Travel Goods Richie

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It’s become a morning tradition—each and every day we wake up and get the day started with a cup of piping hot coffee. It seems that many of us simply can’t live without the stuff. Those quad shot, venti lattes from Starbucks have become an essential part of our morning routines. So just what is it that makes that infamous black sludge sludge so irresistible? The answer is caffeine. Caffeine is a psychoactive stimulant used throughout the world to help us get through the day.

Statistically, around 80% of the world’s population drinks or eats caffeine in some form or other, either in coffee, mate, tea, or chocolate etc. every single day. A whopping 90% of Americans ingest caffeine on a regular day to day basis. Just over half of those intake more than 300 milligrams of the stuff daily. Caffeine seems to make the world go round.

The question becomes then, why is caffeine so necessary and what is it that makes it so appealing? In scientific terms caffeine is known as trimethylxanthine and its molecular formula is C8H10N4O2. As a pure substance, caffeine is odorless and white in appearance and acidic in taste.

The German scientist Friedrich Ferdinand Runger discovered caffeine in the year 1819. He christened it kaffein, given that it could be derived from the beverage coffee.

Caffeine is found in beans, leaves and fruits of various plant species which use it to ward off and even kill certain types of insects.

Caffeine is a stimulant, which means it reacts with the central nervous system, and stimulates awareness, increasing alertness and warding off drowsiness. It also has diuretic properties, meaning that in those unused to its effects it can increase urine production. Caffeine is absorbed within 45 minutes of ingestion. Its half life, varies but within adults it lasts about five hours.

There are various benefits as well as disadvantages to consuming caffeine. Consuming too much caffeine—more than 6,000 mg/day which is a lot considering that the average intake is around 280 mg/day—isn’t recommended. Consuming anything in excess can lead to problems, and caffeine in excess can lead to sleeping disorders and even addiction.

The more caffeine you consume, the more tolerance for it you build, meaning that you have to take more to feel its effects; it’s the same with other drugs. Caffeine tolerance or adaption is developed quickly. It can be addicting. Consumers of large quantities of caffeine do often experience withdrawal symptoms such as headaches and nausea.

When consumed in moderation, caffeine can enhance physical and mental performance. Studies have shown that caffeine can improve endurance in athletes especially in high intensity activities.

Percolated coffee contains around 80-135 mg of caffeine per serving; drip coffee, on the other hand contains 115-175 mg of caffeine. A Starbucks coffee, tall, 12 ounces contains 240 mg of caffeine. Green tea contains 30 mg, while black tea contains 50 mg.

Studies have shown that caffeine, may, potentially have adverse effects on pregnant women. There seems to be some correlation between miscarriages and increased caffeine intake, although there is no direct evidence to prove this.

Caffeine consumption is forbidden by some religions.

Espresso, cappuccino, instant, or macchiato – people have their favorite caffeine fix to start off their day. For some, coffee is already an addiction and it takes more than just a cup of coffee to make them feel energized throughout the day. Just like everything else in life, too much of something really is not good for you. While you can have your regular, daily morning dose of coffee, going overboard may not leave a bad taste on your mouth, but it can have serious physical disadvantages. It has been studied for the past decades that too much caffeine is bad for you. And just how bad is having too much caffeine?

While coffee can indeed make people feel more alert and energized, it is an artificial energy boost because caffeine does not create real energy, but rather it is the chemicals that are doing the work and making the body feel stimulated. In other words, it is just a short-term benefit and when the chemicals are depleted, the short-term stimulation will end, leaving the body as tired as it was before. The body will eventually experience fatigue and additional drowsiness brought about by the surge of energy. The chemicals released through the caffeine only triggers the stress response of the body. Coffee allows the body to use up and consume the stored energy, resulting in physical activeness, faster heartbeat, and mental alertness – all considered to be the good benefits of coffee – but when all this energy is used up, the body experiences the fatigue as the side effect.

Caffeine also confuses and eventually raises blood sugar levels of the body. Apart from the obvious fact that sugar is often added to coffee, even those who take black coffee can have their blood sugar affected. The natural sugars of the body are also triggered by the caffeine with its call for an energy jolt. Sugar tends to be more present in the blood basically just to get the energized and alert effect.

Caffeine also tends to disrupt one’s sleeping pattern. Especially if you have consumed a high caffeine drink with added sugar and other additives such as syrups, flavors or whipped cream, the body will take its time to consume the caffeine and the sugar, keeping you awake throughout the night. The temperature of hot coffee can affect the body’s temperature as well, making you feel hotter as the body heat increases. Over time, dependency and tolerance are some things you have to worry about. Because of tolerance, you no longer get your caffeine fix with just a shot of espresso. Eventually, just like drugs, you will have to increase your intake to get the same effect.

And lastly, just like any other addiction, kicking the habit of coffee addiction has its own withdrawal symptoms. People who are trying to stop or minimize and control their daily consumption of caffeine often experience headaches, irritability and fatigue during the first few days of their withdrawal. Coffee should therefore be consumed in moderation and it may be a good idea to take a break from drinking it every now and then to avoid addiction.

Traveling with a portable latte making kit probably seems crazy, but to those of us for whom quality caffeine consumption equals joy and functionality it’s something to consider. 

I live near Seattle and for years suffered quality coffee depravation (QCD) when traveling. Those great espresso shops that manage to survive on every block in the Northwest and the San Francisco Bay area quickly thin to nothing in other parts of the country, and except for bastions of coffee enlightenment like France and Italy may be impossible to find elsewhere in the world. Certainly, other parts of the world have long coffee traditions but their coffee is generally a different drink entirely, and alien to the palette.  

The attempt by Starbucks to spread through the known universe has made the situation somewhat easier, introducing decent coffee into many nooks and crannies, but Starbucks is not yet ubiquitous, nor is it generally available in room. 

For years my solution was to travel with quality tea. Tea can be quite good. Tea satisfies caffeine cravings. And, quality tea offers a subtle complexity that soothes the soul. However, tea is not coffee, and when I want that coffee intensity, nothing else will do.

Forget those in-room coffee makers that hotels and motels offer. The pre-packaged, weak and bitter brew they produce is nothing more than a caffeine fix. It wakes the body but brings no joy. Fine hotels generally serve quality coffee but the extra cost of the room is a high, high price to pay for a decent cup of coffee. What to do?

Fortunately, with some simple and relatively portable and inexpensive equipment, along with a microwave oven, now common in lodgings, it is possible to create a more than passable imitation of the coffee house classic. Here’s what you’ll need.

A portable coffee brewer. For years I used a plastic press pot also called a French press. Glass is nicer but is too fragile to travel with. That’s the simplest solution. Bring your own coffee, unfortunately pre-ground, but you can’t have everything. Zap a cup of water in the microwave and a couple of minutes later you have redemption.

The press pot has been replaced in my kit by a device called an AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker. The AeroPress looks like a hypodermic designed for a dinosaur. Instead of a needle, though, the coffee maker has a perforated flat end that holds a coffee filter. The AeroPress has one real advantage over a traditional press pot. It’s much easier and less messy to clean. And the coffee it makes is more like an espresso shot, tasting quit different from the brew the press pot produces. Both are good. They’re just different. 

The AeroPress is the better choice for making coffee for a latte. One possible down side of the AeroPress is that it takes some effort to press the plunger down. Pushing slowly helps but it may be more force than some are capable of using. It is not friendly to arthritic joints or smaller people.

Operation is simple. With filter in place, measure coffee into the tube. Place the maker over a coffee cup. Pour hot water in the tube, stir, wait 20 seconds and insert the plunger. Push it down to extract the coffee. The resulting brew is concentrated, not quite as much so as a shot of espresso but nearly so.

If you simply want a coffee, add hot water to desired strength, sweeten or lighten and enjoy. If you love lattes then you need another piece of equipment, a frother. 

The simplest way to make foam is to pour 2/3 of a cup of cold milk into a sealable and microwavable container. A hard plastic travel mug with a tight lid works great, as does a pint or half liter Nalgen bottle. When the milk, make sure that it’s cold, is sealed in, shake the thing for about 30 seconds. Remove the lid and microwave for about 20 seconds to set the foam. Either pour the foamed milk into a cup and add the coffee or pour the coffee directly into the travel mug. Instant, low-tech latte.

Non-fat milk works best but has little flavor. 2% milk is a good compromise between foam and flavor. Whole milk is not friendly to cold frothing. Again, make sure the milk is cold when you start. Warm milk won’t foam.

The shake and bake method makes foam but it isn’t the micro-bubble foam you’d get from an espresso machine. That may be good enough for you. If it’s not, never fear, there are portable frothers that do a better job than many home espresso makers and are light and small enough to pack. The most traveler friendly ones are battery powered mixers. Aerolatte makes a couple of models that come with hard plastic travel cases and run on two AA batteries.

Again, start with cold milk. Insert the frother and mix until you get a good foam. You will need a container with at least twice the volume of the milk you initially pour in. For hot foam, make sure that it is microwavable. No stainless allowed. Once you have whipped your foam into shape, microwave for 10 – 20 seconds, depending on how hot you want your drink. Be careful to not overheat the milk as that will collapse the bubbles. Combine the foamed milk with the coffee. Enjoy.

The motorized frother will actually make stiff enough foam to do a decent cappuccino, while the shake and bake method is only suitable for lattes.