Coffee is a useful drink when consumed carefully, especially when it comes to grain products. Of course, you can find caffeine in instant coffee, even in larger quantities, but the presence of biologically active substances in the beans makes this option more acceptable. Keep reading and learn all about whole bean coffee and its beneficial properties.
What Is Contained In Coffee Beans?
Coffee has a complex and unique composition: there are about 2 000 components in raw beans. Most of them are contained in microscopic doses and do not significantly affect humans but determine the taste. There are more than 70 aromatic compounds in raw coffee beans. Other components can be attributed to being biologically active. These are:
- Caffeine;
- Trigonelline;
- Theobromine;
- Theophylline;
- B vitamins;
- Organic acids.
Up to 90% of substances pass into the drink in the process of brewing.
Whole Bean Coffee Useful Properties
Everyone knows that coffee is an “invigorating” drink. Caffeine stimulates several body systems:
- Central nervous system;
- Heart;
- All organs consisting of smooth muscle (blood vessels, respiratory tract, intestinal mucosa);
- Skeletal muscles.
The beneficial properties of coffee beans do not depend on their type, but they are more pronounced in Robusta, which contains more caffeine than is loved by everyone Arabica.
Improving Mental & Physical Activity
Brewed coffee stimulates the brain, and a person begins to react and think faster. Studies have shown that caffeine shortens reaction times, improves cognitive abilities, and temporarily reduces fatigue. All these properties are manifested when coffee is drunk in the right, moderate doses. Along with stimulating mental activity, coffee increases physical activity and efficiency.
Improving Work Of All Organs
One of the most beneficial properties of coffee is that it has a direct laxative effect on the vascular wall. This improves the nutrition of the heart, kidneys, and other internal organs. They begin to perform their functions more efficiently.
Respiratory Stimulation
After drinking coffee, breathing becomes deeper and more frequent. This beneficial effect is achieved due to the stimulating effect on the brain’s respiratory center.
Keep in mind that the amount of oxygen that enters the cells of our body depends on how efficiently they function. This is especially important for the brain. Therefore, the stimulation of the respiratory center contributes to the feeling of vitality from coffee.
Heart Work
To know all about whole bean coffee is impossible without exploring the effect of natural coffee drinks on heart activity. The effect on different people can be expressed in different ways. In most cases, there is a slight increase in rhythm. However, some people, especially against the background of stress or exercise, may develop severe tachycardia.
Useful Property For Hypotensives
If we talk about the impact on blood pressure, it is worth dispelling the myth: coffee has little effect on its level. However, people with low blood pressure are recommended to drink coffee regularly to raise it to typical values.
Stimulation Of Digestion
It is necessary to note such favorable properties of coffee as stimulation of work of the digestive system. Caffeine and acids improve the secretion of gastric juice and increase intestinal motility. That is why a drink made of coffee beans is the best way to finish the meal.
Other Useful Properties:
Among other important properties of the beverage made from coffee beans, the following moments should be noted:
- Prevents the formation of blood clots;
- Reduces the severity of allergic reactions by reducing the release of histamine;
- Improves fat breakdown;
- Makes the metabolic process in the muscles more efficient.
Now it is clear why coffee is such a popular drink. It helps us stay healthy and maintain vitality.
Warning Of Possible Damage
The all about whole bean coffee list is not full without warning of possible damage. Despite the long list of useful properties of coffee, you should warn against its excessive use:
- In large doses, coffee has the opposite effect on the nervous system – instead of stimulating, it suppresses mental and physical activity.
- Drinking coffee beans can increase low-density cholesterol in the blood.
- Coffee reduces the absorption of calcium and other micro-and macronutrients, and vitamins. Long-term deficiency of these elements can lead to the deterioration of bones and other human organs.
Enjoy coffee in the proper doses – and then you can make the most of its beneficial properties without any harm to health.
How Coffee Gets To The Store
Before turning into a rich espresso, natural coffee beans go through several stages:
Collecting
There are two ways to collect coffee berries: manual and mechanical. The manual method is more labor-intensive and allows achieving a better result: the picker picks only ripe berries.
Special combines are used in the mechanical method of harvesting. The main advantage of this method is speed. The disadvantage is that the machine collects not only ripe but also green berries.
Coffee Processing
In the next stage – the grains are separated from the pulp. For this purpose, use one of two methods of processing: dry – natural or wet. The first is used in regions with dry climates. The second is in areas with high humidity.
Dry processing is as natural as possible: berries, spread out on a flat surface, dry under the scorching sun. In the process, the grains are impregnated with the juice of the pulp. So the taste of coffee becomes deeper and acquires citrus notes.
The washing process is more complicated. First, the berries are soaked in water to soften the flesh and make it easier to separate. The grains are specially cleaned of gluten and dried.
Roasting
At this stage, green coffee beans not only acquire an appetizing hue but also reveal their unique aroma. There are many degrees of roasting, which can be divided into three main groups: medium, light, and dark.
Coffee roasted in light and medium roast beans have a milder taste. Dark roasting is characterized by great bitterness.
Packing
Understanding all about whole bean coffee also includes information about packing. To draw some conclusions about the quality of coffee, just look at the packaging. The vacuum or foil package allows keeping useful properties and aroma of grains better and longer – till 1,5 years.
Classification Of Coffee Beans
How to determine the best and highest quality coffee? The taste of a beverage depends on the quality of the beans. Grain has a long way to go, and its quality is formed at all stages of this path – from sprout to cup.
Mild
Mild coffee means soft, light drink. This category includes all the best varieties of Arabica coffee. This category is also called “soft coffee is grown on alpine plantations.” Coffee collected at an altitude of at least 500 meters above sea level is considered alpine, coffee berries must be harvested fully ripe and carefully processed.
Brazilian Coffee
This category includes lower quality coffee, sharp and coarse taste, and is cheaper than coffee from the Mild category. Why is this category called Brazilian coffee? Just the vast Brazilian coffee plantations, located not in the mountains but on the plains, give a lot of cheap and carelessly collected and processed coffee. And this name does not reflect the reality at all, as half of the coffee belonging to the category of Mild is grown in Brazil.
Robusta
This category includes all varieties of Robusta coffee. Robusta grains are unpretentious in the growing season, resistant to disease, and cheaper than Arabica. They are not inferior to Arabica in taste and aroma but richer in caffeine (about 30-40 percent).
In addition to these categories, you can find many more classifications, depending on the coffee shelf life.
- New crap – fresh coffee beans obtained immediately after collection and processing.
- Old crap – coffee beans were stored in the warehouse for some time before the sale, and as soon as new beans from the new crop arrived, they were transferred to the category of the old harvest.
- Mature coffee – coffee that was stored in a warehouse for two or three years. This coffee acquires a spicy aroma of smoke.
- Aged coffee – coffee beans were stored for six to ten years. This coffee is also called – vintage (vintage – this term refers to coffee or wine of a certain year and age as “old,” “classic”) by analogy with aged wine. Aged for years in a dry and well-ventilated room, coffee beans lose their acidity while acquiring a special fullness and richness of taste.
- Organic coffee – coffee beans, obtained in a “pure” way, without the use of chemicals from wood or crops. The quality of this coffee and the conditions of its production must be duly confirmed by independent inspection services, which issue a special certificate.
- Peaberry – small and round coffee beans are formed by chance in a coffee berry, not two, as usual, but one.
How To Choose Good Coffee In The Store?
The key to a tasty and healthy drink is the right quality ingredients. Therefore, first of all, you need to learn how to choose the right coffee beans. When buying coffee, first of all, pay attention to the quality of the packaging. This information is also included in the all about whole bean coffee list.
Materials
Try to choose coffee in transparent packs or in specialized places where beans are packaged with you. The fact is that before buying, it is important to assess their appearance and quality.
- Evaluate coffee visually. For example, the grains of 100% Arabica should be the same shape and size: if you find smaller beans, then the mixture is diluted with Robusta. But the difference in grain colors is a normal situation. Such a mixture is called “Melange” and includes grains of different roasting.
- Feel the grains: they should be velvety, the right shape, without chips and stains. If you get small, chipped pieces in the mixture, you should not take this blend.
- Smell the mixture: you should feel a strong coffee aroma without a hint of rancidity and, moreover, mold. The latter hints at the hopelessly expired shelf life of raw materials.
How to choose quality coffee beans? Study the taste notes indicated on the pack. For example, citrus, chocolate, blueberries…If you do not feel them in the drink, it is normal. Baristas specially train their receptors to understand the nuances of taste. But these words can tell you the nature of coffee: more fruity and acidic or more chocolate and balanced. Over time, you will realize that you like it more, and you will easily choose the taste profile that is closest to you.
Expiration Date
Coffee beans can be purchased both roasted and raw. For raw grains, the shelf life can be quite long – from one to five years, and roasted grains, depending on the packaging material, can be stored from ten days to a year. It is simple to find out if coffee beans have lost their aroma or not: open and smell. If you don’t feel any specific coffee smell, the shelf life has expired.
Learning all about whole bean coffee, remember that grain coffee is one of the oldest drinks, so scientists have had a lot of time to study the benefits and harms to the health of drinking different types and varieties of beverages. The choice to drink or not to drink coffee – is left to everyone’s discretion. Follow your doctor’s recommendations, even if it means giving up caffeinated beverages at all. And be sure to watch the reactions of your body.