Coffee and health

Is coffee consumption unhealthy?

Not at all. The research is clear. According to the attached 2017 umbrella study, coffee consumption is healthy as long as you don’t drink too much (4 cups a day is fine). Coffee lowers your risk of getting cancer and has a variety of other health benefits.

The only group of people who need to avoid coffee are pregnant women.

On the other hand, there are plenty of people who say “I love coffee, but coffee doesn’t love me!”

I say that! I have to limit my coffee consumption to about 4 cups a week. If I drink more than that, I get abdominal pains.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5696634/?fbclid=IwY2xjawLFddpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFsbHNnbWpBV3VnSmZSWlE5AR5FLphY6llvpIDcXzxzZ9XYrrZFa5X2jFN7dLzlLCECxrsrjPeZKGDOd7F8Mw_aem_aIitbey6QgC2s-Q0qlwoVg

Waste not

I absolutely love this article by Dr. Steffen Schwarz.

To summarize: every part of a coffee cherry can be used. The cherry pulp has a variety of applications after the bean has been removed. The silverskin chaff that comes off during roasting isn’t just garbage. The grounds don’t need to be thrown away after we brew our drinks.

There is so much to think about and discuss!

Conversation in a coffee shop

Historically, coffee houses were places where people talked. They were vibrant hubs of discussion, debate, and intellectual exchange. This was a good thing. Artists, philosophers, students and businesspeople exchanged opinions and self organized into idea creation machines. And why was that? Simply because caffeine is a stimulant with just the right intensity; it sharpens the mind and encourages lively discussion.

At Starbucks in Japan you see a lot of people engaging with the World through their smartphones and laptops. You see others in animated conversations with friends or family. But how often do you see people talking to strangers?

In February 2025, I was traveling with my son in Southern India. We decided to try an Indian Coffee Shop called Cafe Coffee Days. They have a concise menu of coffee and espresso drinks, and we were very happy with the coffees we ordered. At the next table, there was a family of Omanis: a father and 2 sons, about the same age as me and my son. We made eye contact and fell into conversation. Over an hour of coffee-sipping, we chatted about all kinds of things: India, travel, health, economics, culture and politics. It was a good experience.

I’m a pretty shy Canadian. I’m comfortable living here with Japan’s culture of keeping to one’s self. But on the odd occasion when I have chatted with strangers, I have felt happy. If I were to open a cafe, I would hope to encourage conversation between strangers.

As it is, coffee has been a regular part of my adult English classes since I started roasting about 25 years ago.

Another blog

Welcome to Kaiwa Coffee’s blog! Here, I’m going to write my thoughts on coffee. They might be banal, they might be useful. Read my posts from time to time and let me know your thoughts.

I have started – and given up on – lots of blogs over the years. They have represented my thoughts on teaching and my hobbies. One blog I started in 2006 dealt with one of my major interests: pets, specifically responsible pet breeding. I worked hard on that, writing in both English and Japanese. It was well-researched and carefully-written, but nobody ever read my posts! After 5 years or so, I gave up, and in doing so I lost my data including some emotional posts. What a shame! Had I continued writing that blog, I would now have a significant record of my ideas on pet breeding, and might have a few followers as well.

My most successful blog is about teaching. Although few people read it, the posts are valuable to me as a reminder of where my passion for teaching comes from. I would be delighted if you take a look at that blog and give me feedback.

And now I’m writing about coffee. Hopefully my posts will buoy my coffee passion, and maybe yours too.