Here is some awesome information written by our very own April!
The purpose of this paper is to give the reader insight to the medicinal properties and health benefits of coffee. Specifically I will be talking about Coffee Arabica. Kona Coffee, which is locally grown on the Big Island of Hawaii, is an Arabica bean from the Kona typica variety.
When one thinks of coffee, often caffeine is the first thing that comes to mind. While caffeine is a stimulant, it affects the blood vessels; a diuretic (decaf coffee has the same affect on urine production as water), and many other things, coffee is much more than the caffeine that is in it. This paper will explore the other key nutrients and minerals in the coffee plant.
History
Coffee was first discovered, and recorded, in Ethiopia in the thirteenth century. A Sheppard named Kaldi made this discovery after observing his goats. He noticed that after they ate cherries off of this certain tree that they became “spirited”. Kaldi reported these findings to the local monastery. The abbot at this monastery made a drink or a tea out of these cherries and discovered that it kept him awake and alert for the long hours of evening prayer. He shared his newfound treasure with other monks and monasteries. As the word spread the discovery of coffee moved east to the Arabian Peninsula. In the fifteenth century, the Arabs became the first to trade and cultivate coffee.
Locally a man named Samuel Ruggles brought “Kona Coffee” to Kona in 1828. The variety that is known as Kona Coffee is the Arabica bean, from the Kona Typica plant. This plant thrived in this region because of the area’s rich volcanic soil, sunny mornings, and cloudy rainy afternoons. After many years of adapting to the soil, etc people began to take notice of the exceptional flavor of the beans. Kona Coffee is very low in acid and the flavor should have notes of chocolate with a hint of floral as well, if it comes from a healthy tree.
A healthy tree is one that is properly cared for with little or no invasion of insects. When a tree becomes under attack of an insect or fungus, it releases caffeine as a way to protect itself from the invasion. This leads me to believe that it may also release some other key nutrients as well, as a way of self-defense. This is just my personal hypothesis after spending many years with coffee.
The coffee tree is a member of the gardenia family. It flowers from about March to June, in Hawaii, and produces the most beautiful white flower. It takes six months from flower to ripe cherry. In Kona the cherries are all hand picked. The harvest season lasts for about six months. The picking season begins around August and can go on as late as April. Other parts of the world pick the trees by machine. The machine strips the whole tree taking ripe and unripe cherries, as well as the leaves. This is not healthy for the tree.
The composition of coffee:
- Acids: allantoic-acid (leaves), aspartic acid, capric-acid, daturic-acid, stearic-acid, glutaminic-acid, isochlorogenic-acid, linoleic-acid, myristic-acid, oleic, palmitic (seeds), caffeic-acid (leaves and seeds), oxalic-acid (fruit), P-Coumaric-acid (plant)
- Amino acids: Methionine, asparagine (seeds)
- Alkaloids: caffeine (seeds), theobromine (leaves and seeds)
- Volatile oils: caffeol, guaiacol, octanol (seeds)
- Phytosterols: stigmaterol, beta-sisosterol, campesterol (seeds)
- Terpenes: cafestol (seeds), beta-carotene (leaves)
- Carbohydrates: raffinose, rhamnose, sucrose (all from leaves and seeds), stachyose (seeds)
- Fiber: pectin, cellulose, and hemicellulose (all from leaves and seeds)
- Minerals: Calcium (leaves), iron and phosphorus (in leaves and seeds)
- Vitamins: niacin, Riboflavin, Thiamine (all in leaves and seeds), choline (seeds)
- The plant contains water and the seeds contain tannins.
(The previous chart was taken from www.botanicalonline.com/propertiesofcoffee.htm)
An increasing amount of research is proving that coffee drinkers are less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease, Type II diabetes, dementia, and have fewer strokes, heart rhythm problems, and certain cancers. Coffee is not yet proven to prevent these diseases but the people’s coffee habits are being observed in the studies. Coffee is very high in antioxidants. The minerals chromium and magnesium both control blood sugar by helping the body use insulin correctly. In type II diabetes the body looses the ability to use insulin and regulate blood sugar. These minerals, chromium and magnesium are still found in decaffeinated coffee. The benefits here are not due to the caffeine.
(http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/coffee-new-health-food?page=2)
By having a potential effect on the risk of type II diabetes, this will also decrease the risk of heart disease and stroke. A person with type II diabetes is generally more at risk for these. Drinking two or more cups of coffee a day has also shown to decrease the chance of women to have a stroke by 20%, compared to women that drank none at all. The research done on Alzheimer’s and dementia do show that the caffeine was beneficial to the disease prevention.
(http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/coffee-new-health-food?page=3)
When we think of coffee we generally think of the roasted seed inside of the ripe/red coffee cherry. However unroasted (green) coffee as well has the fruit of the coffee cherry also have medicinal value. The coffee fruit and seed were commonly used in wine, medicine, tea, and food. It was once known as the “nectar of the gods”. More recently coffee pickers in South America were observed as having the most youthful and soft skin on there hands. This is attributed to having direct contact with the coffee cherries on a regular basis. The fruit of the coffee cherries are very high in antioxidants. They also have high levels of polyphenols. The antioxidants neutralize free radicals and help us prevent disease and the negative side affects of aging. 
