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From The Bean To The Cup: What Does Coffee Contain?

Many drink it every day, whether in the morning to wake them up, in between for moments of pleasure or simply out of habit: coffee.

Many even drink it several times a day. But what ingredients does coffee really contain?

As the second most important commodity, coffee is given a major role by many people. Regular coffee consumption is said to have many positive properties. But what ingredients does the coffee bean really contain? Coffee contains over 1000 ingredients, not all of which have yet been chemically decoded. The type of coffee, growth conditions and type of roasting determine how high the actual proportions of the substances in the coffee beans are.

The most important components of coffee

Since not all the ingredients of the coffee bean are known – and only a comparatively small number of them are really important – only the most relevant substances are listed here. These include: carbohydrates, fats, water, proteins, acids, alkaloids (caffeine), minerals and vitamins as well as flavorings. However, many of these ingredients in green coffee do not make it into the coffee drink.

About a third of the coffee bean consists of carbohydrates. During the roasting process, these are converted to other compounds or even broken down completely. However, the remaining water-insoluble sugars end up in the coffee grounds during the infusion. Around 10-20 percent take in fats. These are also largely insoluble in water and are therefore found almost exclusively in green coffee. Before roasting, the coffee bean has a 10 to 13 percent water content, which shrinks to two to three percent during the roasting process. During storage, the coffee again absorbs some moisture from its surroundings. Proteins make up another ten percent. Due to the high heat exposure during roasting, these either combine with other substances or are destroyed. The more than 80 different acids make up between four and twelve percent, with chlorogenic acid accounting for the largest share. Other acids are linoleic acid, palmitic acid, acetic acid, citric acid and malic acid. Many of them are largely responsible for the aroma of the subsequent coffee drink.

The most important components of coffee are the alkaloids. Alkaloids are nitrogenous substances, including the stimulating caffeine. Around three to five percent of the raw coffee contains minerals, of which around 90 percent end up in the coffee drink. The minerals mainly include potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. Sulphur, manganese and iron also occur in small amounts. There are also vitamins in coffee. One of the best known is the B vitamin group. These include vitamin B2 (riboflavin), niacin, pantothenic acid and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine). The relevant components of coffee also include the aromatic substances. There are over 800 flavorings, but these are only created during roasting through a reaction called Maillard. The Maillard reaction (named after the French scientist Louis Camille Maillard) is a non-enzymatic browning reaction and should not be confused with caramelization. However, both reactions can occur together. Accordingly, the green coffee is rather odorless.

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Food

Intestinal Bacteria in Every 5th Cup!

For most people, the first course in the morning in the office leads straight to the kitchen: there is hot coffee or tea to start the day awake. But there are also unwelcome guests waiting in the coffee cup from the communal kitchen because almost every fifth person is infected with intestinal bacteria!

Intestinal bacteria in every 5th cup!

Bacteria from the toilet actually have no place in the kitchen – but they can still be found, especially on coffee cups in the office. One in five cups is said to be contaminated with the intestinal bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli), as reported by SWR.

If you don’t wash your hands thoroughly after going to the toilet, the bacteria will of course also be transferred to cups, cutlery, etc. in the communal kitchen. Even the washing cycle in the dishwasher does not kill all germs, since often only the short rinse program is selected at a low temperature – a fact that is particularly disgusting.

Tips for more hygiene

If you want to turn off the disgust alarm in the kitchen, you should follow these important tips. The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) recommends hygiene when dishwashing:

  • Putting dishes in a dishwasher is better than washing them by hand. A temperature of 60 to 65 degrees should be reached in the machine so that the dishes are hygienically clean again
  • Use different towels to dry hands and dishes
  • Conventional washing-up liquid is sufficient for use, antibacterial agents are not necessary
  • Replace dishwashing brushes and clothes regularly. Clean dishwashing brushes in a dishwasher, wash dishcloths in the washing machine at 90 or 95 degrees
  • Occasionally microwavable chopping boards or sponges to sanitize. To do this, place the items in the microwave for at least two, maximum of four minutes at the highest level
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health

Coffee on an Empty Stomach: This is What Happens in Your Body After Just One Cup

Coffee is the most popular hot drink. But many make a critical mistake when they pour themselves that first cup of the caffeinated beverage early in the morning. We explain the risks of drinking coffee to you.

Coffee before breakfast: Even one cup has negative effects

In an experiment, researchers from the University of Bath examined the blood sugar regulation of a total of 29 healthy men and women. To do this, they went through different scenarios on three consecutive nights to find out whether the coffee that is drunk before the first meal has a negative effect on the metabolism.

During the investigations, in which the test subjects had one night of normal sleep and were awakened every hour on two nights, the test subjects’ blood sugar levels were continuously measured. The scientists realized that just one cup of coffee with about 300 milligrams of caffeine is enough to produce an increase in blood sugar.
The increase is particularly strong after the restless nights.

Conclusion: Coffee should only be drunk after breakfast

A high blood sugar level caused by drinking coffee in the morning can be avoided if the hot drink is only drunk after breakfast. Five cups of the caffeinated drink are therefore considered harmless so far, provided they

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health

Coffee on an Empty Stomach: This is What Happens in Your Body After Just One Cup

Coffee is the most popular hot beverage. But many make a critical mistake when they pour themselves that first cup of the caffeinated beverage early in the morning. We explain the risks of drinking coffee to you.

Coffee before breakfast: Even one cup has negative effects

In an experiment, researchers from the University of Bath examined the blood sugar regulation of a total of 29 healthy men and women. To do this, they ran through different scenarios on three consecutive nights to find out whether the coffee that is drunk before the first meal is negative

During the investigations, in which the test subjects had one night of normal sleep and were awakened every hour on two nights, the test subjects’ blood sugar levels were continuously measured. The scientists realized that just one cup of coffee with about 300 milligrams of caffeine is enough to produce an increase in blood sugar.
The increase is particularly strong after the restless nights.

Conclusion: Coffee should only be drunk after breakfast

Although a high blood sugar level is not initially a serious symptom of the disease, if it rises regularly, it can lead to type 2 diabetes mellitus, according to the researchers.

A high blood sugar level caused by drinking coffee in the morning can be avoided if the hot drink is only drunk after breakfast. So far, five cups of the caffeinated beverage have been considered safe, provided they are not drunk too hot, on an empty stomach, or after too short a night’s sleep.

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Food

Flavored Tea: Cakes and Unicorns in a Cup?

We love it especially in winter: hot, wonderfully aromatic tea. Gladly flavored with appetizing flavors that make the tea taste like marzipan or, in summer, like tropical fruits and more. But what are we actually drinking?

Flavored tea is not always “real tea”

“Tea” is, strictly speaking, just the beverage brewed from the leaves of the tea plant. Green tea is simply the dried leaves of the plant. Black tea is more labor intensive. The leaves are first dried a little, then rolled and then oxidized in high humidity.

Everything else that we serve as “tea” is strictly speaking an “infusion drink” and therefore only “tea-like”. This includes everything that we colloquially refer to as “herbal tea” or “fruit tea”, although there are of course also mixtures of dried fruits and herbs, which we also call “tea”.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s “real tea” or “infusion drink”: the shelves are full of the most diverse types and flavors. In the trade, tea compositions with imaginative names are lined up box after box: “Strawberry Cheesecake”, “Peach Panna Cotta”, “Blueberry Muffin” or “Unicorn Tea” are just a few examples of tea types that definitely do not contain what they are supposed to be are named. Wouldn’t be so appetizing to serve a brewed cheesecake in a cup, would it?
But what’s in it if there’s no muffin or unicorn swimming in the teapot?

Flavor additives are not always synthetic

Anyone who immediately thinks of “chemistry” when they think of flavored tea should read the list of ingredients carefully. A tea with added aroma is not always a mixture of synthetically produced flavors.

The classic “Earl Grey”, for example, is flavored with bergamot essential oil, provided it is of good quality, and many other flavored teas do not require any artificial additives by using natural, highly aromatic ingredients such as citrus peels, spices and dried fruits or essential oils. But this is usually not the case and a supposedly healthy tea quickly becomes a “chemical cocktail”.

What is what: natural, nature-identical or artificial?

Flavorings are roughly divided into three groups and must be declared on the list of ingredients:
Natural flavorings: This includes everything that is produced from plant, animal or microbiological raw materials by distillation, extraction or other processes; for example vanillin from vanilla beans.
Nature-identical flavorings: The name can be the same, such as “vanillin”, but there is a manufacturing process behind it that does not use natural raw materials, but runs completely synthetically. From a chemical point of view, however, such flavoring substances are identical to the substances of the same name of natural origin.
Artificial Flavors: This group includes all flavors that do not occur naturally in food. Some of these are modeled after natural flavors, an example is ethyl vanniline. However, many are often quickly recognized as “artificial”. Just think of the colorful variety of aromas, which with names like “green apple” or “banana” only taste remotely like their natural counterpart.
In addition, there are the aroma extracts already mentioned, which are declared as such by name, for example essential oils and also smoke and smoke aromas.

How much aroma is allowed in the tea?

Many flavored tea blends in particular smell (and taste) very strongly of artificial flavorings and have very little to do with the natural ingredients. In Europe, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is responsible for testing flavorings and setting maximum levels. After successful approval, your panel of experts assigns an “E number” to the additive. Important to know: natural flavorings also have E numbers.

For all these E numbers, it is regulated by law that only as much ends up in the finished food as is harmless to health. But if you buy good quality food, you can do without such additives. And, to be honest: does tea really have to taste like cake?

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