Tag: espresso

Posted in Science & Nature

Caffeine

Posted on by Jinavie

Coffee is a magical drink that can make a busy person’s morning. Coffee’s stimulant effect is due to the substance called caffeine. Caffeine can make the mind more alert and drives away sleepiness for about 3~4 hours. This is why students studying for an exam or people working late love to drink coffee.
There are many students who say they do not like coffee and drink energy drinks instead. These drinks tend to advertise that the substances guarana and taurine give energy, but an interesting fact is that guarana is just a plant where caffeine is extracted from. Taurine has many beneficial actions in the body, but has no effect as a stimulant. Therefore, an energy drink is simply made of caffeine and sugar and holds no advantage over coffee.

Although caffeine is beneficial in moderate amounts, excessive consumption leads to adverse effects. A normal adult can handle up to about 400mg of caffeine. Any more and they could suffer from anxiety, insomnia, headaches, dehydration, increased urination, fever, rising heart rate, stomach pain, nausea and many other symptoms. As everyone’s rate of caffeine metabolism is different, only they know how much caffeine they can consume. Furthermore, the more coffee or tea you drink, you build a tolerance towards caffeine and can consume much more without adverse effects.

The following is a list of the caffeine content in common drinks and foods:

  • Drip coffee(200ml): 150mg
  • Espresso(50ml): 100mg (this is because the cups are small, the concentration is about 3 times that of drip coffee)
  • Caffeine tablet: 100mg
  • Energy drink(250ml): 80mg
  • Coca-cola(600ml): 60mg
  • Chocolate(250g): 60mg
  • Black tea(170ml): 50mg
  • Green tea(170ml): 30mg
  • Decaffeinated coffee(200ml): 10mg

However, the best method to drive away sleepiness is by sleeping. If you are tired, the only way to recover is by taking a 30 minute to 2 hour nap, especially if you will be driving or have a night shift.

Posted in Life & Happiness

Coffee

Posted on by Jinavie

The coffee that we order from cafés tend to be espresso coffee, which is made by roasting fresh coffee beans, grinding them up and extracting 30ml of coffee from exactly 8g of coffee beans at 9 atmosphere pressure. This concentrated form of coffee can be drunk straight as espresso, or short black, but there are many more variations that can be seen on the menu.

Firstly, there is the basic method of diluting it with hot water, now called a long black or americano. If it is chilled with ice, it becomes an iced americano.
Other than espresso and long black, most coffee use steamed milk and foam. For example, if only a dollop of foam is placed on the espresso, it is a macchiato; if only steamed milk is used, it becomes a flat white or a latte (a latte has more froth).

To make a more complicated drink, layering both steamed milk and foam produces a cappuccino, well-known for its dry foam that coats the drinker’s lips. As every country has a different recipe for it, it is often a subject of debate, even to the point of Italy publishing an official standard recipe for traditional Italian cappuccinos.
As a cappuccino has more foam than steamed milk, it has a richer taste. A flat white has a much smoother taste as it has the most steamed milk.
Furthermore, a mocha is made by adding chocolate to a latte, and an Irish coffee is made by adding whiskey to long black.

A glass of this aromatic drink can brighten up a morning, let you enjoy a relaxing, luxurious afternoon, or casually sipped while chatting to friends.