Coffee: Healthy Or Harmful?



The findings on caffeine change so often, I sometimes suspect that they depend on whether the scientist doing the study likes the brew! The latest reports are a mixed bag, but all the findings are important.



The good news: A study from SUNY Downstate Medical Center found that seniors with normal blood pressure who drink four or more cups of coffee a day are less likely to die from heart disease. Caffeine is presumed to be protective by… Continue

OTA-producers in coffee



What organisms are involved in the production of OTA in coffee?



As noted above, certain fungi have ecological associations with certain crop plants, and some processing or storage conditions favour specific fungi - hence certain crops have a tendency to contain particular mycotoxins and not others. Coffee is no exception.



Neither of the OTA-producing species of Penicillium (P. verrucosum and P. nordicum) have been isolated from coffee. P.… Continue

It is with profound sorrow that the Lavazza Group announces that



Cavaliere del Lavoro Emilio Lavazza passed away yesterday.

A member of the family’s third generation, he was an extraordinary captain of industry who devoted 50 years of exemplary leadership to the company.



Born in Turin in 1932, he joined the family business — founded in 1895 by his grandfather Luigi — in 1955. When his father Giuseppe died in 1971,

Emilio was appointed CEO of the… Continue

Costa Rican engineers find solution to brewing coffee in space



Dec 8, 2008 - Two Costa Rican engineering students have a developed a coffee brewing device that can be used in space. So what's the problem you ask? Well apparently since space in confined to a vacuum -(and thus, lacks atmospheric pressure) any heat applied to water causes it to evaporate immediately. Thus making it impossible to brew a cup of coffee under normal conditions. Now for some physics: in order for water to… Continue