Informational Articles

Is Coffee an Aphrodisiac?

Coffee is one of the most unique and revolutionary discoveries of all time. A cup of freshly ground coffee, apart from being a stimulant, has other useful but rarely known facts that are quite astonishing. For example..

• Ground coffee can ward off insects like ants, and slugs and snail.

• It can help you get glossy and healthy locks.

• The smell of coffee freshens up your nose, and can greatly aid in distinguishing different scents.

• Used in a great home remedy for reducing cellulite

• Fresh coffee can mask or reduce odors.

• A great aroma therapy ingredient.

• Smell of freshly ground coffee can turn a woman on.

The last fact indeed is the most interesting fact about coffee. It is indeed true that coffee can turn a person on. A new study found that the smell of freshly ground coffee is one the most arousing for single women. This scientific research conducted by a renowned coffee machine maker De Longhi, sheds some light to the overly used verse at the evening date: “do you want to come in for coffee?”

The research was accomplished by measuring the single women arousal level when looking at various images of men, while smelling different aromas. Aftershave topped the list of the aromas, coffee came in second beating natural scent. Apparently coffee aroma will have a more positive result than body musk; a shocking revelation.

This experiment was conducted at the Mindlab International Laboratory facility in Sussex. The main participants of this biophysical study were female aged 18-57. Their heart rate and skin conductance was measured using ECG (electrocardiogram) and EDR (electro-dermal response). Apparently, bigger coffee fans perceived men as more attractive, intelligent and fun when their images were coupled with freshly ground coffee aroma. Overall, all female, both coffee drinkers and non-coffee drinker, perceived men more attractive when they were smelling the coffee aroma, than with no smell at all.

The coffee aroma is such an evocative smell, but instant coffee won’t do the trick as better as freshly ground coffee, so next time you invite a person in for coffee keep that in mind. Coffees ability to create a turn on has been an inherent fact that was confirmed by research. This explains why more people usually prefer their first date as a coffee date. Instinctively, this perception is indisputable.

On the other hand, another research reveals that caffeine; a stimulant found in coffee, enhances sexual arousal. Scientist did the study using female rats as test subjects, this study revealed the female rats that injected with a shot of caffeine were more motivated than the rats that were not caffeinated. This show the effect of caffeine on sexual arousal.

The two studies done indicates that coffee aroma, and drinking coffee enhances sexual arousal in women. The fact that female find men more attractive when they smell coffee coupled with the fact that caffeine enhances sexual performance on leads to the conclusion that indeed coffee is a turn on.

How Commercial Coffee Machines Work

If you are interested in how commercial coffee machines work then you will be interested to know that all coffee machines work in a similar manner. First of all water will be boiled and then dripped over the coffee grounds. Liquid is then passed through the coffee grounds and then it steeps and mixes with oils that are in the coffee. The liquid usually passes through a filter in order to prevent the grounds from draining. This liquid is then passed into the decanter that is holding it. The following are some of the technologies that are used in coffee making.

Percolation is how commercial coffee machines work and this is an improvement of the stovetop boilers that were being used earlier. The interior heating element in such a machine is used to activate its boiler. When water has reached the boiling point, there is pressure that builds up in a pot and this pushes water through the stem of the machine. This stem feeds the water towards the top and this water will then come out of this stem and into a basket that is holding the coffee grounds. After water has seeped through this basket, the coffee grounds are saturated and the flavor from the coffee grounds is pulled and it goes into a basin.

This percolation is done at a time that is pre-programmed and once the pot has finished brewing the coffee, this process stops. Percolating is a process that produces very good coffee and such a machine is popular with many coffee shops. The drip coffee maker is also how commercial coffee machines work and basic gravity is used in brewing the pot of coffee. The way in which the machine works is by pouring water into a certain reservoir depending upon the amount of cups that a person would like to brew.

When you turn on the machine, there is the heating element that is used in raising the water temperature. This creates a vacuum between this heated water and the tube that is carrying the heated water from a reservoir to the spigot. The outlet will then dispense the water into a filter basket and it is then mixed with the coffee that has been premeasured. The coffee and the water will then blend together and flow from the filter into the pot.

To be able to understand how commercial coffee machines work, most of the establishments that brew coffee use high capacity drip machines. A large filter is used to load the coffee and then it is set between an outlet and a unit that is holding the coffee. Dedicated water supply is used by these commercial machines and water flows into the boiler and fills it up completely depending upon an amount that is required to brew the batch. Water is heated just like in a drip machine and it then flows from a reservoir and into a coffee basket. The coffee that has been brewed will then be dispensed one cup at a time and this is how commercial coffee machines work.

Decaffeinated Coffee has always suffered from the challenge of maintaining the same qualities and flavor characteristics as regular coffee but without the caffeine. Many people choose decaffeinated coffee so that they can still enjoy a cup of coffee without experiencing the effects caffeine has on the body. This is the reason why it is important to make sure that the decaffeinated coffee is processed in way which ensures the quality and freshness is not interfered with. There are various methods used to extract caffeine from coffee beans. Here is a description of each below -

Swiss Water method

In this process, the caffeine is extracted using coffee flavored water together with carbon filters and it is proved to produce 99.9% coffee beans free of caffeine. This process is very simple and is one hundred percent chemical free hence it does not interfere with the original quality of the coffee apart from removing the caffeine.

Direct method

In this process the decaffeinated coffee beans are produced by soaking the beans in a solvent that absorbs the caffeine. The solvents that are mostly used are ethyl acetate and methylene chloride. After the caffeine has been removed, the solvent that now contain the caffeine is separated from the beans and this is done repeatedly until the beans are free of caffeine.

Indirect method

In this method the beans are soaked in water, then a solvent is used to remove the caffeine from the water that was used in soaking. The coffee beans are taken through this cycle until a given percentage of caffeine is extracted which can take some time.

Decaf Stick method

This is very different from all the other decaffeinating processes in that with this method they use the Decaf stick after brewing the coffee. The stick is inserted in a cup of coffee and used to stir it for a few seconds. The Decaf stick absorbs the caffeine from the coffee meaning that the quality of coffee is not interfered with in any way, however the effectiveness isn’t guaranteed.

The best decaffeinated coffee is one that will come from the natural caffeine free coffee that has exactly the same qualities as traditional coffee beans. Scientists have now discovered a coffee plant that produces coffee free of caffeine. This is promising to be the future of decaffeinated coffee.