Coffee: What to Look For In Your Next Cup of Joe

Coffee is the 3rd most consumed beverage in America. Our love affair with coffee has driven us to the ends of the earth to find that perfect cup of Joe. Coffee provides many health benefits, including:

●     Increasing energy levels and improving cognitive function

●     Increasing metabolism

●     Improves physical performance

●     Contains essential nutrients

●     Coffee may lower your risk of Type II Diabetes

●     Coffee may protect you from Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease

Despite coffee's many benefits, if you aren't selecting your coffee carefully, you could be causing harm to your body, the earth, and the people that harvest it.

We will be discussing what you should be looking for when choosing your coffee, including how it's grown, how it's acquired, and how it's tested. We will also be discussing what type of coffee you should drink if you are sensitive to caffeine.

Organic Coffee Without All The Bad Stuff

Organic coffee is coffee that is grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. It's also free of all the bad stuff: pesticides, herbicides, GMOs, irradiation, and chemical solvents.

Pesticides and herbicides have been linked to immune problems, reproductive issues, cancer, and neurological disorders.

GMOs have long been a source of debate. Studies on GMOs have shown evidence of toxicity, allergic reactions, antibiotic resistance, and cancer.

Irradiation is used to increase the shelf life of foods, but it also has some negative effects on human health.

Chemical solvents are petroleum-based products that strip coffee beans of their natural oils. In the process, chemical solvents can spread toxins into the environment.

Fair Trade Coffee Ensures Sustainability and That All Benefit

When you buy fair trade coffee, you are guaranteeing that the coffee was grown sustainably and that the farmers and workers involved in its production were treated fairly.

Fair trade certification is an independent, third-party verification system that ensures buyers pay a fair price for coffee, living wages to workers, and provides resources for workers and their families.

Workers in the coffee industry are often paid low wages and are not provided with safe working conditions. Fair trade certification aims to change this.

When you buy coffee that is not fair trade certified, the money that you pay often does not go back to those who helped produce it. Instead, large corporations reap most of the benefits from these purchases, causing the farmers to lose.

Purchasing coffee that is not fair trade certified can also have a negative effect on the environment. Many of the large coffee plantations are rainforest destroyers. The production of non-fair trade coffee can also lead to child labor, human trafficking, and other unethical practices.

Fair trade coffee is grown using sustainable farming practices. This means that the coffee is grown without damaging the environment and that the farmers are paid fair wages.

Mold Free's the Way to Be

Mold is caused by fungi that grow on your coffee beans. These fungi can be grown during the harvesting, drying, and processing of beans.

Since coffee thrives in hot, moist environments, it's an easy place for molds to form on the crop.

The mold problem has become so widespread that one third of all coffee crops are contaminated.

Molds produce toxins that can cause respiratory problems, skin irritation, and allergies. They can also contaminate the coffee with mycotoxins, which are carcinogenic.

The best way to avoid mold is to purchase coffee that has been certified mold-free. This certification can be found on the package of some coffee brands, like Bulletproof Coffee.

If you are unable to find mold-free coffee, there are some things that you can do to reduce your chances of ingesting these toxins:

-Store your coffee in a cool, dry place.

-Do not store your coffee in the fridge or freezer.

-Brew only the amount of coffee that you plan to drink.

-Discard any unused coffee.

Decaf Coffee: Swiss Water Method vs Conventional Decaffeination

Many caffeine-sensitive coffee aficionados prefer to drink coffee that has been decaffeinated using the Swiss Water method. This is because this process does not use any of the chemicals used in conventional decaf methods.

Conventional decaffeination processes are often chemical-heavy, resulting in undesirable flavors being added to the beans. Decaf methods that use chemicals can also produce harmful byproducts, like carcinogenic benzene.

The Swiss Water method is a non-chemical and water-based process that uses activated charcoal to remove the caffeine from the coffee beans. It is considered to be a more sustainable and environmentally friendly option than conventional decaf methods.