Renew and Refresh the Caffeine and Acid-free Way

Breakthrough with sure-fire, delicious pick-me-uos

Image by Vinson Tan ( 楊 祖 武 ) from Pixabay

My favorite coffee place is across the parking lot from the post office, where my post office box is. They also sell my favorite brand of coffee there, along with accessories like filters. I can buy a pound for home and put the value of a complimentary cup of coffee toward a latté. One favorite thing to do is retrieve the mail from the box, get and enjoy a latté while reading the letters. Finding a seat can be a challenge. There is a round room off the coffee bar. Intense, usually young people hover over their laptops, typing away at tables for two that line the circumference of the room. There are four large comfy leather-covered chairs in pairs separated by small tables, in the middle of the room.

That’s when I’m in my hometown. Once I go wandering, I have to visit establishments run by a competitor. Truth: the competition offers better food choices.

The Culture of Coffee

I love to start my day with a cup of coffee, and I have preferred Peets House Blend for decades. But coffee is more than a way to start my morning. It’s part of a lifestyle. In most coffee places, the daily paper is available. Mind you, when I’m home, I get the news off my mobile phone. Newspaper delivery has gone the way of rubber rain boots. But, occasionally, in the coffee shop, I read the paper.

Friends and co-workers meet me in coffee houses to discuss updates on our work together. If I get lost on a long drive, I’ll stop at the coffee shop to get new directions. Coffee is practically a way of life.

Coffee and Blood Pressure

Recently, my blood pressure seemed high, and the doctor prescribed blood pressure medication. I return to my provider fairly often to have it measured. On one such occasion, when a higher reading surprised me, the medical assistant asked, “Did you drink coffee this morning?”

Coffee, with or without caffeine, increases blood pressure for a short time, perhaps up to three hours. Coffee production, roasting, service, and sales are big business. Lots of medical research looks at coffee’s effect on the heart, blood pressure, and risk of heart disease and stroke.

Is coffee good for you or bad? Research results are contradictory. Its benefits include protection against Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes, and liver disease, including liver cancer. Coffee also appears to improve cognitive function and decrease the risk of depression.

At home in the morning, I add ground cardamom.  Taking 2/3 teaspoon of cardamom powder daily reduces blood pressure according to Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN, LD in her article “Ten Health Benefits of Cardamom, Backed by Science” on the Healthline website.

High consumption of boiled or espresso coffee is associated with small elevations in cholesterol levels. A particular and relatively common genetic mutation that slows down the breakdown of caffeine in the body increases coffee’s ill effects after one or two cups. Adverse effects of coffee consumption include more stress due to increased cortisol, dehydration, heartburn, and headache. Caffeine overdose can lead to hallucinations while sleeping at night.

There are widely conflicting reports from various studies. How do we decide whether they should enjoy or avoid coffee? We need to know ourselves, our health situation, and the major health issues for our parents and siblings to know which result applies to us.

Coffee Alternatives

High blood pressure is in my recent health picture, so I looked more seriously into coffee alternatives. Not so long ago, people avoiding coffee drank Postum, a bland beverage introduced in 1895, Caffix or Pero, two instant grain beverages which are equally flat. Previous to the high blood pressure diagnosis, I purchased a giant jar of Roma, another grain beverage like Caffix, etc. I wanted to cut down on my coffee consumption. Not exciting. Most of it is still in the cupboard.

A lot of gourmets must be trying to cut back on coffee because a vast array of richly flavored coffee alternatives that look like coffee are on the market. My current favorite