Category: Coffee News

Not sure if you have been reading the newspapers recently, but it looks like we are about to enter another evolution in coffee drinking. News journals from your local paper to international magazines like the Economist have been featuring articles on the fall of Starbucks and the entry of McDonalds into the coffee shop market.

Apparently, there was a study done last year in the US and more people preferred coffee made by McDonalds to that from Starbucks – Ouch ! True, we are not talking about the stuff we have been getting at McDees for years as McDonalds have invested in buying higher quality coffee beans and equipment and so have upped the competition a bit. McDonalds plan to roll out more cafes over the next few months whilst Starbucks struggles to get back its reputation. In any case, there appears to be a battle on the cards and to avoid getting sued by the big boys, I’ll keep this post brief and encourage you to experiment with which coffee you prefer if you have the time and money of course. As soon as I get some big bucks to pay big lawyers’ fees, perhaps we can run our own poll next year on who is best. In any case, I think it’s positive, as it is giving way to more publicity about the quality of coffee – something I’m really trying to push for.

For more reading, check out www.economist.com and use their search engine for Starbucks.

Did you hear the one about “coffee protects female memory” ? I guess you’re thinking OK ! this guy is really on a different planet, but no ! it’s true. French researchers at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research conducted a study over 4 years using about 7,000 women aged 65 years and over and noticed that those who drank more than 3 cups of coffee per day as opposed to those who only drank 1 cup of coffee per day showed less decline in memory tests. Apparently, caffeine is a known psycho-stimulant (i.e it stimulates the mind and hence memory) however, no one knows why it does not have the same effect on men – one theory is that caffeine affects women more than men – so sorry guys, perhaps you’ve got to drink a lot more to remember stuff, just kidding – I don’t want to be sued. In any case, as with all research of this nature, don’t go rushing to conclusions like trying to give women less coffee so they don’t remember stuff like wedding anniversaries, birthdays, etc – it’s not going to work. Nevertheless, the study does show that caffeine might slow down dementia, but a longer study is needed before caffeine is prescribed for things like Alzheimer disease. For more reading, consult the BBC News Website.