One cup at a time...

I’m excited about this post, mainly because I mentioned a few weeks ago I wanted to write about it and finally found some things out and now I can. My first Sip of the Week, I went to The Donkey in Athens and I tried to get the Brew of the Week, which at that point it was Dean’s Beans No CO2 coffee, but unfortunately they sold it out before I could try it. I told you all I would figure out what the No CO2 brew was and let you know, so that is what I’ m going to do now.

Before I begin, I just want to explain what Dean’s Beans is. Dean’s Beans is a company that makes coffees that are organic, fair trade and kosher. The beans are roasted in a beanery in Orange, MA.


View Larger Map

Using pesticides in coffee production really impacts the ecology of the coffee-growing world, so Dean’s Beans is committed to buying only shade grown coffees, which supports healthy environments for coffee growers and protects bird habitats.

Dean’s Beans No CO2 coffee was launched to help fight Global Warming one cup at a time. The company calculated the total carbon load generated by a pound of coffee, from growing, harvesting, and processing, to shipping, roasting, and brewing it in our homes. Once the process was complete, Dean’s Beans found that seventeen pounds of coffee generates about fifty pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. They also found out that one tree in the Tropics of Coffee releases about fifty pounds of CO2 annually.

The research done by Dean’s Beans has led them to starting a project with the Ashaninkas indigenous farmers of Pangoa, whose land was denuded by illegal logging in the 1980’s. The whole goal of the project is to plant one tree in Pangoa Cooperative for every 17 pounds of No CO2 Peruvian coffee consumed.

The tree species they are planting the the Tornillo. It grows about fifty feet tall over a period of time and provided shade and critical migratory bird habitat. So far into this project, over 80,000 tress have been planted.

I think this a great project! In recent years we have all heard about global warming and how it’s affecting the world, so any little way to help it I think is perfect. So many people consume coffee, so this an excellent way to get trees planted.

One con to this project...the only time I have ever heard of this type of coffee was when I went to The Donkey a few weeks ago, so that means there probably isn’t many people who actually know about it. I think that if more people would hear about it somehow (oh...maybe through ads??!!) then this could potentially do great things. If yo are really into helping the environment and want to try this coffee, you can purchase it here through the Dean’s Beans Web site.

Have a wonderful weekend everybody!

--Tricia

Did you know??

Did you know that TOO much caffeine (in coffee and pop, etc..) can be bad for you? Well I found that out the hard way last week and because of that, and I apologize, I will not be doing a Sip of the Week for this week.

Last Monday when I did my Sip of the Week, that was the second cup of “specialty” coffee I had that day and I just think that was way too much caffeine for my body. I spent the rest of the evening with a horrible migraine and upset stomach, and now when I think of getting any type of coffee it makes my stomach turn. I’ve decided to take a week or two off of drinking coffee, so then maybe that will help my body a little bit. I guess it is healthier for me to NOT drink coffee, but I’ve committed myself to writing a coffee blog and if I don’t drink it then that would ruin my purpose, so I will take a week or two off and see if I can tolerate it again. I hope I can, because I used to love coffee so much.

Anyways, since that happened to me, it sort of prompted a perfect post topic for me this week: The effects of too much caffeine on your body.

I wanted to find the perfect info graphic that would show how much caffeine comes in some of the popular drinks we all enjoy at least once a day, so I did a Google images search and found this.



Photo courtesy of Randy Krum.


According to this poster, caffeine intoxication usually occurs after you have consumed 300 milligrams of caffeine. Last Monday, I had two “specialty” coffees, one from Starbucks and the other from Court Street Coffee. Each of these drinks had approximately 260 milligrams of caffeine in them and I had TWO! That is 520 milligrams, and when coffee intoxication is when you have more than 300 milligrams, I think that could explain why I felt so horrible that evening.

According to a New York Times Health Guide, caffeine is a substance that exists naturally in certain plants and is produced synthetically and used as an additive in food products. Caffeine overdose occurs when someone intentionally or accidentally consumes more caffeine than the normal or recommended amount. This can be through too much caffeine in drinks, as seen above in the info graphic or too much caffeine medication.

Symptoms of caffeine overdose in adults include:

•Breathing trouble
•Confusion
•Convulsions
•Diarrhea
•Dizziness
•Fever
•Hallucinations
•In and out of consciousness
•Increased thirst
•Irregular heartbeat
•Muscle twitching
•Rapid heartbeat
•Sleeping trouble
•Urination- increased
•Vomiting

Symptoms in babies may include:

•Muscles are very tense, then very relaxed
•Nausea
•Rapid, deep breathing
•Rapid heartbeat
•Shock
•Tremors
•Vomiting

If you think you are experiencing caffeine overdose, do NOT induce vomiting right away, call a doctor or the poison control center and if they recommend you induce vomiting, then by all means do so. The National Poison Control Center can be reached anywhere in the United States at 1-800-222-1222. If all else fails, then going to the emergency room at a local hospital is another option.

As I have already stated, I have not had coffee since my incident and I’ve had little caffeine from soda, so I’m trying to help out my body by drinking water and juice. Hopefully I’ll be back to normal soon so I enjoy my morning latte!

--Tricia

Editor's Note: This is Part I of a series of posts about the effects of coffee on the body. I will post Part II next week. 

Gettin' my "Donkey" on

Like every other student at Ohio University, there is always one class (maybe more) you take throughout your college career that doesn't particularly get you going or excited to be there. This class is one that I torture myself by going to everyday, only because I am not a class skipper. The class I'm talking about is plant biology and it's not a horrible class by all means, but there are some days that really drag and today was one of them. I wanted nothing more than to get out and get a cup o' joe and that was my exact mission when that clock struck 3:00 and believe you me, I bolted out of Walter Hall as fast as a cat (except mine) would in water. So, because of my coffee craving during plant biology, I've decided to designate today as the first post of my new feature I'm calling, "Sip of the Week."

Once a week I am going to gain some confidence, stand tall, explore out of my comfort zone, spread my wings and fly away. No...I'm not really going to fly away and I don't have wings, but I will go out of my comfort zone once a week (and my comfort zone is the caramel latte from The Front Room in Baker Center I get every morning) and try a new coffee shop in the Athens area and drink a coffee drink I've never had before.

Today's "sip" was from the popular coffee shop to many university students and townies, "The Donkey." Officially called, Donkey Coffee & Espresso, located on West Washington Street.

View Larger Map
  Map courtesy of Google Maps.

After a long trek from Walter Hall at the southern side of campus to the north end of Court Street, I had finally made it and was greeted at the door by an accordion player. I can't say it was the best musical talent I have ever heard, but the accordion is an instrument I don't hear enough of and it's just so unique that I don't care how many bad notes you play or how out of tune it is, I am willing to listen to it just about whenever.

As I made my way inside, I was expecting to have to wait forever in line to order, but luckily for myself I made it at an "off" time I guess. I wasn't complaining. I've only been to The Donkey a few times before and I usually just ordered and italian soda and then left, so today I wanted something different. As I waited in line I saw a sign for the Brew of the Week, and this weeks sounded very interesting. It was Dean's Beans No C02- "World's first carbon neutral coffee." I thought to myself, hmmm...what would that taste like? Would I even like it? Would it make me sick? Or, would it be a waste of money? I put all of my thoughts aside and got really excited to try something new, so when it was my turn to order the guy behind the counter asked what I wanted and told him I wanted the Brew of the Week. He then proceeded to ask what size and I told him a small and then he went to fill up the cup. In like a split second he turned around and informed me that they were out of it, because he just gave away the last bit. I was bummed, I got excited for nothing, so since the line was long I just ordered a normal ol' caramel latte with whipped cream. How. Unoriginal.

After I collected my thoughts and received my caramel latte, which was in a big rounded cup with the whipped cream whipped around the top and overflowing down the side, I headed to the back of the building to sit down and enjoy my coffee. I want to add that it looked....amazing, and boy it was!

My caramel latte from The Donkey. Photo taken on my cell phone because I left my digital camera at home. Sorry for it being so dark, the lighting was dimmed. I said above that the whipped cream was overflowing down the side and it really was, this picture was taken after I had been drinking it for a bit.

I want to list some things I noticed during my recent visit to The Donkey:

1. It's bigger than you would think, if you go all the way to the back there is a huge room with a bunch of tables and seats and even a few couches, so if you ever want to go there with some friends, there will definitely be room.

2. The music seemed loud in the front of the building, but once I went more to the back it seemed to get quieter and the lights were dimmed, so it made for a nice studying atmosphere.

3. They support local music, which is very cool. Athens has a unique music scene and I don't get a lot of free time to attend some of the events in town, so it was nice I could listen to some of it during my stay.

4. Games and lots of them. I am an avid board game player (especially Scrabble), so when I get some extra free time I will definitely be back to play something with my friends and not do homework. Shh...don't tell my mom!

5. The decorations throughout the building gave it a unique look and weren't over-the-top annoying and distracting. Again, this added to the calmness of it and the relaxing atmosphere.

And finally, 6, because I don't like odd numbers. The drink I had was amazing, the italian sodas are delicious, so I would assume everything from here would be worth the price and time to get here. This place is one I recommend to everyone and I will of course be back.

That is all I have for now, so get out there and get some coffee...I know you want to. I will try to do some research on that carbon neutral coffee for my next post and figure out what that is, because I am really curious now and hope you are too.

--Tricia