What's Brewing

I know, I know, the question is quite odd and daring. But there are plenty of benefits to drenching yourself in coffee, so why wouldn’t we look into it? Cleopatra was known to bathe in milk, its tradition for some royals to bathe in wine, most spa treatments are based on herbs somewhat similar to brewing tea, so why wouldn’t we try coffee?   Coffee is high in antioxidants, which are crucial to balance free radicals in our bodies. In simpler words, coffee helps improve cellular health. Coffee is also an anti-inflammatory, which is crucial to improve blood circulation in...

Italian-American culture has brought the best of both worlds. Think of New York Pizza and It’s a Wonderful Life, the iconic American film is actually directed by Frank Capra, an Italian born American. Neighborhoods such as Little Italy can be considered as important part of American cities as it is to Italian identity. And where does the Americano fit in all this? Let me tell you, it fits like a glove.  Americano simply means American in Italian. It is said that it was the Italians who coined this term because it was the type of coffee American soldiers enjoyed drinking while...

Once long ago, someone tried to convince me that coffee was really bad for my mind and body. They insisted that coffee negatively impacts the nervous system, the heart, and my bones. Not to mention my skin, brain, and teeth. As someone hoping to be strong and healthy, I cared about this possibility and took it upon myself to research what coffee truly does to my mind and body.  Stress  New studies done in England show that the stress resulting from coffee consumption has more positive than negative effects on our bodies. The adrenaline kick we get from caffeine increases...

Happy feast my friend! Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, better known as Padre Pio, and baptized by his parents as Francesco Forgione. The twentieth century saint was born so poor that he spent his childhood sleeping with a rock as a pillow. His parents were illiterate, but they never failed to cultivate their son's curiosity and narrated Bible stories from memory. His parents went through great effort to hire a tutor for young Francesco when he expressed his interest in joining the Franciscan order. Religious life required a somewhat higher level of education than what was available to Italian peasants and...

The history of coffee is fascinating. It intertwines cultures and values, and even the simplest recipes speak loudly about the people who harvest, roast, and brew coffee beans around the globe. For the Southern Europeans, the South Americans, Africans, and Middle Easterns, coffee is a matter of national pride; but the most exciting thing is that as rich as the history of coffee is, its future is even more promising than its past.  Globalization and the technological revolution has allowed all of us to enjoy fresher and higher quality coffee. The advances in biology and ecology have encouraged scientists to...

Coffee beans come from a cherry-like fruit. The bean itself is more of a pit than a bean when it first appears in coffee bushes. This fruit and later bean is quite sensitive and the way each lot is tended, the way cherries are picked, washed, dried, and roasted determines the aroma inside the bag. That is why coffee bags have such lengthy labels, and the more specialized it is, the more there is to say.  We’ve covered in this article how wide coffee production is and what a difference it makes. No bean is truly the same and the...