Coffee

With Milk or Black – How Do You Drink Your Coffee?

How you drink your coffee can be a very personal thing. Some people are extremely sensitive, for example, about the type of milk or cream or they use. Others are very particular about sweeteners, syrups, etc. So how do you drink your coffee?

This post will focus mainly on alternative milk products and black coffee. Both options are just as valid as tried-and-true cream and sugar. If you are looking for an alternative to regular milk or nondairy creamers, we may have something here that would interest you.

Soy Milk

Milk derived from soybeans is one of the oldest non-dairy milk products in the world. Its history dates back to fourth century China and a product known as soy wine. Modern soy milks are quite popular among those who maintain a plant-based diet.

Regular soy milk heats up much more quickly than coffee, resulting in an unusual texture. However, there are some brands whose formulas have been designed to act more like regular milk in terms of heating and steaming. Soy milk offers a slightly sweet and nutty taste with a smooth and shiny finish.

Nut Milks

If you are not into soy, you can try hazelnut or almond milk. Both kinds of milk are derived by soaking the nuts in water before blending the entire mixture and straining out the solids. Almond milk has a sweet taste, though it separates from coffee rather easily. Hazelnut milk is also sweet and a bit nutty. It will not give you much volume if you are looking to create a bit of froth by steaming.

Rice Milk

You might try rice milk if you’re looking for something that is low in fat and cholesterol-free. It works well enough in coffee, but it is thick and starchy. It also will not add any sweetness to your coffee. Keep that in mind if coffee’s natural bitterness is a problem for you.

Black Coffee

You could go completely radical and drink your coffee black. One way to get around the bitterness of hot brewed black coffee is to cold brew it instead. Cold brewing brings out all the natural flavors of the coffee with less bitterness and even a touch of sweetness.

Going black offers a number of health benefits as well. For starters, you do not get the extra calories and ingredients that come with milks, creamers, and sweeteners. Straight black coffee is very low in calories as well. And by the way, all of the health benefits of drinking coffee you’ve already heard about relate to black coffee.

Drinking your coffee black can help increase brain power and cognitive functioning over time. It has also been shown to improve memory and decrease the risk of developing dementia-related diseases. Regular consumption of black coffee reduces Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s risks substantially.

Studies have shown that black coffee can:

  • improve liver performance
  • aid weight loss efforts
  • improve cardiovascular health
  • decrease diabetes risk
  • improve performance during workouts.

Many of the health benefits linked to black coffee are directly related to all the antioxidants it contains. Coffee’s caffeine content certainly doesn’t hurt either.

Have It Your Way

There isn’t just one way to drink coffee. If you prefer regular creamer and sugar, more power to you. Perhaps you’d like to try one of the alternative milk products instead. If you want something completely different, black coffee might be the way to go. Here at Galaxie Coffee, it’s all good. Contact us to learn more about setting up beverage service in your workplace.

Drinking Coffee Before Your Workout – Why it’s Recommended

Do you have a regular workout routine that you follow? If so, is there some particular food or beverage you consume just prior to your workout? We ask because it turns out that coffee might be the perfect pre-workout beverage thanks to the properties of caffeine.

Caffeine is a stimulant and, to some extent, a psychoactive drug. It is certainly not as powerful as other psychoactive substances, but caffeine still stimulates the brain and body in several ways. That could turn out to be a particularly good thing where exercise is concerned.

Benefits of Pre-Workout Coffee

Numerous studies looking into the effects of caffeine on the body suggest that drinking coffee before your workout could help you make the most of your exercise time. Here are just a few of the potential benefits of a pre-workout coffee, compliments of the Very Well Fit website:

Caffeine helps burn fat during exercise
Caffeine boosts metabolism
Caffeine boosts performance during exercise
Caffeine improves mental focus
Caffeine reduces muscle pain.

All of these properties of caffeine are believed to enhance the benefits of working out regularly. As always, the ideal scenario involves drinking your coffee black. Once you start adding sugar, creamer, and syrup to your morning cup, you might very well be negating some of the benefits of drinking the coffee to begin with.

Coffee and Working Memory

Another thing to consider is that daily exercise leads to the release of certain brain chemicals that are believed to improve what is known as working memory. Working memory is that which allows us to store and recall certain kinds of information linked to language and perception.

Another study shows that a cup of coffee is equivalent to 20 minutes of moderate exercise in terms of its benefits to the brain. It stands to reason that combining regular exercise with coffee would be even better for the brain than either one alone. So in essence, a cup of coffee before you work out only enhances the benefits of exercise for improving working memory.

That same study shows that coffee drinkers do better than their non-coffee drinking counterparts on memory tests. Moreover, the disparity between coffee drinkers and nondrinkers mirrors the disparity between people who exercise and those who do not. All of this seems to suggest that combining regular exercise with a pre-workout coffee is particularly good for working memory.

Another Reason to Love Coffee

The more we learn about the health benefits of coffee, the more we appreciate what is arguably the world’s most popular beverage. Knowing that a pre-workout coffee can improve performance is just another reason to love it.

Galaxie Coffee has been serving the greater New York area with office coffee service for many years. We would be happy to serve your workplace as well. Contact us to learn more about our coffees, juices, bottled water, and break room supplies. We even provide coffee and water equipment along with janitorial supplies.

Why Coffee Should Be Part of Your Lifestyle of Wellness

Regular readers of our blog are familiar with the many scientific studies demonstrating the health benefits of coffee. We have chronicled many of those benefits over the years. Stepping back and thinking about all of the research reminds us of how much coffee can contribute to overall wellness.

If you are committed to a lifestyle of wellness, is regular coffee consumption part of your routine? If not, we want to encourage you to reconsider. The many benefits of regular coffee consumption can help you live your best life by contributing to wellness.

Bear in mind that wellness is essentially the state of being healthy. The more healthy you are over long stretches of time, the more your lifestyle reflects wellness. Let us talk about that in relation to coffee’s contribution.

Coffee and Weight Maintenance

Many of our modern health problems are the direct result of excess weight. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity around the world has tripled over the last 45 years. Some 39% of adults are overweight; 13% are obese. Worse yet, the WHO says that obesity is largely preventable.

How does coffee play into this? A study out of the University of Nottingham released in 2019 concludes that regular coffee consumption may aid weight loss and proper weight maintenance. The study suggests that coffee might encourage the production of brown adipose tissue, also known as ‘brown fat’. Brown fat produces heat by burning calories where white fat has a tendency to store calories. If the research is correct, coffee is an effective tool for managing one’s weight.

Other Benefits of Coffee Consumption

In addition to being a potential weight management tool, coffee has proven to have other health benefits that can add to your wellness as well. According to John Hopkins Medicine, the right amount of daily coffee consumption could:

  • help you live longer
  • help your body better process glucose
  • help prevent heart failure
  • help avoid Parkinson’s disease
  • improve liver health
  • strengthen your DNA
  • reduce your chances of colon cancer
  • decrease your risk of Alzheimer’s disease
  • decrease your risk of stroke.

Obviously, all of these benefits add to the overall goal of wellness. If that goal is to be as healthy as possible as long as possible, it makes sense to adopt strategies that contribute to your long-term health. Coffee seems to do that when consumed in moderation. The key is to not overdo it – especially where sweeteners, creamers, and syrups are concerned.

We Want You to Be Well

Here at Galaxie Coffee, we are committed to promoting the health benefits of coffee for the very simple reason that we want you to be well. We get that coffee tastes great and offers that jolt of caffeine in the morning. But those benefits are secondary to the health benefits regular coffee consumption offers. If you want to know more about bringing our coffee service into your workplace, give us a call today and let us chat.

Check Out This Great New Use for Coffee Grounds

Over the years, coffee drinkers have come up with some pretty creative ways to use their coffee grounds. Our grandmothers and mothers fertilized their gardens and kept pests away with coffee grounds. Pet owners have deployed them to repel fleas. And who among us hasn’t used coffee grounds to neutralize odors?

There is a new and exciting way to use coffee grounds that is just now getting attention. What is it? Coffee grounds – or more specifically the oil extracted from them – can be added to plastics to create a stronger, more durable product. Researchers say this is exciting news because the oil is a waste product of a waste product. There is no market for it, so it normally goes to waste.

Making PLA Better

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a thermoplastic product derived from renewable sources. Corn starch is one of the more common materials used to produce PLA. According to a 2016 market research report produced by Ceresana, PLA is one of the most commonly used bio plastics in the healthcare industry. It is used to create a variety of medical supplies and equipment.

Despite its widespread use and durability, PLA can be difficult to work with in a 3D printing environment. Adding the oil from coffee grounds solves that problem. The oil makes PLA much easier to work with, thus facilitating 3D printing of all sorts of plastic medical supplies. It is all rather fascinating.

How They Do It

To make it all work, oil is extracted from used coffee grounds through a fairly simple process. That oil is then transformed into a bio diesel, which is subsequently introduced to liquid PLA. The combined materials form a string-like plastic that is inserted into a 3D printer along with a resin. The 3D printer creates the desired object by placing layer upon layer of the plastic thread in place.

Most exciting is that researchers have been able to increase the strength of PLA by some 400% just by adding coffee oil at a ratio of 20% by volume. That is significant, to say the least. Who knew that a little bit of coffee oil could do so much for a bio plastic?

Researchers think their discovery could reach well beyond the medical equipment industry. They see an entirely new market for enhanced PLA, especially in sporting goods. Time will tell if that new market comes to fruition.

More Than Just a Beverage

The more we learn about coffee, the more we come to understand that it is more than just a beverage. Coffee is truly a wonder substance with many applications outside the kitchen. Hopefully the new, coffee-enhanced PLA will prove just how versatile coffee is.

In the meantime, we invite you to contact us here at Galaxie Coffee to learn how we can service your office with a full range of coffees, teas, juices, and breakroom supplies. We are the greater New York area’s number one source for all things coffee.

Coffee-Infused Foods: Cooking with Your Favorite Beverage

Coffee is one of the world’s most popular beverages. It is found virtually worldwide, from street markets in Ethiopia to high-end coffee shops in Europe. But did you know that coffee isn’t just for drinking? Plenty of professional chefs and hobbyists are coming up with great ways to cook with it. Their coffee-infused foods are to die for.

If you are someone who likes to be creative in the kitchen, it is well worth digging around for a few coffee-inspired recipes. Coffee is a very tasty ingredient for all sorts of foods. It works well with sweets, breads, meats, and more.

Note that some recipes call for instant coffee. This is the one area where coffee-infused foods can be tricky. Why? Because instant coffee is traditionally made with robusta rather than arabica beans. They produce a more bitter flavor and have twice the amount of caffeine. Instant coffee has a more defined impact on the taste of coffee-infused foods.

As a Dry Rub

One of the more interesting uses of coffee as a cooking ingredient is to combine it with a number of spices to create a dry rub. It even works well straight up. Using coffee as a dry rub allows the flavor of the roasted, ground coffee to seep into meat prior to cooking.

One suggestion is to combine ground coffee with cocoa and a touch of sea salt. Rub the mixture into a high-quality steak and let the meat sit for several hours in the fridge. Throw the steaks on the grill and let them cook to your desired level of doneness. You will have a delectable steak that reminds you of cappuccino.

Coffee in Your Baked Goods

Maybe you prefer to bake. No worries. Coffee is a great ingredient for all kinds of baked goods. For example, take your typical chocolate chip cookie. A good chocolate chip recipe can be enhanced with just a touch of instant coffee. If German chocolate layer cake is more to your liking, liquid coffee is a great ingredient for the frosting.

Coffee and Savory Foods

Savory foods are a better vehicle for coffee than people realize. For example, how do you feel about fish tacos? A good piece of fish mixed with a few vegetables and a tasty slaw combine to make an excellent taco that satisfies. Cook that fish with some coffee and you will knock it out of the park.

We can go on and on about coffee-infused foods. Here’s the point: coffee works equally well as a beverage and an ingredient for your cooking. We encourage you to look around online for some interesting recipes and give it a try.

As experts in office coffee delivery service, we are fully confident that you will find some great ways to cook and bake with your favorite beverage. Galaxie Coffee can even provide you with some exotic blends you can’t get anywhere else. Ask about them when you call to arrange coffee service for your office.

Coffee and Carbs: A Simple Answer to a Simple Question

Google the phrase “coffee and carbs” and you will find a ton of articles discussing whether you should limit coffee consumption while restricting your intake of carbohydrates. Perhaps this is due to some of the carb restrictions imposed by diets like the popular keto diet. Well know that you have nothing to worry about from coffee itself.

The idea behind restricting carbs is to encourage your body to turn to fat as a source of energy. As the thinking goes, the more the body relies on fat, the easier it is to lose weight. Limit carbohydrates and the body has no choice but to turn to fat as an energy source.

The point of this post is not to discuss the pros and cons of a low-carb diet. That is best left to nutrition experts. Rather, we simply want to address the question of whether coffee should be excluded from a low-carb diet. In a word, no it should not.

No Carbs in Black Coffee

Black coffee has virtually no carbs. Neither does straight espresso or Americano. Carbohydrates do not come into play until you start adding extras like cream and sugar. Indeed, those additives can be quite carb-heavy, which is why some diet experts tell people to avoid coffee. They assume that their clients are unwilling to drink their coffee black.

If black coffee works for you, drink it to your heart’s content and do not worry about carbs. Keep reading for a few suggestions for getting around the bitterness of a typical drip-brew coffee.

Try Cold Brew Coffee

One of the best ways to avoid the bitterness of black coffee is to go with cold brew. The cold brew process results in a less bitter coffee that some people even describe as slightly sweet. Such sweetness really depends on the brand of coffee you choose, but less bitterness will be consistent across the board.

Drinking cold brew with a couple of ice cubes further reduces the bitter taste. As an added benefit, it is quite refreshing. Drinking an ice-cold cup of cold brew can be just what you are looking for after a heavy workout.

Switch to a Lighter Roast

Another thing you can do to reduce the bitterness of black coffee is switch to a lighter roast. A lighter roast will give you a lighter color and a less obtrusive taste, so you should be able to get away without added sugar or cream. If you still want to add something, look for a non-dairy creamer with a low-carb count or choose a non-dairy milk – like, almond or soymilk. Non-dairy milks tend to be lower in carb content.

Black coffee has almost no carbs. If you are on a low-carb diet, that is good to know. In the meantime, Galaxie Coffee would be more than happy to serve your office anywhere in the greater New York Metro. Contact us to learn more about our coffees, teas, juices, and beverage equipment.

5 International Coffees You’ve Probably Never Heard of Before

Coffee is a truly international beverage consumed in just about every corner of the world. If you are tempted to think that traditional American coffee is the be-all and end-all, it is not. It’s not even close. There are tons of intriguing coffee drinks on nearly every continent. Some you’ve heard of, others you have not.

Below are descriptions of five international coffees we are willing to bet are not on your radar. They are drinks that are, at least in some cases, quite regional. If you are looking to try something different, maybe one of these coffees is for you.

1. Barraquito Coffee – Spain

This coffee drink hails from the Canary Islands in Spain. It is actually a combination of coffee and Licor 43, a well-known Spanish liqueur that is made only by a single-family business located in Cartagena.

It is often described as a coffee cocktail due to how the ingredients are put together. Nothing is mixed. Rather, the ingredients are layered. You start with condensed milk followed by the liqueur. Next is a layer of espresso, then frothing milk and a topping of cinnamon and lemon peel.

2. Cà Phê Trứng – Vietnam

Vietnam’s Cà Phê Trứng is a coffee drink that includes an egg. Yes, you read that correctly. You start by mixing an egg yolk with sweetened condensed milk until it becomes a light and creamy foam. It takes about 10 minutes. Afterward, you pour hot coffee over it. The coffee slowly sinks to the bottom.

3. Kaffeost – Finland

Adventurous types who appreciate Vietnam’s egg coffee might also be interested in trying this gem from Finland. Translated literally as ‘coffee cheese’, Kaffeost is a mixture of hot coffee and a traditional dried cheese known as juustoleipä. You just put the cheese in a wooden mug and then pour in hot coffee. The cheese absorbs some of the coffee.

4. Mazagran – Portugal

Iced coffee lovers, here’s a drink from Portugal that is right up your alley. Mazagran is allegedly the first iced coffee drink ever invented. It is said to have originated in Algeria. At any rate, it is a drink that combines iced coffee with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Lemon juice amounts depend on personal taste. Some have described mazagran has iced coffee lemonade.

5. Kopi Luwak – Southeast Asian

This is perhaps the most unusual coffee drink on our list. Kopi luwak is not made from coffee beans per se, but from partially digested coffee cherries. Mammals known as Asian palm civets eat the cherries for their flavor despite the fact that their bodies do not fully digest them. The cherries are gathered after the civets pass them, then used to make drip coffee, espresso, or a French press brew.

There are some truly interesting coffee drinks found around the world. Here at Galaxie Coffee, we specialize in bringing the best coffee and other beverages to businesses throughout the tri-state area. We would love to add your office to our client list.

Have You Heard of National Cappuccino and Espresso Days?

Doesn’t it sometimes feel like we have a national day for just about everything? We probably do, which brings us to the topic of this post: National Cappuccino Day and its cousin, National Espresso Day. Both are registered with the National Day Calendar as legitimate days of recognition.

We are cool with both days. After all, there are a few things we love to celebrate more than a good cup of coffee. Whether it is cappuccino, espresso, or the tried-and-true American coffee made with a standard pour-over, it is all good. Every day is a great day to enjoy the goodness of coffee.

National Cappuccino Day – Nov. 8

National Cappuccino Day is observed every year on November 8. It is a day for enjoying one of our favorite coffee drinks by whipping up a “frothy, hot cup of cappuccino,” according to the National Day Calendar website. The website goes on to explain cappuccino as a coffee drink consisting of “espresso, hot milk, and steamed milk foam.”

No one really knows the origins of this day as a traditional observance. The good folks at the National Calendar Day have been researching it for years. The best they have been able to come up with is the origins of the drink itself. As for the day, it seems to have been birthed from the coffeehouse craze that began in Seattle a couple of decades ago.

As for the origins of cappuccino, it goes back to Italian monks in the 17th century. In fact, the name of the drink comes from the dark brown hooded frocks worn by the Capuchin monks who allegedly invented the drink.

National Espresso Day – Nov. 23

National Espresso Day is another one of those annual celebrations with unknown origins. A lot of research has gone into discovering when and where it started, but to no avail. However, we do know the origins of the drink. Espresso was birthed in Italy during the early 20th century.

According to the National Espresso Day website, espresso lovers can thank inventor and manufacturer Luigi Bezzera. He is credited with inventing the very first espresso machine that reduced the time it took to create a tasty cup of coffee by introducing pressurized steam. He called his machine the Fast Coffee Machine.

A few years later, the machine and rights to it were purchased by fellow entrepreneur Desidero Pavoni, who patented it and embarked on a marketing blitz that made espresso a household word. The rest, as they say, is history.

Here at Galaxie Coffee, we believe every day is a wonderful day to celebrate espresso and cappuccino. On the other 363 days of the year, your favorite cup of coffee is just as good. So raise a cup to whoever came up with these tasty drinks and the days that celebrate them. In the meantime, feel free to reach out to us to learn more about office coffee and beverage service for your company.

Sources:

1. National Day Calendar – https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-cappuccino-day-october-8/
2. National Espresso Day – https://www.nationalespressoday.com

Coffee and Exercise: Benefits of Imbibing Before You Workout

Coffee and Exercise: Benefits of Imbibing Before You Workout

Image Credit

Previous Galaxie Coffee blog posts have highlighted the health benefits of coffee. This post aims to take things one step further by discussing coffee and exercise. If you have ever found yourself questioning whether or not you should drink a cup of joe before heading to the gym, we have good news: it is probably a good idea.

It’s easy to be concerned about drinking coffee before exercise if you find that your daily dose of caffeine upsets your stomach, causes palpitations, or makes you feel shaky. But rest assured that the same caffeine characteristics known to cause such issues can actually boost your workout.

Below are some of the benefits of drinking coffee just prior to working out. Bear in mind that caffeine can stay in your system for up to six hours after you consume it. Drinking coffee before a workout might be influenced by the actual time of day you exercise.

1. Better Physical Performance

Caffeine is a stimulant that affects everything from your heart to your central nervous system. That is why you feel that sudden burst of energy with your morning cup of coffee. As the caffeine stimulates your nervous system, you’ll have more energy to push through the most difficult part of your workout.

There is also reason to believe that caffeine may suppress the feelings of exertion we all experience during physical activity. In other words, you will perform better because you will not feel like you are working so hard. This could lead to more productive workouts over the long term.

2. More Efficient Calorie Burning

There is some scientific evidence supporting the idea that caffeine makes for more efficient calorie burning. Applied during and after exercise, the science suggests that drinking coffee before your workout will help your body burn more calories. Coffee could very well make it easier for you to employ moderate exercise as a means of weight management.

The one caveat to this benefit is that you do not rely exclusively on exercise and high volumes of caffeine to manage your weight. Effective weight management requires that you also change your diet. By combining moderate exercise and good eating habits over the long term, you will be more successful controlling your weight.

3. You Might Enjoy Exercising

Finally, caffeine encourages the production of certain neurotransmitters in the brain. One of them is dopamine, a chemical your body releases when you are experiencing feelings of pleasure. The research suggests that drinking coffee prior to a workout might actually make exercise more enjoyable. That’s right, you might actually enjoy getting hot, sweaty, and worn down.

Now that you know that caffeine could actually be good for your workouts, there is no longer a need to worry about drinking a cup of coffee on your way to the gym. And while we’re at it, you can enjoy the same benefits at work as well. We can make it happen by delivering high-quality coffee products and other beverages direct to your office.

What Coffee Fits Your Myers-Briggs Personality Type?

There are so many coffee choices these days that it is sometimes difficult to figure out what you want. On those days when you just cannot decide, there’s no need to rely on your taste buds or the opinions of people you neither know nor trust. Instead, why not choose a coffee drink based on your Myers-Briggs personality type?

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a personality typing tool developed by a mother-daughter duo based on the work of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. Without getting into specifics, Katharine Briggs and Isabel Myers believed it was possible to understand a person’s personality based on four functions:

  • Introvert/Extrovert – How you relate to people and your surroundings
  • Intuitive/Observant – How you perceive the world and process information
  • Thinking/Feeling – How you make decisions
  • Judging/Prospecting – How you approach work and planning.

By combining the eight possibilities, Myers and Briggs came up with 16 different personality types represented by letters. Each letter corresponds to one of the dominant personality traits.

Choose Your Coffee by Personality

Now that you understand the basics of Myers-Briggs personality types, let us talk about coffee. We will not go through all 16 personality types for lack of space. But here are a few examples:

ISTJ – People with this personality type are analytical, responsible, hard-working, and trustworthy. The perfect coffee for them is a diluted form of espresso known as Café Americano. It is an uncomplicated and unassuming brew that doesn’t require anything fancy to make it better.

ENTJ – At the opposite end of the spectrum is this personality type, typified by people who are logical, efficient, independent, and strategic in their thinking. The best coffee for them is straight up espresso. A quick shot of espresso gives them all the energy they need to be at their best.

ISFP – This personality type is easily recognized as being gentle, helpful, sensitive, and pragmatic. People who fit this personality type appreciate anything mocha. Whether it is a latte or cappuccino, mocha is that chocolaty drink that gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling.

ENFP – If you are normally creative, spontaneous, enthusiastic, and optimistic, you have this personality type. An affogato might be just what you’re after. You get a delicious shot of espresso with a scoop of vanilla ice cream – just for the adventure.

The whole Myers-Briggs thing is considered pseudoscience by some. Others have attempted to validate it via scientific testing but not managed to come up with a whole lot of support for it. Still, there are a lot of people who swear by their perceived Myers-Briggs personality types. It is good that there is a coffee perfect for each of those types, at least from our perspective.

Regardless of where you fall on the Myers-Briggs personality scale, Galaxie Coffee offers an extensive array of beverages and breakroom products that you are sure to find appealing. Contact us today to learn more about how our in-office delivery service can benefit your entire workplace.