The Extraction Might Increase the Likelihood of Pregnancy

The University of Newcastle blog shared the results of a study conducted with Australian company Crema Coffee Garage on the caffeine content resulting from various brewing methods. Turns out espresso and cold brew provide the swiftest kicks:

The strongest brew after the espresso method, which extracted 4,200 milligrams of caffeine per litre, was the cold brew at 2,240 milligrams per litre, the stovetop at 2,192 milligrams per litre, French press at 742 milligrams per litre and then the pour over at 692 milligrams per litre.

Using a Colombian single origin bean to minimise variability in the results, the caffeine analysis was led by University chemist, Dr Ian van Altena.

“We compared the brew methods by analysing for caffeine content in each of the brew extracts using high-pressure liquid chromatography,” Dr van Altena said.

That’s potentially handy info for people hoping to procreate. The Telegraph reported on a study this week that indicates that the female partners of blokes who down a good two cups daily are twice as likely to get pregnant. However, since this contradicts previous studies that indicate the opposite, would-be breeders should still proceed with caution:

Dr Channa Jayasena, consultant in reproductive endocrinology at Imperial College London, said: “Previous studies have found that high caffeine intake is bad for your sperm count.

“So it’s really surprising that male coffee drinkers were more likely to get their partner pregnant.

“I would advise expectant dads not to increase their caffeine intake but to wait until we have more evidence.”

Either way, should a baby result, new moms and dads would do well to work at Starbucks. Bloomberg covered the Green Siren’s announcement this week that on top of its relatively generous parental leave policy, it will also now offer a subsidized babysitting benefit to all U.S. employees:

The new benefit, a partnership with childcare provider Care.com Inc., will provide 10 subsidized backup daycare days for parents for instances when regular care falls through. In-home backup childcare will cost $1 an hour or $2 an hour after the 4th child. Care at a daycare center will cost $5 per day.

“We felt like it was important to make this accessible,” said Ron Crawford, vice president of benefits at Starbucks. “We wanted to have as low a possible cost.” Unlike some of Starbucks’s other benefits, which require employees to work 20 hours before they can access them, Care@Work is available to more than 180,000 U.S. employees, regardless of how much they work.

File photo. In July, Kahwa Coffee announced it was planning to open some 130 cafes inside Publix supermarket locations this year.

Florida-based Kahwa Coffee Roasting Co. has big plans, and is hoping to raise $6.5 million to fund them. The St. Pete Catalyst had more:

It’s the first time the 12-year-old St. Petersburg coffee retailer and wholesaler has sought outside investment for the company, although there have been a couple of individual investors who put money into single stores, said Raphael Perrier, who co-owns Kahwa with his wife, Sarah Perrier.

The new capital will be used to add stores — both company-owned and potential franchise operations — as well as increase production and boost marketing, Perrier told St. Pete Catalyst.

“The idea is to get to the next level and take over Florida with coffee,” Sarah Perrier said.

Garden of Coffee’s second Addis roastery and cafe. Photo courtesy of Garden of Coffee.

Ethiopian company Garden of Coffee has opened its latest roastery cafe in Addis Ababa, where brewed coffee, espresso and cold brew are served alongside traditional coffee experiences, combining timeless ritual with gadget-savvy modernity. Per a press release:

A specially designed limestone and marble roasting area was crafted by the Garden of Coffee design team. The ceramic roasters are sunk inside, enhancing the visibility of the roasting process so that guests can be drawn into the roasting experience in a very intimate way.

At any given moment multiple hand roasts are roasting and people will be able to see on screens and on their mobile devices what exactly is being roasted and select the roast they want to taste.

Nikkei Asian Review profiled Nepali farmers Nima Tenjing Sherpa and Raj Kumar Banjara in a report about the small mountainous countries increasing specialty coffee production:

In mid-July, Sherpa and Banjara were at the forefront of Nepal’s first-ever national coffee cupping, a ritual of sorts in which Q-graders identify the quality, characteristics and flavor notes of coffee beans.

Home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest, Nepal offers an ideal climate to grow high-quality beans, experts say. Most of Nepal’s Arabica variety of Bourbon and Typica coffee is grown on rolling, misty mountain slopes at altitudes ranging from 800 meters to 1,600 meters.

Aspiring home roasters looking to save a few bucks can now MacGyver up a roasting machine out of some wood, wiring, a couple electric screwdrivers, a heat gun and a dog bowl. Makezine published the plans:

Various incarnations of the heat gun/dog bowl technique are well documented online. This one takes the concept to the next level. It’s easy to build in a day or two, quick to roast, and, best of all, the roasting process is automated, reliably exposing the entire surface of every bean to the same heat.