Coffee is the beverage most consumed worldwide , and while some warn of the negative effects on health, recent research has found that, on the contrary, its intake can have benefits for the body. According to experts, taking it in moderation can be positive, since it must be taken into account that coffee is a rich source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
When coffee is consumed in the morning, its first benefit is to help us wake up. Its caffeine contents act as a stimulant on the central nervous system, which improves concentration and activates movement.
Research has found that those who drink three to four cups of coffee a day – unsweetened – have a 25 percent lower chance of developing type II diabetes. In addition, coffee is in the sixth place of the 50 foods and beverages that represent a rich source of antioxidants . These properties help protect the body from cell damage that can be caused by free radicals, which are molecules that enter our body either as a result of pollution, poor diet, poor metabolism, among others, and cause cell degeneration and They can cause diseases such as cancer, stroke, or cardiovascular problems.
Coffee is also digestive , as its compounds help stimulate gastric secretion, and activate the production of bile and the contraction of the gallbladder.
Numerous studies have found that those who frequently consume coffee reduce the risks of cognitive decline. This drink is an ally of our intelligence, our memory and in general our mental health. Drinking three to five cups a day can help reduce the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s by up to 65 percent.
It is proven that coffee and its properties can have many health benefits that we can take advantage of through moderate consumption. However, for its effects to be fully good and effective it is very important to pay attention to its companions such as milk, cream or the amount of sugar, since these additions can reduce its effects.
To find out more about different types and qualities of coffee, we have interviewed the people in charge of Café de Don Manuel , a specialty roaster with a great presence on networks and a YouTube channel from which they make this world known and where you can watch a documentary about its history that follows the entire process step by step to make a unique and outstanding product.
How long have you been in the sector and what is your origin?
We have been around since 2014. The objective of the brand is, fundamentally, to offer our customers and friends a quality coffee. Spain has never been known for serving good coffees, so we have a clear focus on specialty coffee. We always talk about coffees with traceability and control from the origin to the cup. We have an exhaustive quality control, and very organized to obtain a product that is very different from the usual ones on the market.
Over the years, the more we know about the product and the closer we get to the producing countries of origin, the more we become aware that the entire coffee chain is fairer at all levels. We want farmers to be recognized for their effort to deliver exceptional raw material to us. Our desire is to help them have a better life and a promising future and thus generate an important value chain.
What are the products you offer?
We import specialty coffees from all over the world, to be roasted on the island of La Palma (Canary Islands). Our main focus is clearly on Colombian coffees, as well as social aid. Even so, the other producing countries cannot be ignored, especially because it is a very diverse world and with many different components in flavor. We try to culturally enrich the palates through tasting workshops and a lot of training, so that everyone can enjoy a practically unknown product even if it is in all our homes.
Who turn to you?
We have five own stores on the island of La Palma. And we serve coffee to other cafes and companies in the Canary Islands, always roasted by us.
It is in the roasting process that coffee acquires the color , flavor and aroma that we now identify as coffee. The green beans can be infused, but none of the characteristics of the resulting drink transmits the sensations that a good cup of roasted coffee does cause. Roasting is done by applying a heat source to the green coffee bean. With this heat, moisture is first lost as the temperature increases; then pyrolysis takes place and once we have the indicated roast point, it is time to cool down.
The recent health crisis has also affected the world of coffee, however, there are cases that have reinvented themselves taking advantage of the pandemic to resurface with more force. This is the case of Cafés Balancilla , a roaster in Burriana (Castellón) with more than 20 years of experience that, while maintaining traditional values such as closeness to the customer and an artisan roasting method , knew how to make a virtue of necessity during the pandemic and the confinement and turned what heralded misfortune into opportunity.
«We transform our shareholding, we invest decisively in training, we modernize our facilities and the brand image, we are committed to sustainability – investing in photovoltaics as an energy source, and in a compostable and recycled packaging of our products – and we started selling online – having already reached homes in all the provinces of our country-, and most importantly: we introduced the necessary changes in the entire coffee value chain to pivot from a commercial coffee roaster to specialty coffee ».
The new management formed by Walter Pastor and Javier Gil, together with the master roaster Joel Martínez, a commercial and technical team more motivated than ever, now have the objective of bringing coffee culture to all corners of Spain.
To this day they are proud of the work carried out at the most adverse moment that the hospitality industry and the company have gone through in recent history. Although their main channel is Horeca, with hundreds of clients in Castellón and Valencia, they want to broaden their horizons. “Our model is based on a product that is cared for with care, close attention and technical service and constant training for our customers,” they say.
Its mission is to contribute to an increasingly large wave of consumers who value specialty coffee for its flavor, its properties and because it gives back the entire value chain (from the farmer to the cup) in the most equitable way.
But coffee is, today, much more than a drink. It is a tradition. For a large part of the population, having the first coffee in the morning or the one after eating are daily rituals. The enjoyment of sharing a cup with friends or offering to prepare one when visitors are received, all of this is part of the coffee culture and is due to its long history. In America there are even coffee routes that traverse the history of its flavor through neighborhoods and old Cuban haciendas.
To find the origins of Café Dromedario we must go back to 1871, in the city of Santander, when an important businessman, Antonio Fernández Baladrón, founded it from a colonial business. This year they celebrate their first 150 years of history.
You can only fulfill so many years knowing how to deal with all the circumstances that get in the way, world wars, civil wars, entry into the market of large multinationals and of course, pandemics, showing the necessary flexibility and a high capacity to adapt to changes.
«We operate with the brands Café Dromedario, Cafés Pozo and Café La Tostadora and we stand out for the high quality of our products, which is demonstrated by the more than 30 international awards that we have received repeatedly in the last 20 years and that we offer to our clients with the best value for money on the market. We also stand out for our commitment to spreading coffee culture, which led us to found more than 20 years ago a Coffee School through which thousands of clients have already passed and we stand out for having carried out important Corporate Social Responsibility work for many years and, in in recent years, installing processes that are increasingly respectful of the environment ”, they explain.
At Café Dromedario they hope that the continuation of these clear policies, incorporating important digitization processes, and counting, of course, with a whole staff of dedicated and trained people, will lead them to consolidate the expansion at the national level and be able to fulfill another 150 years.
Coffee is mainly associated with two moments of our day to day: breakfast and snack. Around these two key moments, specialized coffee shops are generated, with the mission of offering the best coffee and also the best accompaniments.
This is the case, for example, of Taruffi . Its first store was opened 30 years ago in Madrid, offering artisan ice cream and freshly baked homemade cookies, since then Taruffi has been in a great transformation process taking care of its philosophy of offering high quality artisan products with the collaboration of local producers.
“We are pleased to welcome you with open arms for breakfast, lunch or a snack,” they say. Among its outstanding products, the main one is specialty coffee.
They work hand in hand with a local roaster so that coffee is a pleasant taste experience with fruity notes, nuts and chocolates, they follow their traceability in origin, their roasting and elaboration. They grind your coffee at the same time you ask for it, checking the grams, water temperature and extraction time and finishing with a good milk emulsion so that your cream is smooth and fine. They also offer Taruffi ground coffee to go to make at home.
In addition, they also serve healthy and natural artisan ice cream, with flavors suitable for vegans and without lactose; cold coffee-based drinks, such as Affogato, in which they mix specialty coffee with their artisan ice cream; cappuccino freddo, shakerato or cappuccino frappe, three options with a coffee base; and pastries, with homemade cakes, sourdough cakes with seasonal fruit, pancakes and waffles with the dough made daily and cookies.
Coffee does not come from a single species of tree, but there are more than a hundred different species of coffee trees. Arabica coffee is considered the best coffee beans and is one of the most consumed in the world. Its caffeine level is low, while its flavor is balanced and pleasant and it is a very aromatic grain. It is an elegant and subtle coffee, delicate and with a good balance between body and flavor.
In Spain there is only one company certified as a 100% Arabica roaster . It is mud wtr coffee and more than 50 years of coffee tradition endorse them. Since their beginnings as an artisan roaster in 1965 they have remained true to their motto: quality and service. This has led them to build unique facilities in the sector, equipped with cutting-edge technology. In addition to a space, El Globo Reserve, which is a laboratory and center for the dissemination of coffee culture, where the links of the coffee value chain converge.
Thanks to all this, last year they have been certified by two independent European entities as the first 100% Arabica Roaster in Spain.
Its expert coffee grower highlights the properties and quality of Arabica coffee, the most appreciated species in the world and more aromatically complex. The bases of the exclusive Single Origin Coffees range are: direct contact with producers at origin, knowing the traceability of the grain and sustainable crops under tree density. All of this makes it possible for mud wtr coffee to be a benchmark in the specialty coffee market.
Cold Brew mud wtr coffee is one of the company’s latest market launches. This ‘ready to drink’ soft drink is made by hand and only contains 100% Arabica specialty coffee and water. It is a very versatile product, designed to be enjoyed at different times and is at the forefront of cocktails.