The Truth About Coffee: Is Coffee Healthy?

Coffee is a fixed part of our everyday lives. Plenty of myths, half-truths, and half-knowledge swirl around the topic. I'd like to clear some of that up and spark your interest in good coffee - you've already taken the first step just by reading this article this far. This article aims to shed some light and answer the question: is coffee healthy or not?

Where did the first coffee come from?

Coffee has been with us since the end of the 10th century, ever since the first coffee plants were discovered around 950 AD in Ethiopia. Over time, coffee enjoyment was perfected. In the 16th century, coffee reached Vienna and began its worldwide triumph from there. Originally a luxury indulgence, exporting it used to be punishable by law.

Is coffee healthy or unhealthy?

The answer to this question is complex. Coffee can have both positive and negative effects on health. Moderate coffee consumption, though, can have a positive effect on mood, concentration, and even fighting free radicals. Coffee contains antioxidants, which can help fight free radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules that naturally occur in the body and, when present in excess, can cause oxidative damage to cells and tissues. This damage is often linked to various diseases and the aging process.

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Why is coffee healthy?

The active compound in coffee, caffeine, is a natural stimulant that can boost mental alertness and concentration. Caffeine can also stimulate the production of neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine, leading to a better mood and more energy. On top of that, coffee contains antioxidants that can help fight free radicals and thereby reduce the risk of cell damage.

Is coffee with milk also healthy?

Here I can give a clear it depends: milk takes some of the "sharpness" out of coffee and makes it more palatable on the tongue.

That was also the reason I used to put milk in my coffee back in the day, to somehow make that mostly dark brew drinkable. - Volker of Kaffeemanum

But: good coffee needs neither milk nor sugar. Coffee contains, similar to red wine, 800-1,000 aromas. So it's a very complex matter that you can no longer properly taste once you add milk to your coffee drink. Of course, everyone has their own preference here.

Is it healthy to drink coffee every morning?

Moderate coffee consumption, around 3-4 cups a day, is considered healthy by many experts. Daily coffee enjoyment can support mental alertness and protect against certain diseases. Excessive coffee consumption, though, especially in the evening, can lead to sleep disturbances and restlessness.

What are the downsides of coffee?

Although coffee can offer many health benefits, there are also potential downsides.

In the past, there were even attempts to classify coffee as harmful to health and ban it. Ultimately, though, these efforts failed because caffeine's stimulating effect was simply too tempting. For most of us, caffeine triggers a pleasant sense of euphoria. This "euphoria," by the way, has a clear cause: the finer Arabica coffee bean contains about 1% caffeine, while the Robusta bean contains up to three times as much. A pure Robusta coffee is quite a challenge in terms of taste, since it's bold and intense. In an espresso, though, Robusta creates a fantastic crema. That's also why many espresso blends contain a certain amount of Robusta. And yes, you can actually "pep yourself up" with caffeine, though it would take 3 to 5 liters of coffee. Anyone who's ever drunk too much energy drink knows the unpleasant racing heart and discomfort.

Coffee drinking can also become addictive and cause withdrawal symptoms if consumption is reduced abruptly.

So are there downsides to enjoying coffee? Yes, and they can include:

• Sleep disturbances from excessive evening coffee consumption
• Anxiety and nervousness
• If you cut out coffee, you might experience headaches and discomfort, since the body is being deprived of its "drug" - though this usually goes away on its own after a few days

Why do quality and origin of coffee matter?

As with any food, ingredient quality is crucial: if I pay $5.99 at the discount store for a pound of coffee, and about 7% sales tax and roughly $1.30 in coffee tax get deducted from that, there's not much left for the actual coffee. Of course, producers and logistics providers deserve fair pay too. That's one part. The other part is, of course, the quality, which also has to be paid for: a coffee farmer who takes pride in their work goes over their plantation multiple times, similar to a winemaker, and only harvests the ripe fruit by hand. If I just shake everything off the tree, I obviously end up with unripe fruit, branches, and more. So it's better to invest one more dollar and get high quality in return.

At Kaffeemanum's coffee roasting seminar near Berlin, you'll dive deep into the world of coffee. Here you'll learn not just fascinating facts about the origin and roasting of coffee, but you can also get hands-on yourself.

Photo: © Kaffeemanum

But try a coffee from a small roastery and you'll be surprised how fundamentally different coffee can taste. Small-roastery roasters also roast at significantly lower temperatures (usually up to a maximum of 400°F) and for significantly longer than industrial production, namely about 15-20 minutes. On top of that, coffee contains unpleasant chlorogenic acids (which cause uncomfortable burping for some people). And these unpleasant acids are only broken down during the roasting process - so the coffee becomes noticeably more tolerable. Industrial coffee is roasted in batches of up to 1,100 lbs at around 930°F for about 5 minutes - so the acids can't break down.

Coffee grounds per cup: how much coffee grounds?

The amount of coffee grounds per cup can vary depending on personal preference and coffee type. Preparing coffee is actually quite simple: for filter coffee, about 5-8 grams of coffee grounds per 100 ml of water is recommended. Or you can use a fully automatic machine, where you can set the intensity, and with it the amount of coffee grounds. But here too, you should pay attention to the grind size, which is very important. As a rule of thumb: the coffee should still flow as a steady stream and not drip, since that means it's over-extracted. It also shouldn't be too thick of a stream, which suggests too coarse a grind. And fans of the portafilter for making espresso already know what they're doing anyway!

Photo: © Kaffeemanum

Good to know: Feel like roasting your own coffee and learning more about the topic of "coffee"? Then discover coffee roasting near Berlin.

And now, enjoy your coffee!

About the author: Volker Behrendt is the owner of the small roastery Kaffeemanum. With great passion, he devotes himself to single-origin coffees and custom blends, always transparent, handcrafted, and focused on quality. In his classes, he offers a glimpse into the world of coffee roasting, shows what good coffee really tastes like, and makes one thing clear: enjoyment starts with the bean.