Welcome to Part 2 of Coffee Myths Debunked! We are here to share another 5 myths about coffee. If you haven't seen Part 1 yet, we recommend that you check it out here.
1. Coffee Will Stunt Your Growth
It's true! No scientific study has shown a link between drinking coffee and a loss in bone growth for children (or even any significant calcium loss in adults).
Will coffee affect young children in other ways? Yes, it can. Caffeine tolerance for kids under the age of 12 is much lower than it is for adults and shouldn’t exceed 100mg a day from any source. The effects too much caffeine can have on kids range from irritability and mood changes to sleep issues.
With all of that said, coffee will not stunt your growth.
2. Storing Coffee in the Fridge Will Make It Last Longer
While this isn't true, storing your coffee in the refrigerator actually exposes your coffee to moisture and odors and will result in a stale brew, even if the beans are stored whole. So no, cold storage in the fridge won’t make your coffee last longer. It pretty much has the opposite effect.
The most simple way, however, is to simply just drink all of the coffee!
3. Coffee is Highly Addictive
So we might know a lot of people who start drinking coffee don’t stop (obviously we haven’t), but that doesn’t mean your morning caffeine routine falls into the “highly addictive substance” category. Despite people casually using the word “addicted” with their coffee habit, the caffeine in coffee just isn’t that kind of stimulant.
While a mild headache and a case of the grumps on a coffee-less Monday may have you feeling pretty low, it doesn’t compare to withdrawal from an actual addictive substance.
4. European Coffee Isn’t From Europe
Coffee beans actually do not grow in Europe. They grow in Central and South America, East and West Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Asia, and Hawaii. So if you’re buying expensive imported coffee from Italy, France, or anywhere outside of these regions, you’re likely getting pretty bad coffee (unless you live in Italy or France, that is). That's because the best-tasting coffee is always roasted shortly before it's consumed.
If your coffee beans say they're from Ethiopia, that's where they were grown. If the bag says they're from somewhere in Europe, it likely means the coffee was roasted there, and that's bad. Roasting brings out the flavors in coffee, but those flavor compounds start to break down shortly after they're roasted.
5. Coffee Is Not a Bean
Technically, coffee is the endosperm (pit) of a special kind of berry, typically from the coffee plant. Initially, it's wrapped in a thin red fruit that's peeled off during the cleaning process.
However, this doesn't mean you can plant your beans and grow your own coffee trees. The beans we grind up and brew are not plantable anymore, due to the roasting. Even if they were, it can take years before a coffee plant is mature enough to produce the berries that contain the coffee bean.
Conclusion
The next time you hear about one of these coffee myths, you will be the smartest person in the room! Let everyone know of your new coffee knowledge, and impress to people who didn't know about these.
If reading this blog has made you thirsty for some delicious coffee, you can check out our coffee blends here!
