Coffee Shops … Why do people like these places?

Hi there everyone. A few days ago I found a quote I had stored in my computer from the movie You’ve Got Mail that goes:

The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are, can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall! Decaf! Cappuccino!

Now, I was wondering how coffee shops have become so important to society right now. First of all, well, it’s a place to hang out and spent time talking with other people. Either for going out with your best friends, having a small meeting regarding business, or catching up with a long lost friend, places like these coffee shops have struck as a great option. Why? The ambiance is calm and relaxing, and it offers you the opportunity to talk over a cup of coffee or a light snack. It’s a gathering point easy to find and open to everyone.

Something interesting to consider is the appearance of the first coffee shops in the United States. Now, according to masstraveljournal.com, “the first coffeehouse in America was opened in October of 1676 by John Sparry in Boston, according to the book When in Boston by Jim Vrabel.” Since then, many coffee shops have appeared in this and all the countries. Probably Starbucks is the best example of a well-known coffee shop that has reached a great market and has achieved worldwide recognition. Their concept of a store is stated in their webpage,

“When our customers feel this sense of belonging, our stores become a haven, a break from the worries outside, a place where you can meet with friends. It’s about enjoyment at the speed of life – sometimes slow and savored, sometimes faster. Always full of humanity.” (starbucks.com).

However, Starbucks isn’t the only coffee shop with a great vision of what they want to offer their clients. According to the New York Times, lately some new coffee shops have opened in this city, and the important thing about them is that they treat coffee making as an art. So from a place like this you can expect the best coffee beans available in the US and freshly roasted as well, great quality, a precise preparation of it, and a nice and arty presentation. (nytimes.com) Obviously, I imagine, it is way more expensive than a regular cup of coffee.

For me, I don’t really care how much it costs, or how fancy it is, as long as it fulfills its purpose. (Waking me up, making me happy, just being something to drink while talking to friends…) what matters the most are the memories we keep from hanging out in these places and the moments we share with the people we cherish.

Works cited:

"America's First Coffeehouse | Massachusetts Travel Journal."Massachusetts Travel Journal | Exploring Boston, Cape Cod, the Berkshires, and more. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .

"Mission Statement | Starbucks Coffee Company." Starbucks Coffee Company. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .

Strand, Oliver. "New York Is Finally Taking Its Coffee Seriously." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., 9 Mar. 2010. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .

Yes, there's more...!" (Coffee Art)

I’ve decided to dedicate my next entries to answering questions from the people who have commented. A few weeks ago, I posted an entry about coffee art, and Ovi asked if there were any other things such as coffee sculptures or museums. After a bit of research I found out this video, which I think is pretty cool :)

It’s from the Rocks Aroma Festival held last year in Sydney, Australia:

I mean, I had seen people do this with clothes or random materials like in Art Attack, but never with cups of coffee. Which by the way, had to be carefully prepared in order to get the exact colors they needed. It’s not hard to guess all the thought and hard work that had to be put into this, but I think it was worth it. There’s actually another video, same idea, just that the picture formed is the Mona Lisa. In my opinion, if it is already hard to paint, doing it with coffee cups might be even harder. And also, we should consider how careful they all have to be while setting it up, since one wrong move and everything would be spilled :P (and we wouldn’t want that to happen, right?)

As far as I recall from the videos I watched, Starbucks did once something similar to this to celebrate Earth’s Day, and NESCAFÉ Gold created a sculpture too to celebrate the launch of the new product. You can look those up on YouTube, I’m pretty sure there are even more videos you might find interesting.

I think this form of art is pretty original and different from many other common paintings and sculptures we've seen in museums. Hopefully people will give this the attention and recognition it deserves, supporting and promoting this type of events.

Here are some links, in case you want to see more about this:

* Videos from the Official Website: http://www.therocks.com/sydney-News_Media-Videos.htm

* Nescafé Gold: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4q2MGMu8MQ

Coffee... is it good or bad for your health?

Like every other thing in life, coffee has its pros and cons. I spent some time investigating about the different arguments that exist and now I’ll show them to you. As much as I love coffee I’ll try to present both sides, so you can decide for yourselves. :)

Let’s start with the negative problems that some claim coffee might cause:

1. It is already known that caffeine is an addictive substance, and this may cause some problems such as anxiety and sleep disorders.

2. Something I’ve also heard is that too much coffee might be bad for your teeth; this is because it can turn them yellowish, stain them, and/or create cavities.

3. If you suffer from gastritis or similar stomach issues, coffee –especially when drank unaccompanied by food– might also cause pain because of the stomach acids created. (Been there, done that… it’s not nice).

4. Now, according to what I investigated, caffeine might cause modest cardiovascular effects (for instance, increase heart rate and blood pressure).

5. Also, some say it might have negative effects on women, such as breast cancer and osteoporosis. But this isn’t confirm, some others deny it.

6. Finally, it is said to raise cholesterol levels. Usually, paper filters help, since they capture the two substances that produce this. However, the rest of the people who drink non filtered coffee might be in risk.

(health.harvard.edu)

On the other side, here are the good qualities coffee possesses, [ besides keeping you awake when you need it the most (meaning at night while doing all the work you should’ve done during the day, or in the mornings when you regret not going to bed early the day before ;P) ].

1. It is said to prevent diabetes since coffee might contain some substances that lower blood sugar levels.

2. Contrary to causing cancer, as believed, it might actually help preventing it. (Especially liver cancer.)

3. Also important, they claim enzymes found in coffee actually helps protect men against Parkinson’s disease.

(health.harvard.edu)

4. Coffee has antidepressant effects, which results (according to statistics) in less people committing suicide or turning to alcoholism.

5. It is proven that exercise combined with water and caffeine can reduce the damages in skin done by the UV rays from the sun.

(vidasana, 32)

So, this is basically it. For me, coffee isn’t a harmful or unhealthy drink, if drank properly. I think coffee is useful and its effects may be really beneficent, but it needs to be taken with moderation. Ultimately, anything in excess is bad for your health. So, you decide. Pros are better than cons? Are they tied up? Is there really a way to judge coffee and its effects on people? I guess it depends on how people respond to it, it can’t be generalized that coffee is bad for everyone, or really good for everyone. It’s up to us to know how take care of our own body and health.

Works cited:

Harvard Health. "Coffee Health Benefits : Coffee may protect against disease." Health Information and Medical Information - Harvard Health Publications. Feb 2006. Web. 1 Sept. 2011.<http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/coffee_health_benefits> .

Harvard Health. "Coffee Health Risks - Harvard Health Publications." Health Information and Medical Information - Harvard Health Publications. 8 Aug. 2004. Web. 1 Sept. 2011<http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/coffee_health_risk>.

VidaSana. "¿Nos tomamos un café?." VidaSana Apr. 1: 28+. Print. (Magazine)

COFFEE ART

So originally I was planning on talking about the pros and cons of coffee, but I’ve decided that I’ll leave those two topics for the next weeks. For now, I’d like to show you all the pretty artistic side of coffee.

Most of the times we are so sleepy or so in a rush when we drink our coffee, that we don’t even stop to look at it for a second. Perhaps we might even get the ingredients mixed up and end up drinking something terrible. But there are these other times, when we drink coffee to relax for a while, and to let inspiration flow. The result? Creativity.

Here are some amazing pictures I found on the internet of drawings done on top of the coffee using the same ingredients that it is prepared with.

Fig. 1. 27 Anime Style Girl. Beautiful Examples of Latte Art. Oct 5^th, 2009. Web. Aug 24^th, 2011.

Fig. 2. Cute Dog. Coffee Coffee Coffee. Aug 3^rd, 2010. Web. Aug 24^th, 2011.

Fig. 3. Several. Coffee Art. Web. Aug 24^th, 2011.

Fig. 4. Donald. BadLatte Art.Web. Aug 24^th,2011.

For more pictures (and instructions on how to do this), you can visit these pages: http://www.ilovecoffeebook.com/coffeeArt.html

http://www.weirdomatic.com/coffee-art.html

However, this isn’t the only type of art related to coffee. There’s also a technique that consists on simply drawing and painting, but using coffee instead of paint or ink. Here are some examples, done by the Brazilian Dirceu Vega. (abduzeedo.com)

Fig. 5. Drawing. Amazing Coffee Art by Dirceu Vega.Jan 26^th, 2010. Web. Aug 24^th, 2011.

Fig. 6. Painting. Amazing Coffee Art by Dirceu Vega.Jan 26^th, 2010. Web. Aug 24^th, 2011.

To read more about him and to see other pictures, go here:

http://abduzeedo.com/amazing-coffee-art-dirceu-veiga

I personally find this very interesting and really creative. I guess it takes practice to do any of these designs or drawings. But maybe that’s the beauty of it all: patience, inspiration, and just a break from your daily routine. So, the next time you grab a cup of coffee, or consider preparing yourself one, I suggest you take a moment to let coffee fill your senses and become your muse. Who knows? Maybe you'll become the next Picasso... or not. :)

That’s all for this week, talk to you later! <3

The Beginning of Coffee

We all know coffee is really important for many people these days. Either for waking up in the morning or just as a drink while talking to friends, coffee plays a part in our daily life. But… do you know where does it come from? How was it discovered? Who were the firsts to consume it?

There are some variations of the story, but in general (and this is according mostly to what I read from the International Coffee Organization) it is said that coffee has its origins in Kaffa, an Ethiopian province in Africa. It was eaten by slaves, who started spreading out its use. The Arabs, to prevent its cultivation from expanding to other places, prohibited its exportation, but nevertheless Europeans later found a way to transport live coffee plants to their continent. (ico.org)

At first, coffee drinking was spread through the Arabs especially in places where people would get together to play games, dance, or have any kind of social or business discussions. (Sounds similar to what we do nowadays?) This lead to problems concerning political activities in these places so these coffeehouses were tried to be suppressed, but they still kept existing. By then, two other drinks were also earning importance: hot chocolate and tea. Coffee was then brought to America, having a high acceptance as well. (ico.org)

Nowadays, we can see that many different countries cultivate coffee, leading it to become an important and valuable product. I’ve heard it is actually the second most used product in the entire world, after oil. And something that shows its great popularity is the fact that we can get coffee almost anywhere, and there are so many different ways of having it.

Anyway, this doesn’t necessarily mean everyone likes it or is in favor of its use. Actually there are several points to argue against it, as well as really interesting benefits it has. Those topics will be explained and discussed later on in this blog. :)

You can read more about the story of coffee at:

http://www.ico.org/coffee_story.asp

Works cited:

"The Story Of Coffee."International Coffee Organization. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Aug. 2011. http://www.ico.org/coffee_story.asp