Coffee Cuts Risk of Diabetes Development

The words "bad" and "habit" just seem to go together. People can have good habits, sure, but we typically associate habits with bad things. Coffee drinking is one such example. The brown libation stains teeth, is loaded with caffeine, and is a pesticide-riddled crop. What could be worse? But a new study from the University of Sydney shows how coffee drinking is a great habit to have for diabetes prevention.

Diabetes affects an astounding number of people today. According to the American Dietetic Association, 23.7 million people in the United States alone have it, and there's no indication the rate will lower any time soon. In fact, a study published in the journal Diabetes Care estimates that over 44 million people will have diabetes 25 years from now, more than tripling the cost diabetes treatment doles out in medical expenses (from $113 billion to $336 million).

So any news that shows even the potential of slashing diabetes risk is good news. The Australian researchers discovered this link after poring over 18 studies that looked into how much coffee was drunk by people with and without type II diabetes (type II diabetes is the clear leader in diabetes diagnosis, accounting for 95 percent of cases). The pool of participants included some 500,000 individuals with approximately 21,000 different types of type II diabetes.

Not only did researchers find that people who drank coffee had a lower risk for diabetes, but that every additional cup they drank brought a decreased risk. For example, if a participant drank two cups of coffee per day, they were about 14 percent less likely to have diabetes. But if people had five cups of coffee a day, they were 35 percent less likely to have diabetes. And this finding held true if people were drinking coffee with or without caffeine.

The Australian study piggybacks on one reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association earlier this year, which found that coffee decreased the risk of developing diabetes with every additional cup consumed.

Now, just because a study links coffee drinking to diabetes prevention doesn't mean that any old coffee brand will do. As aforementioned, many coffee brands are boiling over with pesticides. You don't want to be poisoning your body with pesticides, but perhaps more importantly, you don't want to be giving environmentally-unfriendly coffee growing practices the go-ahead. Because by purchasing non-organic brands of coffee, that's essentially what you're doing. So, so long as your coffee is organic-certified, may your cup overflow with joe! But not too much, or you're bound to get burned!

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Coffee risk confuses health staff

More than a third of health workers believe coffee causes cancer despite no evidence of a link, a survey has found. Health professionals are less likely to be clued up than the public, with 36% thinking coffee can cause the disease compared with 12% of the general population.

The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) commissioned the survey of 143 NHS workers, including nurses, health visitors and GPs.

However, health professionals did score highly on knowing that poor diet increases risk of cancer (81%), compared with 63% for the general public.

Overall, 79% of workers were aware that being overweight increases the risk of cancer, compared with 60% of the public, and 78% knew of the link with alcohol, compared with 51% of the public. But the percentage who were aware that not exercising increases the risk of cancer dropped to 64% among NHS workers and 47% of the public.

Silvia Pastorino, health professionals publications manager for the WCRF, said the survey was small but revealed some health workers are still not aware what lifestyle factors increase the risk. She said: "There is no strong evidence that coffee increases the risk of cancer.

"In fact, we often suggest drinking unsweetened tea or coffee as an alternative to sugary drinks. "While I am not surprised that many of the general public are not aware of this, it is worrying to think this may also be the case for some health professionals."

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Coffee, tea house opens in Oroville

When Sandy Williams and her partner were thinking about opening a coffee house, they wanted to offer something different. The Good Earth Coffee and Tea House opened in Oroville on Dec. 4. It offers organic and free trade coffee and tea.

"We're very proud of our product and what we offer the community," said co-owner Williams. "We feel it's very unique, and so do our customers." Coffee and tea that bear organic certification are grown and processed without toxic chemicals. The to-go cups at Good Earth are also made from environmentally friendly products.

Certified fair trade coffee and tea helps ensure living wages and safe working conditions for farmers in the countries around the world where they are grown. "It means that everyone, from the farmers to the harvesters, gets a fair price," Williams said.

Williams and her partner, David Schlanser, knew that a coffee house would have plenty of competition, so they took a lot of things into consideration before opening. Williams had two daughters who were experienced in the restaurant business, and they wanted to make it a family affair.

With that in mind, they chose Numi, a business owned by a brother and sister in the Bay Area, to supply the coffee and tea. Numi's vision is to inspire well-being of mind, body and spirit through the simple art of tea.

"Tea is liquid meditation, reminding us to enter a time and space to find our own thoughts and visions," according to the Numi brochure.

said they planned the house to offer several areas where people could enjoy a quiet, relaxing cup of tea.
The coffee house serves four types of flowering teas, which burst into a flower when put in hot water.

Flowering teas are made from a combination of tea leaves that are hand-tied into pods. Each pod makes three pots of tea served in clear pots to display the flower. Flowering teas include golden jasmine, dragon lily and sunset oolong tea. Williams said people often come in to share one pot of tea and relax and talk with family or friends.

The Good Earth Coffee and Tea House serves a variety of black, green, white and herbal teas, including a loose-leaf tea with a combination of berries and fruits. Tea lattes have been popular with customers, Williams said, and each month the coffee house offers different specialty tea and coffee drinks.

Yerba Mata tea, which grows on a small tree in the holly family in subtropical forests of South America, has also been a recent favorite because of medicinal properties. Yerba Mata is supposed to have an assortment of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. It's also supposed to be high in antioxidants.

The business subscribes to several newspapers, which are on hand for customers to read. Williams, who is a school teacher, also has a library of books to read, and people can bring in books to trade. Children's books are also on hand for customers.

Williams said they wanted to offer an extensive line of teas, because there aren't too many places to drink tea. "I drink tea, and a lot of my friends drink tea, so I wanted to have a place where tea drinkers can go and relax," she said.

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Nutty Popcorn Party Mix

• 3 quarts popped popcorn

• 1 cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts

• 1 jar (3-1/2 ounces) macadamia nuts, halved

• 1/2 cup slivered almonds

• 1/4 cup flaked coconut

• 3/4 cup butter, cubed

• 1 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

• 1/4 cup light corn syrup

• 1/4 cup strong brewed coffee

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• In a large bowl, combine the popcorn, nuts and coconut. In a large saucepan, combine the butter, sugars, corn syrup, coffee and cinnamon. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil and stir for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Pour over popcorn mixture and stir until coated.

• Transfer to two greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans. Bake, uncovered, at 250° for 45-55 minutes or until golden brown, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread onto waxed paper; cool completely. Store in airtight containers.

Yield: about 12 cups.

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Drinking coffee found to cut risk of Type 2 diabetes

People who drink more coffee -- either regular or decaf -- appear to have a lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to a review of research reported in this week's Archives of Internal Medicine.

An estimated 23.6 million Americans -- about 8 percent of the total population -- have diabetes.

And experts say the condition, which can lead to serious health problems and even death, is on the rise.

Researchers from Australia's George Institute for International Health at the University of Sydney, reviewed 18 studies involving 457,922 participants to assess the link between coffee consumption and diabetes risk.

They found that each additional cup of coffee consumed per day was associated with a 7 percent reduction in diabetes risk. Those who drank three to four cups a day had about a 25 percent lower risk than people who drank zero to two cups a day.

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Drinking cups of tea and coffee can prevent diabetes

Tea and coffee drinkers have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a large body of evidence shows. And the protection may not be down to caffeine since decaf coffee has the greatest effect, say researchers in Archives of Internal Medicine.

They looked at 18 separate studies involving nearly 500,000 people.This analysis revealed that people who drink three or four cups of coffee or tea a day cut their risk by a fifth or more, say researchers. The same amount of decaffeinated coffee had an even bigger effect, lowering risk by a third.

Type 2 diabetes usually starts after the age of 40 and develops when the body can still make some insulin, but not enough, or when the insulin that is produced does not work properly. Type 2 diabetes is treated with a healthy diet and increased physical activity. In addition to this, medication and/or insulin is often required. If the findings prove true, doctors may well start advising people to put the kettle on as well as take more exercise and watch their weight, say the researchers.

When the authors combined and analysed the data, they found that each additional cup of coffee consumed in a day cut diabetes risk by 7%. Lead researcher Dr Rachel Huxley, from the University of Sydney in Australia, said because of the finding with decaffeinated coffee, the link is unlikely to be solely related to caffeine.

Instead, other compounds in coffee and tea - including magnesium and antioxidants known as lignans or chlorogenic acids - may be involved. Special brew"The identification of the active components of these beverages would open up new therapeutic pathways for the primary prevention of diabetes mellitus.

"If such beneficial effects were observed in interventional trials to be real, the implications for the millions of individuals who have diabetes mellitus, or who are at future risk of developing it, would be substantial." Dr Victoria King, of Diabetes UK, said: "Without full information about what other factors may be influencing the type 2 diabetes risk of the studies' participants - such as their physical activity levels and diet - as well as what the active ingredient in tea or coffee appears to be, we cannot be sure what, if anything, this observed effect is down to.

"What we can be sure of is that the development of type 2 diabetes is strongly linked to lifestyle, which means that many cases could be prevented by keeping active and eating a healthy balanced diet that is low in fat, salt and sugar with plenty of fruit and vegetables."

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Coffee, tea can prevent diabetes

Drinking tea or coffee reduces the risk of diabetes, according to a review of 18 studies that covered hundreds of thousands of people. Previous research had shown that people who drank the most coffee were one-third less likely to develop diabetes than those who drank the least. In the years since then, the amount of research on coffee and diabetes risk has more than doubled, and other studies have suggested that tea and decaffeinated coffee may also be effective in preventing diabetes.

To update the evidence, researchers reviewed 18 studies on coffee (including decaffeinated coffee) and tea and the risk of type 2 diabetes published between 1966 and 2009 covering about 4.6 lakh people. It was found that for every additional cup of coffee a person consumed each day, a person's risk of diabetes was reduced by 7 percent.

In the six studies that looked at decaffeinated coffee, the researchers found that people who consumed more than three or four cups a day were at 36 percent lower risk of diabetes. And in seven studies that examined tea drinking and diabetes risk, people who drank more than three or four cups daily were at 18 percent lower diabetes risk.

The above analysis could have overestimated the effect of these beverages on diabetes risk due to statistical issues with the smaller studies. It's also not possible to conclude from the current evidence that heavy coffee drinkers (and tea and decaffeinated drinkers) don't have other characteristics that might protect them against developing diabetes such as eating a healthier diet.

The fact that the effects were seen with decaffeinated as well as coffee and tea suggest that if the effects are real, they aren't just due to caffeine, but may be related to other substances found in these beverages for example magnesium, lignans (oestrogen-like chemicals found in plants), or chlorogenic acids, which are antioxidants that slow the release of sugar into the blood after a meal.

However, further clinical trials are needed to investigate whether these beverages do indeed help prevent diabetes. If the benefits turn out to be real, health care providers might begin advising patients at risk for diabetes not only to exercise and lose weight, but to drink more tea and coffee, too.

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Coffee, tea cut diabetes risk

The finding is based on the analysis of previous studies reported in the December 14/28 issues of Archives of Internal Medicine, JAMA.

To reach the conclusion, Rachel Huxley, D.Phil, of The George Institute for International Health, University of Sydney, Australia, and colleagues identified 18 studies involving 457,922 participants and assessing.

The association between coffee consumption and diabetes risk published between 1966 and 2009. Six studies involving 225,516 individuals also included information about decaffeinated coffee, whereas seven studies with 286,701 participants reported on tea consumption. When the authors combined and analyzed the data, they found that each additional cup of coffee consumed in a day was associated with a 7 percent reduction in the excess risk of diabetes.

Individuals who drank three to four cups per day had an approximately 25 percent lower risk than those who drank between zero and two cups per day. Additionally, in the studies that assessed decaffeinated coffee consumption, those who drank more than three to four cups per day had about a one-third lower risk of diabetes than those who drank none. Those who drank more than three to four cups of tea had a one-fifth lower risk than those who drank no tea.

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Study Shows Coffees Benefits

The consumption of coffee and vigorous exercise may have a hand in decreasing the risk of prostate cancer, according to separate findings recently presented by two researchers affiliated with the Harvard School of Public Health.

Kathryn M. Wilson, a research fellow in the epidemiology department at HSPH, found a correlation between the consumption of coffee and a decreased risk of the cancer, which afflicts more men than any other cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Meanwhile, Stacey A. Kenfield, a research associate in the department, determined that vigorous exercise may reduce the risk of mortality due to the same disease.

For her study, Wilson tracked the coffee consumption habits of 50,000 men ranging in age from their mid-50s to mid-70s, finding that men who regularly drank coffee over the 20-year span of the study developed advanced prostate cancer at a lower rate than non-coffee drinkers.

Subjects who reported consuming six or more cups of coffee every day were found to have a 60 percent lower chance of advanced or lethal prostate cancer than those who did not drink coffee. Both regular and decaffeinated coffee elicited the same results.

The study also found that men who drink large amounts of coffee are more likely to smoke, exercise less, and be overweight—factors that have been shown to increase the risk of prostate cancer. Wilson said these findings added support to her belief that coffee itself—and not, for instance, the life style choices related to the drink—may be responsible for the link between coffee consumption and the lower risk of prostate cancer.

But Wilson said that the study did not investigate the reasons behind the coffee-cancer connection.

“You can’t really say that this is a direct cause-and-effect relationship,” Wilson said, adding that she thinks the results may be somehow related to coffee’s association with a lower risk of Type II diabetes.

Other studies have shown that drinking coffee potentially decreases the risk of liver and endometrial cancer as well, according to Wilson. But despite all the potential benefits of coffee, more research needs to be done before people are encouraged to reevaluate their drinking choices, Wilson said. “I don’t think there is a reason to change your coffee drinking habits in either direction,” she said.

Kenfield’s study which followed 2,686 men who had already been diagnosed with prostate cancer and quantified their exercise habits after their diagnoses—found that vigorous activity decreased the risk of mortality due to prostate cancer.

Those who participated in non-vigorous activities equivalent to about 30 minutes of jogging, biking, or swimming per week, saw a 35 percent reduction in overall mortality, according to Kenfield. But these exercises had no measurable effect on the risk of mortality due to prostate cancer.

By contrast, those who participated in vigorous activities experienced a 12 percent decreased risk of mortality specifically due to prostate cancer. Kenfield said she plans to do more research to determine the cause of the results, focusing on insulin pathways and insulin growth factors.

Though the causality of the study’s results has yet to be determined, Kenfield said that the positive health benefits attributed to exercise make it a sensible habit for men with prostate cancer to adopt. Wilson and Kenfield presented their findings last Monday in Houston at the American Association for Cancer Research’s “Frontiers in Cancer Prevention” Research Conference.

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Coffee won't cure your hangover, and may lead to poor decision-making - study

Coffee may wake you up, but it won’t sober you up, a new study shows. Researchers have concluded that while drinking coffee after consuming alcohol may make you feel more awake, it doesn’t actually make you more sober - and that combination could lead to poor decision-making.

“Coffee may reduce the sedative effects of alcohol, which could give the false impression that people are not as intoxicated as they really are.

Gould added that people who have only consumed alcohol are more likely to feel “tired and intoxicated,” and more importantly, acknowledge that they’re drunk.

The researchers, who published their findings in the journal “Behavioral Neuroscience,” first compared the drunk behavior of mice to that of mice given only a saline solution. The drunk and sober mice were tested on their ability to learn a maze while trying to avoid bright lights or sounds. The drunk mice did significantly less well.

After being drunk, the mice were given the equivalent of six to eight cups of coffee. While the caffeine and alcohol combination seemed to make the mice less anxious, it failed to reverse the negative effects that alcohol had on them learning the maze.

Alcohol also calmed the “caffeine jitters,” reports WebMD.com, which made the mice less able to avoid potential threats. In a press release, Gould concluded that “the bottom line is that, despite the appeal of being able to stay up all night and drink, all evidence points to serious risks associated with caffeine-alcohol combinations.”

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Coffee won't sober you up but makes you think it did

A new study on alcohol and caffeine usage suggests that coffee not only won't sober you up if you're drunk, it can be dangerous by creating the illusion that it is doing some good. That assessment comes in a study by by Temple University that appears in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience, the BBC reports. In the study, mice given varying doses of alcohol and caffeine had to navigate a maze so as to avoid unpleasant stimuli, such as bright lights and loud noises.

The mice that got only alcohol seemed relaxed, but failed miserably, while those given only caffeine appeared more alert and fared better, although seemed to be uptight. But mice that consumed both alcohol and caffeine -- up to a human equivalent of eight cups of coffee -- appeared to be relatively alert and relaxed, but were still incompetent at avoiding nasty stimuli, the BBC says.

"The myth about coffee's sobering powers is particularly important to debunk because the co-use of caffeine and alcohol could actually lead to poor decisions with disastrous outcomes," says Thomas Gould, who conducted the research. He says those who consume both "may feel awake and competent enough to handle potentially harmful situations, such as driving while intoxicated or placing themselves in dangerous social situations."

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Drinking coffee cuts 'risk of prostate cancer'

Men should wake up and not only smell the coffee if they're hoping to stave off a deadly cancer.

Us scientists believe men who regularly enjoy the drink are 60% less likely to develop an aggressive strain of prostate cancer than those who avoid it.

But British experts want more research before people start drinking more coffee. Researchers looked at the intake of nearly 50,000 men over 20 years. Of these, nearly 5,000 developed prostate cancer. Dr Kathryn Wilson, from the Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, said: "Coffee effects insulin, glucose and metabolism, as well as sex hormone levels, all of which play a role in prostate cancer.

"It is plausible that there may be an association between coffee and prostate cancer." But Dr Wilson said caffeine was unlikely to be key to the protective effect. Instead scientists believe that other compounds found in coffee, such as antioxidants and such as antioxidants and minerals could play an important role. Dr Wilson added: "Very few lifestyle factors have been consistently associated with prostate cancer risk, so it would be very exciting if this association is confirmed in other studies."

Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in the UK with nearly 35,000 men diagnosed each year and more than 10,000 killed by it. Helen Rippon, of The Prostate Cancer Charity, said: "We would not recommend that men cultivate a heavy coffee drinking habit on the back of this research because a high caffeine intake can cause other problems. More investigation is needed."But men enjoying a regular cup of coffee do not need to give this up for the sake of their prostate."

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Kenya coffee farmers get international

Lucy Murumba the Chief Executive Officer of the new organisation that is owned by cooperative societies and unions said on Sunday that the coffee marketing initiative would help to ensure good returns to their members and also raise the country’s standing on the world coffee market.

“Farmers want to get involved directly with their markets where they can select customers they can profitably serve,” she said.

“Our desire is to promote, organise and undertake the marketing of coffee in the local and export markets in order to maximize returns to the members,” the CEO said adding that KCCE officials had been going round the country recruiting members.

Small scale farmers have in the past been unable to directly market their coffee due to limited market knowledge and a lack of a platform to transact with roasters and other buyers globally.

“Due to the low returns from their coffee they have seen little reason to invest in higher quality of production leading to a vicious cycle of declining earnings and lower yield per hectare,” Ms Murumba.

However she expressed confidence that the entry of the Kenya Cooperative Coffee Exporters would lead to increased prices for farmers; higher productions, better quality coffee and higher foreign exchange earnings for the country.

The overseas markets have received the entrance of KCCE into the market well; she said adding that the buyers were happy to work directly with the farmers who would also be the main beneficiaries.

Ms Murumba said that last week, KCCE started receiving coffee and has paid Sh20 per kilo in advance which amounted to Sh692,000 to Mugama Cooperative Union, Murang’a.

The company expects to start receiving more coffee from this week.

“To-date, the company has signed contracts with coffee farmers amounting to 20,000 metric tons. The figure is expected to rise as more farmers continue signing our marketing agreements,” she disclosed.

KCCE is supported by Co-operative Bank of Kenya whose majority shareholders are the Co-operative societies and their Unions.

The Bank has pledged to support KCCE with seed money to ensure that the farmers are paid promptly as the organisation works towards securing better markets for their coffee.

This will ensure that the farmers are financially empowered thus avoiding any disruption in production.

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Recipes for COFFEE LOVERS

Actually there are great number different Coffee Recipes from regular and simple ones to make to very exotic ones needing definite practice and skills.

Now you can put some spice into your morning cup of coffee with some of Coffee Recipes from 89 ORIGINAL RECIPES FOR “COFFEE LOVERS” recipes book.

1. Alexander Espresso
Ingredients:
? 1 cup Cold water
? 2 tb Ground espresso coffee
? ½ Cinnamon stick (3″ long)
? 4 ts Crème de Cacao
? 2 ts Brandy
? 2 tb Whipping cream, chilled
? Grated semisweet chocolate to garnish.

How To: Break out your espresso machine for this one or just make really strong coffee with a small
amount of water. Break cinnamon stick into small pieces and add to hot espresso. Allow to
cool for 1 minute. Add crème de cacao and brandy, and stir gently. Pour into cute
demitasse cups. Whip the cream, and float some cream on top of each cup. For looks,
garnish with grated chocolate or fancy chocolate curls. Multiply proportions by six and it’s
perfect for a party. Serves 2.

Cardamom-spiced Coffee
Ingredients:
3/4 c Ground Coffee
2 2/3 c Water
Ground Cardamom
1/2 c Sweetened Condensed Milk
How To:
Using amounts specified, brew coffee in a drip-style coffee maker or percolator. Pour into
4 cups. To each serving, add a dash of ground cardamom and about 2 tablespoons of the
condensed milk; stir to blend.

Easy Iced Cafe Au Lait
Ingredients:
2 1/4 c Cold freshly brewed coffee
2 c Milk
2 c Crushed ice
Sugar (opt)
How To:
Blend ingredients. Add sugar and continue blending until frothy. Pour over ice.

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Diedrich Bid Raised for the Second Time by Green Mountain

To ensure that it is way ahead of its competition, essentially Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc., in acquisition of Diedrich Coffee Inc., the maker of single- serves coffee packets, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. has, for the second time since the bidding started, raised its offer to a new high of $290 Million.

As confirmed by the company today, Green Mountain put in a new proposal, under which each share would be valued at $35, cash, which is a substantial rise from the earlier two bids of $30 and $32. Also, the new offer is now way above Peet's, which offered to buy Diedrich on November 02 and pegged the price of each share at $26 initially, and yesterday raised it to $32.50 a share.

Both the companies are racing to get their hands on Diedrich's K-Cup business, which is the manufacturer of prepackaged coffee cups, used extensively in Green Mountain's Keurig brewing equipment. According to experts, the K-Cup manufacturing business is nearly two times as profitable as collecting royalty fees.

The acquisition, which is very important for Green Mountain's future profits, is being advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and law firm Ropes & Gray LLP. Peet's financial advisors are Morgan Stanley and Jesse Capital Management and Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, while Diedrich has employed the services of Houlihan, Lokey, Howard & Zukin Capital Inc. and law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

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Coffee order heated, not iced, in Winchester incident

Police responded to the Dunkin’ Donuts on Main Street on Tuesday after employees alleged a teenage boy got into a heated argument with his coffee-server.

According to the police report, when officers arrived they observed a woman later identified as the store’s assistant manager speaking with a group of teenagers.

The woman pointed to one of the teenagers, a 15-year-old boy from Billerica, and said he had been involved in a verbal dispute at the establishment the previous evening.

“[She] informed me that last night at approximately 8:30 p.m., [the boy] came into the establishment and ordered some coffees,” police wrote. “The employee who was making the coffees … was preparing the hot coffees when [he] yelled to her, ‘I wanted [expletive deleted] iced coffee.”

Police said the assistant manager said she was working at the time and heard the teenager yell additional obscenities at the server, at which time she told him to leave and advised him that if he had a problem he should come back in the morning with his parents to speak with the store manager. “[The teenager] left Dunkin’ Donuts but came back 30 minutes later with his 18-year-old brother.” The employee again told him to come back in the morning.

The woman said the two returned at 4:45 p.m. that night and demanded to see the security tape of what happened the previous night. She said she told them they would need to speak with the manager in the morning and asked them to leave, at which time they refused and she called police. The teenager told police a different story.

“[He] stated that when he ordered he asked for iced coffee but [the server] prepared hot coffee instead. When [he] corrected her by asking for iced coffee, he heard [her] say, ‘I’m going to kill you.’ [He] said he kept on returning because he wanted to see the security tape of what happened … [and] denied using obscenities toward [the server].” Police called the store manager, who said she did not want the teenager in the store until he came to speak with her about the incident. She said she would also speak to the server regarding what happened.

Police asked the assistant manager whether she heard the employee make threats. “[She] stated that she did not hear that, but if she did say it, she probably said it jokingly, as she is only 17 years old.” As of Dec. 1, police had not yet updated the report with information from their follow-up investigation.

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Coffee shops to inform on World AIDS Day

On Tuesday, people who buy their favorite drink at Strictly Organic Coffee, Thump Coffee and Mocha Jane's will see an unfamiliar sticker on their coffee cups and sleeves. “In 2009, one-third of new HIV cases reported in Deschutes County had progressed to AIDS at the time of infection diagnosis,” the sticker reads.

Tuesday is World AIDS Day, and Deschutes County's HIV and hepatitis C prevention coordinator, Tuesday Johnson, is hoping that along with a jolt of caffeine, coffee drinkers will be reminded that local residents are still living with the disease, and more people continue to become infected with HIV.

So far in 2009, there have been nine new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in Deschutes County, which is higher than in recent years, when there were three or four new cases annually, according to the county. This is the county's first effort to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS with coffee cups, and county health workers said the virus still carries a stigma in Central Oregon and other rural areas.

“The stigma is a huge issue, the stigma about a disease in a rural area where people aren't informed on the real risks of the disease and how it's spread,” said Susan McCreedy, the HIV Ryan White case manager for Deschutes County.

The federal Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program provides funding for primary medical care and support services for people living with HIV and AIDS.

McCreedy said she works with an average of 60 clients, and most of them keep their HIV-positive or AIDS diagnosis secret. The stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS causes some people not to get tested for HIV because they fear being identified as gay or a drug user, and some HIV-positive people do not tell their sexual partners about their diagnosis, McCreedy said.

“One in five people with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. doesn't know they're infected,” McCreedy said. “Three of (the nine new cases this year) already had full-blown AIDS, which means they'd been infected for a long time, from three to five years.”

People can contract HIV through unprotected sex with an infected partner, shared drug paraphernalia such as needles and, in rare cases, through health care, McCreedy said. HIV-positive mothers also can pass the virus to their babies.

The majority of HIV and AIDS cases in Deschutes County involve men who have sex with men, who might not necessarily identify themselves as gay, and people who used intravenous drugs at some point, she said. Women account for about 17 percent of McCreedy's caseload.

McCreedy said the people whose cases she manages need financial assistance to pay for treatment. Some HIV and AIDS patients can pay for treatment in the beginning, but with prescription costs of $2,000 to $3,000 a month, many eventually need help. More patients in Deschutes County have sought help during the recession, McCreedy said.

Johnson printed about 360 World AIDS Day stickers on ordinary office labels to go on cups and coffee sleeves.

The World Health Organization and the United Nations General Assembly declared World AIDS Day in 1988 to raise awareness of the disease, and Johnson will deliver the coffee cups and sleeves to cafes today. Volunteers from the Central Oregon Community College Gay Straight Alliance and the Queer Youth Space, a project of Human Dignity Coalition, helped put stickers on the coffee cups and sleeves.

“A big aim when we do awareness and education (work) is to decrease the stigma of this disease,” Johnson said. “We have people coming in with an AIDS diagnosis that didn't have to get to that point. In countries like the United States, (HIV) doesn't have to get to the point where it develops into AIDS.”

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