Coffee Brewing Dos and Don’ts
How to source, grind and brew the best coffee for your brain
You might be familiar with Michael Pollan from his 2006 bestseller The Omnivore's Dilemma—in which he wrote “Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much.”—or his more recent investigation of mind-altering drugs in How To Change Your Mind. But did you know he also wrote an Amazon audiobook entitled Caffeine? In the audiobook, he details his experience cutting out coffee for three months as a personal experiment in caffeine addiction and withdrawal. Quitting coffee gave him the best sleep of his life, he said, but it robbed him of much enthusiasm for life, too. Being decaffeinated even made him feel less confident when writing. His takeaway from the experience was that life was better with his “daily cup of optimism.”
Coffee lovers, you may agree. So wasn’t it good news to learn last time about all the dementia-preventing benefits of drinking caffeinated coffee? Following Pollan’s oft-quoted saying, we might say the BHK advice for caffeine is: Drink coffee. Mostly black and unsweetened. Skip the decaf.
Caffeine is indeed one of the reasons coffee is so good for the brain. But polyphenols are equally important for coffee’s brain-protective effects. Each cup of good-quality coffee is swirling with at least 200 different types of polyphenols—bioactive compounds that cross the blood brain barrier and quell inflammation. Two of these polyphenols—chlorogenic acid and trigonelline—have been extensively studied for their impact on reducing neurodegenerative disease.
How do you know if the coffee you buy is teeming with health-promoting polyphenols? And how do you brew coffee to retain its antioxidant power? That’s where a little knowledge about sourcing and brewing comes in handy.
So for today’s newsletter, let’s dive into how to find the brain-healthiest coffee. Does it have to be organic? Certified mold-free? Bird-friendly? Is light, medium, or dark roast better for you? And, we’ll take a close look at what the science says about brewing methods: French press, drip, pour over, espresso, espresso, or pods.
Finally, I’ll answer your burning questions about coffee. From filters to microplastics to the impact of caffeinated coffee on bone density, there were so many great questions!
Paying subscribers, be sure to read to the end to be the first to sign up for a one-hour webinar I am offering next week with Dr. Julie Fratantoni: Brain Fog & Women’s Hormones: 6 practical steps to get your thinking and focus back.
Without further ado, your coffee questions, answered.
