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Coffea stenophylla: A forgotten bean that could save coffee from extinction

smithsonianmag.com

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Re: Coffea stenophylla: A forgotten bean that could save coffee from extinction

#101

Post by Henchman21 »

inetknght wrote: post #99
Henchman21 wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I heard the tale of how the coffee break came to be — created so workers wouldn’t need an afternoon break — I find myself unable to separate the coffee from that fact. It was a tool used by Capitalists to keep the workers working . Now its so prevalent that no one can see the original causes.

> I find myself unable to separate the coffee from that fact Well at least you admit it. > Now its so prevalent that no one can see the original causes. I know plenty of people who drink coffee without taking a break to do so. I know plenty of people who drink coffee and are more productive outside of work than people who do not drink coffee at all. I know plenty of employers who do not provide coffee breaks nor free…

Fair points. I do admit it! I expect no one to jump onboard from this community. I may be unreasonable — wouldn’t be the first time I have been accused of such, nor would it be the first time I agreed.

It is a real problem IMO. So many of us are perpetually exhausted. Unable to sleep. Jittery and fidgety. And as you say: unpleasant to be around when withdrawing!

These are the hallmarks of this addiction. To me the thing that is important NOW is getting people to see how deeply this has hurt humanity. But then, I also agreed with the premise of the Unabomber’s manifesto — while disagreeing wildly with his decisions on how to counteract what he saw.

This is a hill I am probably willing to die on.

Edited to add: I appreciate the conversation and not just a downvote, thank you

Re: Coffea stenophylla: A forgotten bean that could save coffee from extinction

#102

Post by recursive »

garciasn wrote: post #67
delecti wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that 28oz of dark chocolate, whether weight or volume, would be a ludicrous amount to eat in one sitting. A chocolate bar is about 1.5 oz (and 1 fluid ounce of water weighs 1 ounce, at least to a rough approximation), so to eat 28 you'd need to eat nearly 20 chocolate bars. For that matter 24oz is rather a lot of coffee to drink at once. I brew my daily coffee with 200g of water, or only about 7 floz.

While I realize I'm an outlier, I do NOT consider 24oz of coffee a lot, nor does anyone I know--that's literally a standard coffee cup at a coffee shop these days. At a minimum, I'm drinking 3 pots (~180oz) of coffee a day, with my usual being 3-4x that amount. So; with that said, while I believe that eating 28oz of chocolate is a lot, I guess it could happen :-)

HN is crazy for outliers. We have the lady who gets wired off a chocolate bar, and the guy who drinks over a gallon per day.

But anyway, I've been to a coffee shop or two, and I've never seen a "standard cup" as anything other than 12 ounces.

Re: Coffea stenophylla: A forgotten bean that could save coffee from extinction

#103

Post by delecti »

garciasn wrote: post #67
delecti wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that 28oz of dark chocolate, whether weight or volume, would be a ludicrous amount to eat in one sitting. A chocolate bar is about 1.5 oz (and 1 fluid ounce of water weighs 1 ounce, at least to a rough approximation), so to eat 28 you'd need to eat nearly 20 chocolate bars. For that matter 24oz is rather a lot of coffee to drink at once. I brew my daily coffee with 200g of water, or only about 7 floz.

While I realize I'm an outlier, I do NOT consider 24oz of coffee a lot, nor does anyone I know--that's literally a standard coffee cup at a coffee shop these days. At a minimum, I'm drinking 3 pots (~180oz) of coffee a day, with my usual being 3-4x that amount. So; with that said, while I believe that eating 28oz of chocolate is a lot, I guess it could happen :-)

Wait, on a typical day you're drinking 4-5.5 gallons of coffee? 180oz * 3-4? So 540-720oz?

That's not just an outlier, that's absurd. At 100mg caffeine per 8oz of coffee, that's over 6 grams of coffee per day, or more than 15 times the amount generally considered safe.

Re: Coffea stenophylla: A forgotten bean that could save coffee from extinction

#104

Post by ok_dad »

chrislongss wrote: post #100
thousand_nights wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

tbh i drink a coffee in the morning every day, no sugar, i think it tastes objectively terrible, like bitter dirt, but it's hijacked my reward pathway in the same way that nicotine or ethanol does, that it makes me enjoy the taste somehow

Just out of interest: do you notice any difference at all between different brands of coffee? I am with on the idea that coffee tastes awful, but despite that I still prefer certain brands that taste subjectively better.

There are thousands of ways to enjoy coffee. I’m not a coffee nerd at all, but getting a whole bean that you like from a reputable (local if possible) roaster and grinding it yourself is pretty easy and you get coffee that’s considerably better than grocery store ground coffee. You have to try several different beans and brands to get an idea for what’s available, buy 8-10 ounce packs at a time then when you find one you like buy in bulk. Also, anything in pods is absolute garbage, so don’t even consider it.

Re: Coffea stenophylla: A forgotten bean that could save coffee from extinction

#106

Post by chasil »

thousand_nights wrote: post #98
chasil wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As the article states, the taste is complex beyond our understanding. "When it comes to taste, coffee is amazingly complex. A single cup may contain up to 1,200 volatile compounds. Yet what you perceive in a cup depends on many things besides the plant’s genome: the environment in which it grew, the weather, the roast, the water used for brewing. Even the color of the cup matters. White makes coffee seem more intense…

tbh i drink a coffee in the morning every day, no sugar, i think it tastes objectively terrible, like bitter dirt, but it's hijacked my reward pathway in the same way that nicotine or ethanol does, that it makes me enjoy the taste somehow

Try adding cocoa powder, no sugar. Add the powder first, coffee liquid afterwards to minimize clumping.

The cocoa itself is quite good for you, dissolving it will cool the coffee, and it will deepen the flavor.

I should try cinnamon with this.

Edit: dutch-process cocoa powder uses sodium hydroxide to reduce acidity of cocoa. Non-"dutched" cocoa is much more healthy, but alas acidic.

Re: Coffea stenophylla: A forgotten bean that could save coffee from extinction

#107

Post by chasil »

chrislongss wrote: post #100
thousand_nights wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

tbh i drink a coffee in the morning every day, no sugar, i think it tastes objectively terrible, like bitter dirt, but it's hijacked my reward pathway in the same way that nicotine or ethanol does, that it makes me enjoy the taste somehow

Just out of interest: do you notice any difference at all between different brands of coffee? I am with on the idea that coffee tastes awful, but despite that I still prefer certain brands that taste subjectively better.

I bought a case of Aldi's gingerbread coffee a year and a half ago. I am down to my last three bags. I like flavored coffees.

Re: Coffea stenophylla: A forgotten bean that could save coffee from extinction

#108

Post by GuB-42 »

thousand_nights wrote: post #98
chasil wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As the article states, the taste is complex beyond our understanding. "When it comes to taste, coffee is amazingly complex. A single cup may contain up to 1,200 volatile compounds. Yet what you perceive in a cup depends on many things besides the plant’s genome: the environment in which it grew, the weather, the roast, the water used for brewing. Even the color of the cup matters. White makes coffee seem more intense…

tbh i drink a coffee in the morning every day, no sugar, i think it tastes objectively terrible, like bitter dirt, but it's hijacked my reward pathway in the same way that nicotine or ethanol does, that it makes me enjoy the taste somehow

Maybe there is that, but it can also just be an acquired test.

No one likes bitterness initially, the ability to taste bitterness is essentially a poison detector, but it may still trigger with substances that are safe, at least at the dosage you are taking them. As you age, you get to recognize these safe cases with your other senses and override your poison detector, which lets you appreciate the taste.

Herbal tea, tonic water, grapefruit juice, etc... All bitter, and most people dislike them initially, but after a while some will appreciate, and people don't drink them for the psychoactive effect.

Re: Coffea stenophylla: A forgotten bean that could save coffee from extinction

#109

Post by rurp »

djha-skin wrote: post #5

Caffeine production is likely difficult in the face of a drier climate. Caffeine is present in the plant as a pesticide. Insects are a much bigger problem in wet climates over dry. Having grown up in a wet climate (Chicago) but now living in a dry one (Utah) I can say that finding a droubt tolerant species which concerns itself with pesticide production may be difficult. The same water which coffee relies on is the s…

One sort-of exception are the mormon tea plants that grow readily in the region. They don't have caffeine, but they do contain several other strong compounds that likely evolved to combat pests. Those plants love hot dry conditions and sandy/rocky soil.

Re: Coffea stenophylla: A forgotten bean that could save coffee from extinction

#110

Post by recursive »

delecti wrote: post #103
garciasn wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I realize I'm an outlier, I do NOT consider 24oz of coffee a lot, nor does anyone I know--that's literally a standard coffee cup at a coffee shop these days. At a minimum, I'm drinking 3 pots (~180oz) of coffee a day, with my usual being 3-4x that amount. So; with that said, while I believe that eating 28oz of chocolate is a lot, I guess it could happen :-)

Wait, on a typical day you're drinking 4-5.5 gallons of coffee? 180oz * 3-4? So 540-720oz? That's not just an outlier, that's absurd. At 100mg caffeine per 8oz of coffee, that's over 6 grams of coffee per day, or more than 15 times the amount generally considered safe.

Not to diminish the outlandishness, but I think the parenthetical is misapplied.

(3 pots of coffee) is about (180 oz).

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