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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