Coffee Is Good for Your Heart!

Let's establish something upfront: I'm a nerd with glasses, too many books, and a doctorate. Studying is fun for me. I'm also a teacher (*ahem* former college professor), so I love sharing what I discover from that oh-so-enjoyable research journey. Lucky you.

Welcome to class.

A quick Google search on the health benefits of coffee will give you a wealth of reports from medical professionals, nutritionists, and the opinionated masses. You'll find just as many people saying "coffee = bad" for you as you will touting the nearly miraculous positive impacts of coffee on digestion, the brain, and heart.

But that's not what this post is about. 

Photo by Candice Picard

When I say coffee is good for your heart,
I mean the heart of you,
the essence of your being,
the you-est part of you.

How so?

We live in the most globally integrated, socially aware generation to ever walk the planet.

Thanks to the internet, mobile technologies, the general ease of international travel, and social media, we know what is happening in parts of the world that never came to the attention of our grandparents. Because of this, we have also become more aware of the conditions of life and work for our other-side-of-the-planet neighbors. We've discovered that the reasons some products are so cheap for us to purchase is because the people who manufacture them aren't fairly treated or compensated. And we don't like that. 

Coffee is not exempt from labor exploitation. It's a known problem, and one that is being addressed more and more. This is exciting! 

This is one of the key reasons I chose early on with Red Eye Bistro to work exclusively with small, specialty roasters. Because they are small, there is no hierarchical disconnect between the CEO and the purchaser of unroasted (green) coffee in the countries where it's grown. No, very often, these small roasters can tell me not only the country where the coffee originates, but also the region, the farm, and even the name of the person growing and harvesting the coffee. It's personal. The roasters know these people, and they care about both the quality of the crop and the quality of their lives. So do we.

Specialty coffee is a niche. Because these small roasters tend to buy in smaller quantities, they can be highly selective about the quality of coffee they purchase and the conditions in which it is produced. This translates into a ridiculously tasty cup of java for you and me. It costs more because it's carefully cultivated and because producers are more fairly compensated. Each sip of that goodness is worth every penny. 

Next time you see a bag of specialty coffee from a small roaster and consider why it costs more, what makes it so special, you'll know.

It's because it's so good for your heart. 

 Photo by Zuzana

Cheers, 

Amy, Founder of Red Eye Bistro