Comments on: What I Learned From a Coffee Finca in Panama

By: Gregory Daniels

Gregory Daniels — Wed, 10 May 2017 13:49:16 +0000

Stunning photos! I was recently in Puerto Rico, and I had no idea they had a gorgeous little ‘coffee country.’ Panama has been on my bucket list, and this post bumped it up a few slots! Thanks for sharing! :)

By: Rachel@safari254

Rachel@safari254 — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 09:51:47 +0000

Lovely post, brings back memories of my childhood, helping out in my grandmother’s coffee farm during the school holidays.

By: Charlie on Travel

Charlie on Travel — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 22:47:01 +0000

In reply to Antonina. Hey Antonia. I can believe that it's probably quite an effort in India. Fortunately, Central America is an amazing region for it.

By: Charlie on Travel

Charlie on Travel — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 22:44:40 +0000

In reply to Franca. Oh yes, I drank waaay too many cups of coffee when I was at uni. I drank more coffee than alcohol for sure. It was total news to me and I never usually drink the last sip because I think it's always too cold but Luke often got on at me about it being silly to waste the last bit. Now I have a reason! :p I'm not sure how much truth there is in it and couldn't find anything to back it up online though. I'd actually quite like to do some coffee picking, but it looks like super back breaking work too.

By: Charlie on Travel

Charlie on Travel — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 22:39:55 +0000

In reply to Polly. I'm also skeptical about the cancer related things which people tell you about nearly everything, I don't think you can live your life (or lower your coffee intake) based on that. Agreed, I definitely need some real research before I believe anything like that.

By: Natalie

Natalie — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 22:39:05 +0000

Did I ever tell you about the paper I reviewed that was about how coffee had been linked to inhibiting depression in women? It was about Science in the media, and it was basically a load of bull. This just reminded me haha. The tour sounds delicious.

By: Polly

Polly — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 14:49:07 +0000

Interesting. I’m also a coffee lover who doesn’t know much about it. Frankly, I’m a little skeptical about all the ‘this could cause cancer’ links people try to convince you are true. Give me a valid scientific study – THEN I might cut down on coffee :)

By: Franca

Franca — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 08:57:23 +0000

I’m a huge coffee lover and addict too, I used to drink way too much of it especially when I was at university but I cut it down to one, maximum two cups per day. I didn’t know about the risk of drinking the last bit of the coffee, I normally don’t do it, but I’ll pay extra attention to it. I’d love to visit a place like this too and perhaps volunteer there one day, get my hands dirty to fully understand the art of this fantastic drink that I love so much!

By: Alan

Alan — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 08:02:24 +0000

The ever vexed question of how much coffee we drink! Most of the studies on this are observational and poorly controlled for confounding factors such as smoking. The longditudinal studies were not necessarily set up to observe the effect of coffee. How coffee is brewed makes a difference. I have seen reported (no reference available) that because of the lower temperature of the water in an espresso machine at very high pressure there are fewer ‘contaminants’ in the final brew unlike filter or ‘pour over’.
There is probably no harm in taking four or five coffees daily though a weekly limit of 28 seems quite a common recommendation.
The real issue is caffeine and how an individual responds to that. Some soft drinks contain huge amounts of caffeine and I have seen more than one patient with severe jitters due to excessive ‘coke’ intake.
One review found that about 400mg of caffeine per day—5 standard espressos—is a safe dose for most adults (though it would probably take nearly 75 cups over a few hours to truly overdose).
If coffee makes you feel more alert and better able to do the job that’s great. If you get anxious and nervous and issues with sleeping your intake is too high.
My advice is, drink the amount of coffee you want up to 4 in a day, only if you can tolerate it. I wouldn’t drink more than 30 in a week. The best brew is espresso adding hot (not boiling) water for an Americano is fine of course. Make sure the beans are fresh and freshly ground. (You can store beans in the freezer). Pour over in a cafetiere is second best.
The long term benefits and problems aren’t clearly known and are possible insubstantial as one gets older. Caffeine intake is associated with reduced alzheimer’s and reduced prostate cancer and as Charlie indicates possible increased risk of breast cancer. This last one seems unlikely. The evidence is very weak and given that coffee is a large source of antioxidants, coffee is likely to reduce that risk as well.
All these so called health risks have not had confounding factors, such as life style, geography, diet, income etc allowed for.
Here’s toasting you all with a coffee!
Alan
Retired medic and coffee addict.

By: Antonina

Antonina — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 04:24:54 +0000

Thanks for the informative and interesting article, Charlie. I’m not a huge fan, but sometimes a cup of coffee can bring me back to life. Finding a good brand is a challenge in India though.