Caffiene: loads of new information

Major update at the Intelligent Coffee site.

Several new reports on caffiene and health, the physiological effects of caffiene, and why plants make caffiene.

Believe it or not, the answer to this last question is because caffiene acts as a pesticide and insect repellent! In the kinds of quantities an herbivore, say a cow, would eat coffee plants, caffiene would actually act as a poison. Interesting, no?

The easiest way to find new content is to visit the Intelligent Coffee sitemap.

Hawaiin Kona Coffee

Everything you need to know about Hawaiin Kona Coffee -- truly, one of the world's greatest coffees.

More affordable than Jamaican Blue Mountain... More flavorful than Folgers... Probably the most well-known thing to come out of Hawaii other than the ukelele...

I personally love Hawaiin Kona coffee and buy it in 5-lb bags. My addiction stems from many, many years ago, back when I was in college. A friend of mine went on Wheel of Fortune (seriously) and won a trip to Hawaii. Knowing of my love for coffee, she brought me back a 1-lb. bag of Kona coffee, and I was hooked for life.

I don't currently roast my own beans but I do grind them myself in a burr grinder (by far, the best type of grinder on earth!).

Kona coffee

Everything you need to know about Kona coffee from Hawaii -- including the different grades of Kona, why it's so good, and all the other jargon of the coffee shop.

Here are the basics:

The Kona district of the big island of Hawaii is a nearly perfect environment for growing coffee. We're talking mountainsides, rich volcanic soil, sunny mornings and cloudy afternoons, plenty of rain and long dry winters that allow the coffee flowers to bloom and mature.

Real Hawaiin Kona coffee is some of the best beans in the world. It can be difficult to find.

Avoid Kona Blend coffee -- it's only 10% real Kona beans (and those the cheapest, runtiest little beans that can be found).

Caffiene content of your favorite hot beverages

An interesting caffiene chart listing the various levels of caffiene in your favorite beverages. Check it out.

The surprise? It takes about 10 shots of Starbucks espresso to equal the same amount of caffiene in a normal, 12-oz. drip coffee!

Hot coffee as a deadly weapon

A man in Ohio robbed a gas station using nothing but quick wits and a cup of hot coffee.

The story doesn't make clear whether or not he's accused of simple burglary, assault and battery, or something worse. Very interesting, and very smart, use of the nightmarish scalded swill passed off as "coffee" in most gas stations. (A BP, no less! British Petroleum is not the place to go for your morning cup...)