Even More Benefits of Coffee

Article posted in: Diet & Nutrition
coffee types espresso

Today is National Espresso Day, and we’re really excited about it. Really, really excited. Like, so excited our hands are shaking and it’s really hard to sit still because there’s so much great stuff to tell you about espresso and coffee!

You get the idea.

The Leaf has told you about the health benefits of coffee, but a mega study released last week confirms what many of us have known all along—coffee gives life. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health analyzed data gathered during studies of some 200,000 health care workers and found that subjects who drank three to five cups of coffee a day had a 15 percent lower chance of premature death than those who didn’t drink any coffee. Java drinkers had a lower risk of death from a variety of diseases, including Parkinson’s disease, diabetes and heart disease. It’s not the caffeine that seems to be helping people, but rather the bioflavenoids in the beans.

So how do we celebrate this finding today, National Espresso Day? With some espresso facts. First, espresso is the Italian word for fast; the method was devised by an Italian manufacturer who found that forcing steam through finely-ground coffee beans produced a cup of coffee more quickly than pouring water over it. Any coffee bean, regardless of variety or roasting style, can be made via the espresso method.

Turns out it produces a pretty tasty cup, too. Espresso is now the basis for a variety of coffee drinks, including cappuccinos, lattes, frappuccinos, Americanos and cortados. While a single shot of espresso has about 15 calories, a frappucino can be a belly bomb of almost 600 calories.

We enjoy espresso in its purest form: black and frothy, with no sugar or milk. In fact, we’re going to have one right now. And then another later on. Because we’re going to live forever!