizzy or glass of fruit juice, you could be consuming up to 35 grams, which is a shocking 7 teaspoons!

During the past few years, there’s been lots of talk about introducing a ‘sugar tax’ on sugar-loaded food and drinks, which although may increase the costs of these products, the Irish Government is hoping it will start to tackle the country’s obesity epidemic and health related issues.

At the end of 2016, the UK Treasury finally vowed to go ahead with their sugar tax plans. The tax, is planned to be introduced in April 2018, and is expected to net the UK Government £520m in 2018-19, with a further £500m in 2019-20 and £455m in 2020-21. The sugar tax plan is expected to not only improve the nation’s overall health and wellbeing, but it will also help raise hundreds of millions of pounds to be invested in providing more sports in schools to tackle childhood obesity, plus pay for tooth decay prevention initiatives. In the last Irish budget Finance Minister Michael Noonan announced that a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks will be introduced in 2018 in Ireland too. Noonan said that the tax would be introduced in line with similar UK plans in April 2018.

Picking coffee as an alternative beverage to your can of fizzy drink or fruit juice is a healthy low, or no calorie option. An espresso has virtually no calories. It’s the milk and sugar that is added to sweeten it up that increases the calories.

By drinking black coffee, you won’t just save on calories, but you will also be helping to reduce your future risk of suffering from diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Who knew that your morning cup of coffee could be be the right choice of drink to help keep you healthy

DE-SCALING Your Gaggia Machine
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07 Mar
Benefits of Coffee

This Coffee isn’t just for Drinking

This coffee isn’t just for drinking…..we’ll have you know. Just when you thought coffee couldn’t bring you anymore happiness we’ve made a list of some of the extra perks you can get from your leftover coffee grounds.

Glorious coffee is good for more than just putting a spring in your step in the morning! Have a read below and add these simple tips and tricks to your daily routine so you can enjoy your coffee again, even after you’ve finished it! You’ll never throw your away your used coffee grounds again after seeing just how many things you can do with them.

*Fertilising Your Plants – For all you green fingered coffee lovers out there this nifty trick has been around for years but that doesn’t make it any less awesome. After you’ve enjoyed your morning brew, allow the used grounds to cool and place them on top of the soil of your favourite plants and shrubs. We mortals aren’t the only ones that love coffee, plants love the stuff too. Your used grounds will act as a fertiliser and give a boost to your garden and household plants. Roses and Azaleas in particular can’t get enough of the acidic chemicals contained in the coffee grounds and you’ll reap the rewards with a knockout flower arrangement. The odour emitted from the grounds also doubles up as deterrent to stop any feline friends from digging up your soil so it’s a win win.

*Beauty Benefits – Cosmetic companies are using organic items such as fresh coffee in their products more and more. A coffee scrub is a complete body exfoliator that you canuse from head to toe. Aside from its skin softening properties, antioxidants it smells incredible, and reduces the appearance of cellulite, stretch marks, psoriasis, acne, and more.

*Absorb Odours – Used coffee grounds can be used much like baking soda for absorbing food odours. Believe it or not, placing a small bowl full of used ground coffee in your fridge or freezer overnight will work miracles at de-odorising all those unwanted food smells. Beware however, we don’t recommend storing any fresh coffee in the fridge before you use it, your ground coffee or whole beans won’t like the moisture and it will deteriorate the quality of your favourite blend. As an added bonus, after you remove smelly old grounds from the refrigerator or freezer, you can then toss them on the compost pile or use them for fertiliser.

* Clean Out the Fire Place – Now the used coffee grounds won’t do all of the work for you however, they will make the process of cleaning out your fireplace much easier and less messy.  Gently scatter old used coffee grounds over the ashes to weight them down and prevent the huge clouds of smoke that often arise when performing this unpleasant task.  Not only will shovelling the ashes be easier than ever before, you also won’t have to wipe down every horizontal surface in the room when you’re done. We wish we had discovered this one years ago.

*Natural Abrasive – Sprinkle your coffee grounds onto an old cloth and use them to scrub away stains from counters or dishes.  While used grounds are abrasive, they aren’t so harsh that they will damage the surfaces in your house.  Just be sure not to accidentally scrub grounds into cracks where they might leave behind stains.

*Give Your Hair A Caffeine Boost– Caffeine is becoming a regular ingredient in your favourite beauty products. Caffeine works a real treat at rejuvenating your skin and it also has a nifty trick when it comes to your hair. Leading the way in this area is the Alpecin shampoo. This leading brand is becoming increasingly popular as its high-level caffeine shampoo is boosting hair strength, shine, and growth. Just take a small amount of used ground coffee into the bathroom with you, and work it into your hair and scalp with hot water to inject your roots with a dose of caffeine. This will help to strengthen roots, enrich your scalp and remove dandruff. Best of all it didn’t cost you anything extra.

Great Taste Awards 2018
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29 Nov
Benefits of Coffee

6 Reasons You Should Drink Coffee

Coffee is one hell of a drug. We start every morning as a bleary-eyed, bed-headed grump. However as soon as we consume our favourite Watermark blend, we’re ready to meet whatever the day might throw at us. Beyond the obvious pick-me-up that coffee provides, you also see a multitude of other health benefits every time you fill up your mug. We’ve outlined below 6 reasons you should drink coffee. These are just a few of the surprising perks below.

  1. You’ll Slash Your Diabetes Risk

It is estimated that an alarming 6.5% of the Irish population over the age of 20 have diabetes. Needless to say, it’s a growing concern and one receiving a great deal of attention in the medical community. According to Harvard researchers, who tracked the coffee consumption and occurrence of type-2 diabetes of more than 40,000 men, long-term coffee drinkers had a significantly reduced risk of developing type-2 diabetes and statistics indicated the risk decreased the more they consumed.

  1. You’ll Reduce Your Pain level

Do you find yourself surprisingly refreshed and rejuvenated following your daily coffee break? Well Norwegian researchers may have the reason why. They observed 48 people performing office work and found that those who consumed coffee only declared a pain-intensity level of 41, whereas participants who didn’t drink any coffee reported having a score of 55. If this study is any indication, you might want to ensure that you take your coffee breaks religiously.

  1. You’ll Shift Some Excess Weight

Including coffee in your daily routine may help you lose weight. Firstly coffee contains magnesium and potassium, which helps the human body use insulin, regulating blood sugar levels and reducing your craving for sugary treats and snacks. Also if your focus is weight loss, green coffee extract could be an effective aid. Following a 22-week study of 16 overweight adults, researchers discovered that participants given green coffee bean extract had undergone significant weight loss with 37.5% of them transitioning from being at a pre-obesity weight to a normal weight range. If you’re looking to shape up for Santa, consider complementing your workouts by including a green bean capsule in your daily routine.

     4. You’ll Remember More Stuff

Is there anything sadder than seeing an aging loved one drastically losing their mental sharpness? You may be powerless to prevent it, but, according to a recent study, coffee may be able to help you from falling into the same trap. Researchers discovered that participants who drank three to five cups of coffee per day had about a 65% decreased chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease or dementia later on in life. To ensure you’re always drinking enough coffee, make it a point of always consuming coffee with your meals.

  1. You’ll Work Out Harder

Drinking a cup of coffee before hitting the gym might lead to some serious performance gains.  Have a cup of black coffee about an hour before workout and your performance can improve by 11-12%. Caffeine increases adrenaline levels in your blood and prevents the compound adenosine in your body from binding to its receptors—which makes you feel higher levels of alertness and lower levels of exertion.

  1. You’ll Boost Your Mood

Coffee might just be a liquid happy pill. Women in a study conducted who drank two to three cups of caffeinated coffee a day were 15% less likely to develop depression over a 10-year period compared to those who drank one cup of coffee or less per week.

What’s more, researchers from Harvard also discovered that people who had 2 to 3 cups a day of the beverage were 55 percent less likely to commit suicide than non-drinkers. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and boosts production of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline, which elevate your mood.

So the next time you’re sipping on your morning coffee smile and think not only does this taste amazing but it’s oh so good for me. These are just 6 reasons why you should drink coffee