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!