The Harvard Medical School team leading the research tracked the health of a group of women across a decade, from 1996 to 2006, and employed questionnaires to record their coffee consumption habits.

Their results suggested that just over 2,600 of the women involved in the study developed depression over the time period, with the majority tending to be non- or low-coffee drinkers, rather than frequent coffee consumers.

It was suggested that women who consumed two to three cups per day, compared to those who drank one cup or less per week, had a 15% decreased risk of developing depression, and that those who drank four or more cups a day cut their risk by 20%.

The researchers claim that caffeine is the key player in these findings, stating that it is known to enhance feelings of wellbeing in drinkers, and that it has a physical effect on brain functions, including the blocking of chemical receptors such as adenosine.

Professor Bertil Fredholm, of Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, said that the study -

‘…fits nicely with a lot of the previous work and what we know about caffeine and the brain. It blocks adenosine, which produces a similar effect to increasing dopamine production. And it’s becoming increasingly clear that the dopamine-rich areas of the brain are much more important in depression that previously thought.’

Fredholm went on to say of caffeinated coffee that -

‘…Drunk in moderation, the evidence is strong that it is not one of the things we do that is going to damage your health.”

The study took place in the US between 1986 and 2008, and analysed the coffee drinking habits of 47,911 men, together with instances of prostate cancer. During this time, some 5,035 of the research candidates developed prostate cancer, with 642 dying from the illness.

The research revealed that the average intake of coffee in 1986 was calculated as 1.9 cups per day, with men who consumed six or more cups per day appearing to have a significantly lower adjusted relative risk for overall prostate cancer, compared with the nondrinkers studied.

Kathryn M. Wilson, of the Harvard School of Public Health, and her team published the enlightening results, concluding with confidence that coffee consumption was not associated with the risk of non-advanced or low-grade cancers.

According to the analysis men who drank the most coffee, around six cups per day, had a 20% lower risk of developing any kind of prostate cancer. Furthermore, if these men were diagnosed with prostate cancer, their risk of dying as a result was no less than 60% lower than normal.
In fact, even coffee drinkers who only put away one to three cups daily, a relatively small amount, were said to see their risk of deadly prostate cancer fall by a heartening 30%.

Coffee contains many biologically active compounds, including caffeine, which have potent antioxidant activity and can affect glucose metabolism and sex hormone levels.
However, the study went on to suggest that the cancer reducing effect of coffee actually has nothing to do with caffeine.
This interesting distinction was brought to light when candidates who consumed decaffeinated coffee were noted to receive the same statistical benefit as those who drank caffeinated, thus leading researchers to theorise that some other constituent of coffee is at work in protecting drinkers from potentially life threatening prostate cancer.

As Wilson and the team observed in their press release, ‘We observed a strong inverse association between coffee consumption and risk of lethal prostate cancer. The association appears to be related to non-caffeine components of coffee.’

Please take look, if you have any comments on this article please email me on press@coffee-direct.co.uk.

The process involves soaking unroasted green beans in hot water to release caffeine, whilst retaining the beans’ natural flavours. The process takes its starting point from the composition of a green bean; a typical bean will be composed of around 74% insoluble materials, and 26% soluble ‘flavour components’, including around 1.20% caffeine.

The process allows caffeine and coffee solids to be separated from the bean during the hot water soak, after which the insoluble green bean is discarded, and what remains is a caffeinated solution which has retained the flavour-filled coffee solids. In order to remove the caffeine the solution is passed through a carbon filter, which traps caffeine components but allows the solids to pass through. The resulting solution is known as ‘flavour-charged water’ – a liquid composed of 25% coffee solids, with all the flavour of coffee but without the caffeine kick.

This solution can now be used to actually create decaffeinated coffee beans. Quality green coffee beans are soaked in water in order to expand them in size, preparing them for caffeine extraction. The expanded beans are then immersed in the ‘flavour-charged’ water solution, which runs through another filtration device. As there is no caffeine in the ‘flavour-charged’ water, caffeine actually diffuses from the green beans and is released into the ‘flavour-charged’ solution.

Because the composition of soluble, flavour-filled components in both the beans and the ‘flavour-charged’ water is equal, only the caffeine is removed from the bean during this second filtration process, leaving the bean’s flavour intact. The ‘flavour-charged’ solution, now full of the beans’ caffeine components, flows cyclically through a carbon filter, which has been specifically modelled to only trap the small caffeine particles, and not the flavour solids. This caffeine-free water then passes back through the bean numerous times, repeating this process until almost all the caffeine has been removed from the bean, and is trapped by the carbon filter. This process takes around 8 hours to complete, and leaves the bean around 99.9% caffeine-free.

This process is unique in that it is performed without the use of any chemicals. Shockingly, almost 80% of branded, decaffeinated beans on the market use chemicals to remove the caffeine. These chemicals include Methylene Chloride and Ethyl Acetate, both of which can be employed in processes known as the ‘Direct’ and ‘Indirect Methods’. The Direct Method involves immersing beans into a caffeine absorbing chemical solvent. The caffeine-saturated solvent is then removed from the beans, and purged of its caffeine content. The beans are then placed back into the now caffeine-free solvent, and the process is repeated until the beans are themselves caffeine-free. The Indirect Method works similarly, but involves the solvent be employed at a later stage in the process; the beans are soaked in water, which is mixed with the solvent one the beans are separated, thus removing caffeine from the water which is re-used repeatedly on the beans.

These chemical-based methods sometimes go by different names; the ‘European Method’, the ‘Natural Process’, or the ‘Water Process’.

These terms, however, should never be confused with the chemical-free Swiss Water Process, which is still recognized world-wide as the most beneficial and natural decaffeination process in use today.

Dr Gary Arendash, the head researcher has said, “The new findings provide evidence that caffeine could be a viable treatment for established Alzheimer’s disease, and not simply a protective strategy. That’s important because caffeine is a safe drug for most people. It easily enters the brain, and it appears to directly affect the disease process.”

One of the key aspects of Alzheimer’s disease is sticky clumps of abnormal protein which are in the brain; these are called beta amyloid plaques. Mice that have the rodent equivalent to the disease have shown a 50 per cent reduced level of these proteins in the brain, this was shown after the researchers had put caffeine in their drinking water. This was shown in the behaviour in the mice as they developed better memories and quicker thinking processes.

Dr Arendash’s research team has been studying 55 genetically engineered mice that have been developed with dementia symptoms. Humans who receive the equivalent dose for their bodyweight would need to consume 500 milligrams of caffeine a day, or five eight-ounce cups of coffee. This amount of caffeine can also be obtained by drinking two strong cups of coffee, 14 cups of tea or even 20 cola drinks.

After two months of studies the mice that have been drinking the caffeinated water performed much better on the memory and thinking tests than mice that had only been drinking water. Their memories were just as sharp as those of healthy older mice without dementia. The researchers found that mice that had been drinking the water with caffeine had reduced levels of the protein in their blood, but more importantly the same effect had been shown in their brains.

The director of Florida’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Dr Huntington Potter has said, “These are some of the most promising Alzheimer’s mouse experiments ever done, showing that caffeine rapidly reduces beta amyloid protein in the blood, an effect that is mirrored in the brain, and this reduction is linked to cognitive benefit.”
The same investigators have also proven that caffeine reduces the biological processes needed to produce the beta amyloid.

The chief executive for the Alzheimer’s Society, Neil Hunt said, “ Previous research into caffeine and dementia has suggested that it could delay Alzheimer’s disease and even protect against vascular dementia. This research in mice suggests coffee may actually reverse some element of memory impairment. However, more research is needed to determine whether coffee has the same impact in people. It is too soon to say if coffee is anything more than a pleasant pick-me-up.”

The plantation manager showed Trevor the site, and outlined the processes that they undertake to grow, pick and roast their crops. After this he was given a sample of the coffee which can sell for up to $40 per pound (£25 per pound).

Blue Mountain coffee is one of the most expensive varieties on the market, apart from Kopi Luwak which also is in high demand.

Delonghi ICM100 Metropolis Coffee Maker - £99

A stylish filter coffee maker in gun-metal finish with chrome trim. 10-cup capacity with programmable timer and ‘Flavour Saver’ brewing system. The drip-stop mechanism means that the carafe can be removed at any time. Front opening filter holder and transparent reservoir with water level indicator.

Morphy Richards 47067 Coffee Maker in Platinum - £69

Up to 12 cups with 24 hour Smart Digital timer. Improved easy frother with dishwasher safe milk jug. Illuminated water level indicator and anti-drip device.

Russell Hobbs 14752 Grind and Brew Coffee Maker – Save £30, Was £79 Now £49

10 cup capacity with 1500ml glass carafe. LCD display with digital timer. Programmable brew setting for the perfect cup every time. Self-cleaning indicator. Keep-warm function and removable filter.

So why not treat yourself to a nice cuppa? Remember, you can buy coffee beans and filter coffee for these machines right here at Coffee-Direct.co.uk