I have been on and off coffee my whole life switching between green tea to herbal teas then back to coffee, then it goes around again. Being a holistic health educator and herbalist I do know that green tea has a lot of antioxidants and such and all about the herbal teas, staying away from even green tea at night due to the caffeine content. Saying this, I LOVE my coffee! Also, when traveling through Asia and other parts of the world I find that coffee is the “go to” drink of choice over Lipton Black Tea! So, I decided to investigate the health benefits of coffee to make myself feel better about drinking it and because I am in Laos and just did a map of the world wall mural painting for a friend that owns a coffee café on the Mekong, then he labeled the coffee growing countries, hence the picture in this article. I usually send in a picture of a medicinal plant along with the article however I have been “on the road” a lot and haven’t had any "settled time" in which to paint on paper so I expressed my creativity this way and it was a fun project.
Coffee is prepared from roasted beans that are seeds of the Coffea plant. Coffea is a native plant of Africa and has been exported around the world where there are now over 70 countries, mostly in the equilateral regions of the world, as one can see in my map painting. The Arabica and the robusta are the two most commonly grown. In the 15th century it has been shown that the Sufi Tribes of Yemen were the first to roast and brew the beans in a similar way we still do today. In the 16th century, Turkey, Persia and North Africa traded and spread it throughout the world, including Europe and the Americas where there is a distinct “Coffee Culture” and it is almost like the Japanese way of Tea Ceremonies, the conditioning of that first lovely cup of coffee in the morning, and the routine that goes with it. In the 17th century of England, there were coffee houses called "penny universities" because with one penny, or should I say pence, one could go to a coffee house and have an interesting stimulating conversation with friends. Expats all over the world always feel at home when they have a good coffee no matter where they are and with the many ways it is prepared these days from expresso to lattes etc., it is a joy when one finds a good coffee café they can return to.
It is interesting to note that the word “coffee” has many theories where the term/label comes from. The Ottoman Turkish called it “kahve” and the Italian’s “caffe’”. The Arabic “qahwah” was a reference to wine which is called “qahiya” and means "to lack hunger". Coffee and its caffeine content tends to suppress one’s appetite for a bit. The Proto-Central Semetic root q-h-h means “dark” and the word "Khat" (which I heard a lot when living in South Africa Cape Town) is a stimulant for strength used by Africans, Yemans & Etheopians! Wherever the word coffee comes from, it is certainly known throughout the world! Thailand is one of the top coffee producers in the world as of 2014 and the country is ranked 3rd among coffee producing countries of Asia with robusta coffee being 99% of its production. King Bhumibhol Adulyadei, in the 1970’s, began many coffee projects to help local communities grow crops to bring income to replace the opium fields. This allowed Thailand to become a major exporter of coffee in 1976. Most of the north of Thailand grows Arabica beans and the south grows robusta beans. It is in the southern part of Thailand that there is the greatest amount of coffee production, 80,000 tons of robusta. In the northern parts of Thailand there is about 500 tons of Arabica grown. In the north, Burma, Thailand and Laos are considered “The Golden Triangle”, the coffee grown here is grown at an elevation of 800 meters (2,600 ft) to 1,200 meters (3,900 ft) and is very profitable for the hill tribe people and is often of an organic level which while being here in Laos I have some friends that run coffee shops that use only organic and good quality hill country grown coffee. I do confess to being a coffee snob and I am not disappointed here in Laos nor have I been in Thailand! In 2015, in Thailand, there are two types of coffee that received “protected designation of origin (PDO)" for both Doi Tung and Doi Chang coffee. This status is equal to the labeling of “Champagne”, “Parma Ham” & “Bordeaux”.
Now that I have done a light history on the coffee plant and the Thailand coffee status, let me explain why you should not feel guilty about that cup of coffee! The liver benefits very much from black coffee moving through it and cleansing it. I even do coffee enemas at times if I am doing an extreme cleanse, luke-warm water of course! Drinking coffee is medicinally best (sorry caramel latte lovers and frapachino junkies) if it is black. Coffee lowers liver enzyme levels and lowers the risk of liver cancer by 40-60%. Cirrhosis of the liver from alcohol abuse can be lowered by 22% if coffee is consumed next day and staying off alcohol for a few days afterward, 2-3 cups a day is recommended. It has been shown to benefit people with Type 2 Diabetes, even decaf coffee, which shows that it isn't only the caffeine that is acting upon your body in a healthy way. The risk of depression and suicide (especially for woman for some reason) has been shown to be decreased among coffee drinkers, a lowered risk of Alzheimer's disease, protection against Parkinson's and heart disease. There are many studies done in top major Universities but I am just writing about the outcome, this isn't a scholastic article but if interested to know more there is plenty of proof of what I am writing out there to read.
One of the most interesting things I learned writing this article was that coffee drinkers have stronger DNA strands. The white blood cells of coffee drinkers have far less DNA strand breakage. There is also a lower risk of Multiple Sclerosis and colorectal cancer. Adding to the list is; less gout issues with men, improved longevity, protected eye/retinal damage, cavity and melanoma prevention. There are more antioxidants in one cup of coffee than in a small serving of blueberries, oranges and raspberries. I say this knowing that there are OTHER wonderful antioxidants in these fruits that coffee DOESN'T have so there is no substitution here, just all in moderation! The antioxidants in coffee also deflate most forms of inflammation reducing disorders like cardiovascular disease. I will discuss caffeine a bit here since that is what the main desired outcome of coffee drinkers focus on, the stimulant, the mental "high" and the feeling of being ready to get on with the day or cure that mid-afternoon "slump". Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is interesting to note that it is the world's most consumed psychoactive "drug". Caffeine reversibly blocks the action of adenosine on its receptor so prevents the onset of drowsiness which is induced by adenosine. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is also stimulated. It can cause insomnia if taken too late in the day and pregnant woman should stick to herbal teas in general. If one is a habitual coffee drinker and decides to "get off it" for a while, there can be some withdrawal symptoms like headaches, irritability and drowsiness. I usually feel this for about 2-3 days as I go back to green tea/herbal mixtures for 3-6 weeks then I just have to go back to my coffee, but everyone has to decide for themselves how to moderate their life and feel the best they can within their own parameters!
I would like to "shout out" to some of my friends here in Luang Prabang, Laos, that run very excellent coffee shops if you make it to Laos for a trip, visit these coffee cafe's; Bounsuay (Apple) Vongsouvanh at Mekong Coffee Lounge 1 (where I painted the world map) and Todd Moore along with Derik Smith at Saffron Coffee. I did a small interview with both Apple and Derik, these were the questions:
1. What interested you in the coffee business?
2. What is the most fun part about running a boutique coffee café?
3. Have you experienced some good coffee in Thailand and if so, where?
Derik Smith of Saffron Coffee
(saffroncoffee.com)
1. I’ve been making espresso coffee for 20 years. I was interested in working for Saffron Coffee because it sources all coffee through a direct farming partnership with over 780 hill tribe families, each with their own micro plot of Arabica coffee.
2. Three most fun parts: working with our awesome Lao staff, meeting and talking with travelers from all over the world, and constantly aiming to serve customers with the best Arabica coffee in northern Laos.
3. Ristr8to, Chiang Mai.
Bounsuay (Apple) Vongsouvanh of Mekong Coffee Lounge 1
(facebook.com/apple.vongsuvanh)
1. Southeast Asia including Lao, has very good quality coffee beans, that is why Mekong Coffee Lounge promotes and serves what we found in Lao ( Lao coffee bean) including my love & passion of coffee. Luang Prabang is an UNESCO World Heritage Site so the number of tourists are increasing every year.
2. We are happy to serve customers coffee from real Lao coffee beans, the most fun part is to promote our Coffee Latte Art.
3. Rachadumdeun Coffee Shop in Chiang Mai.
So, it looks like Chiang Mai has a hold of the coffee scene in Thailand! I am in Laos until the end of February and am moving on to other pastures however I will be in Thailand by the time this April 2017 article is out and I look forward to seeing some old and making some new friends back in Thailand. Enjoy your coffee and know you can always be good to your body, soul, spirit and feed your mind at the same time!
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Margaret Elizabeth Johnston ND is a holistic health educator, botanical illustrator & artist. She enjoys living in different cultures around the world for long periods of time to immerse herself in the way of life there and to learn, paint & write about the local medicinal plants. After getting enough paintings together she puts on her own expo's along with some fun travel stories so she can share what she has learned. It seems adding wall mural paintings to her repertoire may be the next thing coming! You can follow her journeys, see her paintings and enjoy her art & health blogs on:
