Especially whether or not to drink straight, black coffee versus flavored coffees — either using flavored coffees or adding some of those flavored creamers.
The next question is, “To use sugar and cream or drink it black?” That’s another extremely individualized choice.
Or maybe the question is coffee or cola, or maybe even tea?
Actually there are several questions, or varying shades of the same question, involved in what might be the most important question of the day. At least, it usually is the first question of the day.
And, as an adult, there really is little question about it.
Usually the answer is coffee — and often it’s regular coffee — and often black.
“I don’t like flavored coffees,” this one lady said. “My dad always drank regular coffee, black. He had his own special coffee cup. He would always leave a little sip at the bottom, as if he hadn’t realized it. When he got up from the table, I would run up and drink it.”
She thinks that’s why she can only drink regular, black coffee to this day. And she’s not picky, either. Any kind, any brew is just fine with her, as long as it is regular black coffee — with just a little ice in it to cool it off. And it doesn’t matter what time of day she drinks it either.
“I can drink regular coffee and go right to bed,” she said.
This same coffee drinker also told me of an unusual fact about coffee. Or rather, about which has more caffeine — light roasted coffee or dark roasted coffee. The simple answer is that light roasted coffee has more caffeine. You’d think just the opposite from the name and because dark roasted coffee tastes stronger. But then there’s an added glitch if you are talking about caffeine per weight. It kinda gets confusing. I think you can be fairly sure that it’s the opposite of the way it sounds. A light roasted coffee has more caffeine than a dark roasted. Go figure!
At this point, I did some additional research on some facts about coffee and I was flabbergasted! All the different brands, its history, its origins, its uses, the proper way to store it, what countries produce it, how it is produced and its health benefits. Yep, there supposedly are health benefits!
There is even coffee art — and, what I mean by that is, how to create images on the top of a cup of coffee with chocolate or cream!
Who knew?
Coffee — or rather the caffeine in it — is classified as a stimulant. It can have both positive and negative effects.
An 8-ounce, brewed cup of coffee contains 108 milligrams of caffeine; drip contains 145 mgs. for the same size. Decaf still contains between 3 and 6 milligrams so it’s not completely caffeine-free. Dunkin’ Donuts coffee has 132 mgs. for a 10-ounce cup. A 16-ounce Starbucks Grande Cafe Latte has 150 mgs. of caffeine.
In comparison, a 12-ounce can of Diet Coke contains 45 mgs. and a 12-ounce can of Mountain Dew — purported to be chockfull of caffeine — has only 54 mgs.
In my research, in small amounts, the ingestion of caffeine is said to benefit people in other ways, other than giving them a little wake-up spurt. It can benefit those who are at high-risk for liver disease. It also is said to increase muscle strength, increase mental faculty, reduce asthma symptoms, increase pain relief medication effects and increase metabolism by breaking down fat — freeing fatty acids and forcing them to be burned up. That’s why caffeine is the most active ingredient in many diet pills.
Also, in a small informal survey, people usually stick with their favorite source of caffeine — and they are quite particular in most cases. Switching from one caffeine source habit to another is possible, but not usual. For example, I started out with coffee in the morning, regular coffee with milk. Then, I switched to cola — first regular, then diet — and then, after living in the cooler climate of the Colorado mountains, I switched back to regular coffee with lots of half-and-half, and have now moved on to strictly flavored coffees, still with about half of that cup being half-and-half. I usually joke around saying that I like a little coffee with my half-and-half.
However, once a pattern or habit is set, it is difficult to change unless forced to change due to possible health concerns like nervousness, increased heart rate, upset stomach, irregular heartbeat, elevated blood pressure, heartburn, increased cholesterol and insomnia. There are many more symptoms of high caffeine usage.
Tea doesn’t seem to factor here in the states very much so there’s not much reason to discuss it.
About one-third of the people I talked to chose a diet cola of some type in the morning. Again, the reasons are varied. One lady said she drinks cola in the morning because “the cola syrup is in my blood.” Her grandma, this granddaughter reported, was notorious for drinking seven cases per week. Yep. I asked twice. The answer was “seven” each time. This was a week’s worth of the 10.5-ounce regular Coke bottles. But this granddaughter has switched over to diet cola.
But then there’s still the remaining the question of whether or not to drink an energy drink or hot chocolate instead?
But I think that’s another story.
