Category: Caffeine

It’s one of the most wonderful times of the year! That’s right, spring has sprung and the latest edition of the National Coffee Data Trends (NCDT) report is here.

Commissioned by the National Coffee Association (NCA) since 1950, the NCDT report is the longest-running study of American consumers’ coffee drinking patterns. Polling is conducted twice per year, with results released in the spring and fall, giving coffee insiders exclusive access to in-depth and up-to-date data on consumers’ coffee behaviors and also their overall perceptions, economic situations, and more.

For more than two decades, coffee has been America’s favorite beverage, and that shows no signs of changing. 65% of Americans drank coffee in the past day – more than any other beverage, including bottled or tap water!

While coffee’s overall popularity has not shown much change in recent years, this spring’s report provides an important window into coffee trends as consumers continue to emerge from the disruptions of the last several years. Spring 2023 NCDT results show that past-day coffee consumption is above pre-pandemic levels for all age groups, but some other effects remain.

The pandemic has not changed how much coffee Americans drink – 1.9 cups per person or 2.9 cups per past-day coffee drinker, about the same as in January 2020. However, the pandemic has had lingering effects on where Americans drink coffee.

In the new report, 83% of past-day coffee drinkers had coffee at home, up by 4% since January 2020. By comparison, 35% had coffee away from home, continuing to rebound from a low of 31% in January 2021, but down from 41% in January 2020.

Other changes in the Spring 2023 NCDT can be attributed to seasonal swings. Unsurprisingly, colder temperatures when polling was conducted in January 2023 resulted in some warmer cups – 84% of past-day coffee drinkers had a hot coffee, up 10% from polling in July 2022 (published in October).

Consumption of cold coffee overall (a category that includes both iced and frozen blended beverages) decreased by 13% from July 2022 to January 2023, while iced coffee itself decreased by 40%. Interestingly, frozen coffee doesn’t show the same swing, with consumption remaining steady at 11% since the summer.

Like coffee’s overall popularity, some other findings in today’s report show remarkable staying power. Drip coffee makers have been the most popular preparation method for at least the last 13 years since the question was first included in the NCDT. 40% of past-day coffee drinkers have had coffee prepared in a drip brewer.

In second place, 28% of past-day coffee drinkers used a single-cup brewer, holding steady with performance over the last few years.

Our NCDT insights don’t end there! That’s just a small sip of the data and analysis available in the full report. Stay tuned here on the NCD blog for more sneak peeks and click here to purchase the NCDT consumer research series.

Does coffee make you lose weight? Can it cure a hangover? Does it make you poop?

Millions of Americans drink coffee every day, but it remains one of the most misunderstood beverages on the planet.

The editors at Thrillist took a look at the facts behind a few widely-held coffee myths and misconceptions, according to science:

Related: 11 Coffee Myths You Should Stop Believing Immediately

New research suggests that coffee’s potential health benefits are about more than caffeine.

via ScienceDaily

Rutgers scientists have found a compound in coffee that may team up with caffeine to fight Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia — two progressive and currently incurable diseases associated with brain degeneration.

The discovery, recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests these two compounds combined may become a therapeutic option to slow brain degeneration.

Lead author M. Maral Mouradian, director of the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Institute for Neurological Therapeutics and William Dow Lovett Professor of Neurology, said prior research has shown that drinking coffee may reduce the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.

While caffeine has traditionally been credited as coffee’s special protective agent, coffee beans contain more than a thousand other compounds that are less well known.

The Rutgers study focused on a fatty acid derivative of the neurotransmitter serotonin, called EHT (Eicosanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamide), found in the bean’s waxy coating. The researchers found that EHT protects the brains of mice against abnormal protein accumulation associated with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia.

Mouradian said further research is needed to determine the proper amounts and ratio of EHT and caffeine required for the protective effect in people.

Read the full post at Read the full post at ScienceDaily

Journal Reference: 

1. Run Yan, Jie Zhang, Hye-Jin Park, Eun S. Park, Stephanie Oh, Haiyan Zheng, Eunsung Junn, Michael Voronkov, Jeffry B. Stock, M. Maral Mouradian. Synergistic neuroprotection by coffee components eicosanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamide and caffeine in models of Parkinson’s disease and DLB. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2018; 201813365 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1813365115

via Bill Murray, NCA President & CEO on LinkedIn

Daylight savings time is over — will you be grabbing an extra cup of coffee this afternoon?

A recent article in National Geographic looks at the latest research behind why you love (or don’t love) coffee.

Spoiler alert: It’s in your genes!

While regular coffee consumption may build up a tolerance to caffeine over time, some people are just naturally more sensitive than others.  A genetic variation may explain why some people struggle with anxiousness and insomnia after an extra espresso, while fast caffeine metabolizers are ready reach for another cup.

“What we’re finding is that we have built-in genetic factors that help us with self-regulating our caffeine intake,” says Marilyn Cornelis, a caffeine researcher at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. “It’s interesting how strong of an impact our genetics have on that.”

Caffeine may also be influencing some people’s sensory pathways in ways we don’t yet fully understand, Reed notes. Even the sensory experience of coffee is controlled by your sense of taste and smell — another set of factors that are influenced by our genes, NatGeo reports.

The article also reminds us that people who smoke (or use nicotine) metabolize caffeine more quickly, providing a scientific understanding of the negative health association behind “coffee and a cigarette” for so many years.

This was one of the key misconceptions that something that stood in the way of public awareness of coffee’s health benefits — until relatively recently.

Now, overwhelming scientific evidence, supported by the World Health Organization and the FDA’s Dietary Guidelines, shows that coffee can he a part of a healthy lifestyle.

Related: 11 Coffee Myths to Stop Believing Immediately 

Plus, did you know that most of the health benefits from coffee really kick in when you have your third cup? So that extra cup of coffee this afternoon might help in more ways than one!

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Read more: Do you love or loathe coffee? Your genes may be to blame.

Learn what the science says coffee, caffeine, and your health

New research identifies three main groups of caffeine sensitivity among individuals.

Genetic differences help explain why everyone experiences coffee’s effects differently.

via Coffee & Health

Coffee drinkers fall into one of three major groups based on their caffeine sensitivity, according to physician and author Dr J.W. Langer, in a new report authored for the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC).

The report, “Genetics, Metabolism and Individual Responses to Caffeine,” draws on existing research to explain how the body metabolizes caffeine, why some people are more affected by caffeine than others, and how healthcare professionals can take this into account when advising patients.

An individual’s response to caffeine is likely determined by two main genetic factors:

1. Whether their liver can metabolize caffeine quickly or slowly^1-3
2. Whether they carry a genetic variation that makes their central nervous system more sensitive to caffeine’s stimulating effects^1,4-8

Based on these genetic factors, Dr. Langer has proposed three descriptive levels of overall caffeine sensitivity:

High sensitivity to caffeine

Slow-metabolism in the liver and high binding in the central nervous system. Even small amounts of caffeine will cause a stimulating effect and higher doses may cause sleep problems, as seen in a minority of people.

Regular sensitivity to caffeine

The balance between caffeine inactivation in the liver and binding in the central nervous system means that the individual can typically drink 2-5 cups of coffee during the day without adverse reactions or sleep disturbances. Caffeine is normally not recommended in the evening, but individual differences prevail, as seen in most people.

Low sensitivity to caffeine

Fast-metabolisers of caffeine. Higher intakes can be consumed, (although healthcare professionals should advise that they still stay within the EFSA guidelines of no more than five cups of coffee per day⁹). Coffee drinking before bedtime does not typically disturb sleep.

View the full PDF

Dr. Langer, author of the report, explains:

“It’s common for people to ask their doctor questions such as why they are kept awake by one cup of coffee, while their partner easily falls asleep after five cups. The answer is that we are all unique coffee drinkers. Our genetic make-up programmes our reaction to caffeine, just as it programmes our hair colour and eye colour.”

An individual with low sensitivity to caffeine probably will not experience the typically desired effects of caffeine, such as wakefulness, alertness, and increased concentration. It is important for healthcare professionals to stress that fast metabolisers should not exceed the recommended daily caffeine intake trying to achieve the desired effects.

Dr. Langer continued: “Most people will self-moderate their caffeine intake based on their personal experience of what they can tolerate. However it’s important that those with a low sensitivity to caffeine stay within the recommended daily caffeine intake of up to 400mg caffeine, which is equivalent to around five cups of coffee.”

Read the full report.

References

1. Nehlig A. (2018) Inter-individual differences in caffeine metabolism and factors driving caffeine consumption Pharmacol Rev. 70(2):384-41.
2. Sachse C. et al. (1999) Functional significance of a C–>A polymorphism in intron 1 of the cytochrome P450 CYP1A2 gene tested with caffeine. Br J Clin Pharmacol, 47(4): 445-9.
3. Denden S. et al (2016) Gender and ethnicity modify the association between the CYP1A2 rs 762551 polymorphism and habitual coffee intake: evidence from a meta-analysis. Genet Mol Res, 15(2).
4. Yang A. et al. (2010) Genetics of caffeine consumption and responses to caffeine. Psychopharmacol, 211(3):245-257.
5. Retey J.V. et al. (2007) A genetic variation in the adenosine A2A receptor gene (ADORA2A) contributes to individual sensitivity to caffeine effects on sleep. Clin Pharmacol Ther, 81:692–8.
6. Childs E. et al. (2008) Association between ADORA2A and DRD2 Polymorphisms and Caffeine-Induced Anxiety, Neuropsychopharmacol, 33(12): 2791–2800.
7. Rogers P.J. et al. (2010) Association of the anxiogenic and alerting effects of caffeine with ADORA2A and ADORA1 polymorphisms and habitual level of caffeine consumption. Neuropsychopharmacol, 35(9): 1973-83.
8. Cornelis M. et al. (2007) Genetic polymorphism of the adenosine A2A receptor is associated with habitual caffeine consumption. Am J Clin Nutr, 86: 240-244.
9. EFSA (2015) Scientific Opinion on the Safety of Caffeine, EFSA Journal, 13(5):4102

Dr. J.W. Langer  is a physician, author, and media commentator. He is a clinical pharmacology lecturer at Copenhagen University’s Medical School and the author of several books on nutrition, blood pressure, exercise, healthy lifestyle, and self-care. He has over 25 years’ experience in translating hard science into everyday language and is frequently invited to provide his expert commentary on television, radio and in newspapers, discussing issues such as nutrition, exercise, health and wellness.

Coffee can make meetings tolerable more productive – and positive

Coffee Brews Better Group Performance, UC Davis Study Finds

First Research on the Effects of Caffeine on Group Work

The following post was originally published by UC Davis News

By Brad Hooker and Julia Ann Easley 

Planning a meeting? Serving coffee can focus group discussion, boost involvement and leave members feeling better about their own and others’ participation.

Those are the findings of new research on the effects of caffeine on group performance from the Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Davis.

Decades of coffee research have explored its effects on the individual, but this study is the first on the effects on performance in group tasks.

“If you look at where coffee’s being consumed, a significant amount happens in group settings,” says Rao Unnava, dean of the management school and co-author of the study with Vasu Unnava, an adjunct assistant professor at the school and his wife.

“Coffee With Co-workers: Role of Caffeine on Evaluations of the Self and Others in Group Settings,” is the first research study by management school professors to be published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, an international scientific journal.

Caffeine and group performance

The Unnavas and their research partner, Amit Singh, a graduate student at The Ohio State University, conducted two experiments, each involving about 70 undergraduates, at a large Midwestern university.

In the first experiment, small groups had coffee together about 30 minutes before discussing an article about the Occupy movement and making recommendations about the topic’s inclusion in a competition for discussion topics in graduate school. Other groups had their coffee after the discussion.

Participants who had the coffee before the discussion rated their groups’ and their own performance more positively.

One question about the act of drinking coffee nagged the researchers:

“Is it the caffeine in the coffee or the simple act of consuming coffee together than made people feel positive?” Vasu Unnava wondered.

Drinking coffee is linked to more positive attitudes and alertness

More relevant discussion

In the second experiment, all the participants had a cup of coffee together before the discussions. But some groups got caffeinated coffee, and others got decaffeinated coffee.

In keeping with the results of the first experiment, the groups who had the caffeinated coffee rated their own participation and their attitude toward group members more positively than those who had the decaffeinated coffee. They also expressed more of a willingness to work with the group again and a higher level of alertness.

Additionally, coding of audio recordings from the discussions showed that the groups that had caffeinated coffee generated more statements relevant to the topic.

Rather than proclaiming caffeine as the ultimate catalyst for better group work, the researchers pointed to the increased level of alertness as being the mechanism for the positive effects.

Advancing coffee science

The new study adds to the body of research being done at the new UC Davis Coffee Center, the first multidisciplinary university research center to address the challenges and needs of the coffee industry through a holistic approach to coffee science and education.

Related reading & resources

Is serving coffee the secret to a productive meeting?
The Daily Mail 

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