Coffee can help preserve the memory
As if having been proven to aid in the prevention of strokes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s’ disease, Type II Diabetes and even certain types of cancer wasn’t enough for health-conscious coffee drinkers to feel good about, research now shows that coffee consumption can also help the memory – well, for women over 65 at least.
Whilst it is already a medical fact that women over the age of 65 generally retain greater mental faculties than men of the same age, it would appear that drinking at least three cups of coffee a day could actually further widen that gap.
The French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM) conducted the study across 7,000 women over the age of 65. The women involved were subjected to a number of tests that recorded their mental capacities, in particular, their memory. Their individual histories were noted, including their coffee and tea drinking habits. The tests were then conducted again after two and four years respectively.
The study showed that it was caffeine in particular that effected the boost in memory and that it was the daily amount consumed, whether in coffee, tea, or any other form, that had a direct impact. What was even more remarkable was that it was only women who registered an improvement, indicating a higher sensitivity to caffeine than men.
The results showed that women close to the age of 65 demonstrated a 30% reduction in the risk of memory loss, whereas the prospects for women nearer the age of 80 improved by a staggering 70%.
Coffee cup design competition
Coffee is loved all over the world. Over 400 billion cups of coffee are consumed every year. To put this into perspective, other than oil, coffee is the world’s second largest commodity. In the same way that sustainability issues have been prevalent for the oil industry, in recent years the continual growth in demand for coffee has also raised questions as to strategies for renewable farming.
Whilst many coffee drinkers have acknowledged and embraced fair-trade and sustainable growth initiatives to deal with this environmental issue, another impact of the mass consumption of coffee has this week been brought to the fore; the rampant wastage of non recyclable coffee cups.
However, a new and original design competition, Betacup, aims to attempt to solve the problem. Members of the public are offered the chance to submit their designs, with the competition offering a $10,000 prize for the best entry. There is some suggestion that entrants might first want to consult an intellectual property lawyer: the competition allows ideas to be viewed and commented on publicly in the hope of encouraging further valuable input in the form of comments and suggestions. Designs will also be voted upon by other entrants, with the top five sharing a further $10,000 between them.
Organisers believe that the chance to comment upon other entrants’ designs will allow for refinement and the best possible recyclable cup. Submissions are invited from the 1st April up until 15th June. One thing is clear: with the level of daily consumption set to rise, the use of environmentally friendly disposable cups is set to become ever more important.
Take a look at their website here
A coffee with lunch can help prevent Type 2 diabetes
More good coffee news! A recent study has suggested that drinking three or more cups of coffee a day can reduce the chance of developing Type 2 diabetes by up to 23% per cent.
The study, to be published in the April edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was carried out on 69,532 women, aged between 41 and 72. The primary focus was upon the effect of coffee drinking in relation to Type 2 diabetes, however, attention was also paid to the differing habits of the study’s participants, in terms of the time of day at which they consumed their beverages.
The disorder can be attributed to an excess build-up of glucose in the bloodstream. This can come about either as a result of the pancreas failing to release sufficient levels of insulin into the bloodstream, which serves to balance glucose levels, or alternatively, as a result of bodily dysfunction in accepting insulin’s stabilising properties.
The participating women were revisited after 11 years, where it was found that 1,415 of them had developed Type 2 diabetes. In comparing coffee drinkers with the other women, it emerged that those who drank three cups of coffee a day, irrespective as to whether or not milk or sugar had been added, or whether it was caffeinated or decaffeinated, appeared to have lessened the odds of the disease by 23%.
By monitoring the drinking patterns of the women, it was established that having coffee with lunch only (1.1 cups or 125ml), reduced the risk by a far more significant 34%.
Retailers see drop in instant coffee as consumers favour the filtered variety
Recent sales figures provided by market research company Mintel, have shown that over the last few years there has been a rise in the market share for filtered coffee and that, for the first time ever, the sales of filtered coffee have exceeded those of the instant variety.
The figures produced by Mintel show that filtered coffee sales have increased by a significant 49% during the last five years, whilst the sale of instant coffee has dropped by 36% over the same period. Sales of filtered coffee exceeded £149 million in the UK compared to £140 million generated from instant sales.
Ben Perkins, of Mintel, commented: “Whilst once British consumers were happy to settle with a bog standard cup of instant, today the traditional cup of coffee has become increasingly sophisticated as roast, ground, instant premium and super-premium are being sought after more frequently by core users than in previous years . . .the issue with the younger end of the market is that these consumers don’t drink instant coffee”.
It has been argued that a rise in coffee shop culture is the main driver behind consumers taking a greater pride in their home coffee-making. This is a significant trend, particularly taking into account the recent economic climate and the fact that instant coffee is, more often than not, the cheaper option.
It just goes to show that as far as coffee is concerned, variety and quality are factors for which consumers are willing to pay that little bit extra.
Canon to release replica camera lens coffee mug
At this year’s Winter Olympics, photographers thought that Christmas had come early when it appeared that Canon’s 70-200mm L-Series lenses were being handed out for free. However, what was being offered was in fact a thermos mug that was an identical replica of the £500 lens.
The Olympic Canon coffee mug photographed by one of the lucky recipients Microsoft’s Josh Weisberg
These replicas are certainly stylish and being produced by high end manufacturer Canon, they should be of the highest quality. The Japanese imaging company can expect the sale of this novelty product to help to encourage consumers in buying its photography and design products. They should also prove to be a popular buy for existing Canon fanatics.
Canon has now announced that as a result of the popularity and media coverage generated by the issue of the mugs in Vancouver, that they will be available for general purchase from mid April. However, you can pre-order to ensure that you obtain one at the earliest opportunity.
Thermos products have proved to be great sellers. It is not only people who work outdoors or on the road that are purchasing them. As people look to reduce their carbon footprint, office workers and other professionals have purchased them to save the waste from plastic or paper coffee cups.
Canon’s mugs are likely to prove a must-have for coffee lovers to enjoy their favourite drink at the office and are sure to make owners the envy of their colleagues. However, it appears that mug envy doesn’t come cheap with an expected retail price of little over £50!
New Coffee chain to grace the UK high street
Love Coffee – a new chain of coffee shops is set to make its mark on the UK high street. The brand has been launched by former BB’s Coffee & Muffin franchisee Sashi Patel. After BB’s went into administration, Mr Patel decided to try and make the most of a bad situation.
He said: ‘We felt it was an opportunity to do our own thing. I was BB’s largest franchisee for 12 years with 13 cafés so felt we knew the market very well and understood our customer base. We have sourced our own blend of coffee from the Nairobi Coffee Company and will continue to offer a range of sandwiches and muffins, freshly made in the cafés.’
“Our target is to have 25 cafés by the end of the year,” commented Mr Patel. “We have purchased two BB’s sites from the administrators and we are also looking at brand new sites. We have a good track record with landlords for good operations and customer service and they have received the new brand very favourably.”
The new chain has already opened two brand new stores in Woking and is currently rebranding the recently acquired BB’s stores at Woking and Sheffield-based shopping centre Meadowhall. In addition to this, there are plans to obtain some of the most prominent former BB’s stores based in the Midlands and the North-West.
It would certainly be a fairytale story if Love Coffee can prove to be the phoenix rising from the flames that the demise of BB’s has left behind.
Coffee can help to protect you from skin cancer
A recent study in America has revealed that by drinking up to six cups of coffee a day, you can significantly reduce your chances of developing certain types of skin cancers.
Coffee has been known to provide positive health benefits for some time now, from drinking a mere single cup a day to up to four. Past studies have shown it to reduce the risk of strokes, high blood pressure, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. However, researchers at Wayne State University in Michigan believe that skin cancer can now be added to that list after performing tests on 90,000 women.
Their research showed that of the women who drank no coffee at all, 10% were found to develop the common cancer, basal cell carcinoma. However, for those women who consumed six cups of coffee a day, this figure was reduced to 6.7%, an overall reduction of 31%.
The same test was also carried out with decaffeinated coffee which did not result in a notable reduction in the development of the cancer. It is for this reason that scientists believe that the resulting reduction could be ascribed to caffeine’s effects as an anti-oxidant helping to shield skin cells from the disease.
If this study proves to be conclusive then coffee really can be considered a ‘super drink’, particularly with other recent research suggesting that a blend will soon be found which can halt the production of stomach acids usually attributed to the drink, which some find results in mild discomfort.
Coffee production set to fall further behind ever increasing demand
The world’s coffee market deficit looks set to increase with production continuing to fall behind consumption, according to the International Coffee Organisation.
With an estimated ongoing growth in consumption of 2-3% per annum, it is expected that demand will exceed 145 million bags of coffee within the next five years. A problem can be seen to arise, however, when it is considered that coffee production looks unlikely to significantly increase from the annual 125 million bags per annum that has been consistently seen throughout the last decade.
The problem of the ever increasing demand for coffee is, however, considered to be negligible in comparison to the concern that coffee production may, in fact, struggle to maintain even its current levels. Rising costs in production, attributed to increased labour and fertiliser prices, have seen farmers dissuaded from extending or improving existing farms and thus overall output capacity.
It is estimated that global output will once again reach around 125 million bags (with each bag holding 60kg). However, as the recent drought in Colombia has evidenced, unexpected weather conditions, which are expected to increase in both frequency and severity, can and almost certainly will have a major part to play in future production levels.
It may well be that a rise in cost will result in a commensurate reduction in demand, or alternatively, help to encourage future production. Only time will tell, with these statistics provide some worrying reading for today’s industry.
SPL club ban the sale of coffee to under16s
Falkirk football club has come under fire having made the decision to prohibit the sale of coffee and any other hot drinks to children under the age of 16.
A spokesman for the SPL club said that the action had come about following incidents of scalding: “In the past two months we have had two children seriously injured by hot drinks within the ground.
We can’t carry on and allow children to scald themselves.”
However, the decision has not gone down well amongst supporters, with many questioning an outright ban, as opposed to more traditional methods of ‘child-proofing’ the hot drinks.
Considering the notoriously cold whether in Scotland, some have even argued that it may even be detrimental to childrens’ health to deny them a hot drink on colder match days.
However, rather than attempt to reduce the risk, club bosses thought it better to implement a complete ban over health and safety fears. It may well be that the club feels that it is in a no-win situation, fearing the condemnation that it would face should it fail to demonstrably act and reports were to continue to emerge of children burning themselves.
However, alternatives to the ban might include the use of high-protection mugs which would drastically reduce the chance of youngsters spilling the drink. Alternatively, a simple low-tech solution could well be that of adding a splash of cold water to the coffee, or other hot beverage.
Starbucks to offer instant alternative
Following a week that knocked the froth off our cappuccinos as rivals Costa and Coffee Republic extended their menus with the introduction of the ever-popular flat white, this week, Starbucks is grinding the coffee market further by launching a brand new product – Starbucks VIA™ Columbia – a move that makes the company the first major new entrant into the instant coffee market since 1994.
The new type of instant coffee is powder-like in consistency, dissolves instantaneously and unlike other alternative fresh forms, requires no additional processing or filtration before serving. Essentially the new blend is an extremely finely ground fresh coffee mixed with an air-dried soluble; set to challenge existing perceptions of instant coffee.
For the product launch, the high street coffee giant is this week promoting a campaign at its coffee shops, challenging customers to a taste test; to distinguish between its existing in-house filter coffee and the new instant variety.
The primary marketing message to customers is that they will now be able to experience the same taste and convenience of the high street brew when in need of a quick coffee at home or at work.
In the same way that the coffee bean evolved from fresh ground to freeze-dried, with its new ready brew it seems Starbucks® is also evolving. Its intentions of expanding its brand reach beyond the 700-strong chain of shops in Britain are clear, with Starbucks VIA™ soon to launch in supermarkets and anticipated to appear in other consumer outlets.