Posted on 03/14/2005 12:33:42 PM PST by freebilly
SANTA CRUZ — For Santa Cruz resident Midjann Velzy, the combination of drinking coffee and driving a car became "a potential road-rage situation."
Velzy swore off the strong stuff 13 years ago after flipping someone the proverbial bird during her commute home from Silicon Valley.
"There I was, trying to be in my Zen place," she said of that final, bad, caffeine-induced moment.
"Now I drink very little coffee," she said, "and it’s decaf only."
Her personal caffeine awareness campaign was ahead of its time.
A proclamation signed by Santa Cruz Mayor Mike Rotkin has declared this month "Caffeine Awareness Month" for all of Santa Cruz.
"Caffeine consumption can pose a significant hazard to health and longevity," reads the proclamation.
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"This is crazy," said Jim Morgan from a seat outside Caffe Bene on Cedar Street. He sipped a tall cup of black coffee and finished his hand-rolled cigarette.
He agreed that neither of his habits was terribly healthy.
"But a cup of java in the morning is a lot better than the old Turkish enema," he said.
The campaign endorsed by Rotkin is part of a national effort by Marina Kushner, author of the book, "Life Without Caffeine." Kushner is also the founder of a company that makes a soy-based coffee substitute.
Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn recently awarded Kushner’s Caffeine Awareness Alliance with a certificate of appreciation for educating the public on the dangers of caffeine.
"I’m not saying people shouldn’t drink coffee," said Rotkin about his proclamation. "But I think some people should really look at their intake."
Rotkin said the move was meant to target hard-core coffee drinkers only. He would not name names, but he says he has worked among the truly addicted.
"They are way too wired for their own good. They’ve got trigger responses to everything," he said. "It’s unhealthy for themselves and others."
Rotkin’s own coffee intake of zero-to-two cups per day doesn’t qualify as problem drinking, he said.
"But I don’t want to be a hypocrite here. I like coffee and I do drink it," he said.
Among health problems associated with caffeine are heart disease, pancreas and bladder cancer, hypoglycemia, and central nervous system disorders, according to the proclamation.
Velzy, the commuter, says she knows about milder and more common side effects of caffeine consumption.
Her muscles became tense when she drank coffee, "because the lactic acid dehydrates your muscles, and then the caffeine goes to those areas," she said.
UC Santa Cruz student Kerry McGrath said she’s been off regular coffee now for two of her 26 years.
"You know — women and osteoporosis — you can’t do that," she said after placing an order for decaf at Lulu Carpenters.
Heavy caffeine consumption has, in some studies, been linked to osteoporosis in women. Decaffeinated coffee typically contains 5 to 6 milligrams of caffeine per 8-oz. cup, as compared with regular coffee, which can contain more than 200 milligrams per 8-oz cup.
"I’ll still get a buzz from this," McGrath said when her drink was delivered.
"Decaf really doesn’t taste the same, though," she said, looking glumly into her cup.
After deciding that caffeine made her "stressed and impatient" toward her kids, Nora Baer cut down by experimenting with teas and other less-caffeinated drinks.
"I was nervous, my heart was beating too fast, I didn’t want to talk to people," she said of the ill-effects of being a coffee junkie. "I just didn’t function very well."
Baer, who was sipping a chai on her day off, said she thinks the caffeine-awareness campaign is "a very good idea."
She still drinks two cups of regular coffee on workdays, and would like to drink less.
"It’s the one bad thing I still haven’t been able to cut out," she said.
Jim Murukami, imbiber of up to eight tall cups of regular coffee per day, was unfazed by the news that March is caffeine awareness month.
He lives an otherwise healthy life, he said, and extreme coffee drinking is the least offensive bad habit one can have.
"This is the last commonly accepted drug," he said as he started in on his third or fourth cup. "The reality is that people need a vice. ... and you can’t exactly take a heroin break at work."
Good strategy, bad coffee. I refuse to stop downtown anymore so that leaves out Peets. I'll do a pitstop at Coffeetopia then follow the pace cars down Mission out to Hwys 1 & 17....
When my wife was pregnant with our last one she couldn't stand the smell of coffee. It made her sick. Didn't stop me from drinking it. Didn't stop her from drinking it, again, after Motor Mouth was born....
>>I don't think that caffiene is her biggest problem.
Her biggest problem is commuting into Silicon Valley from Santa Cruz. That is enough to give anyone road rage, coffee or not.
Get a job close to where you live Midjann Velzy, and your stress-o-meter will drop significantly.
Just wait-- The CA Hwy Patrol is going to start performing breathalyzer tests for caffeine. If you BCC (Blood Caffeine Content) is above .08 you'll be cited for Driving While Caffeinated which will carry a mandatory license suspension and compulsory attendance at Road Rage Management Classes.
Repeat offenders can expect to have their children taken by CA Child Protective Services....
Have you tried roasting your own beans? It is a newish hobby for me and I am thoroughly happy with the results.
Actually someone here on FR mentioned it during a Christmas gift thread and that got me interested.
No, I haven't ever roasted my own...I get my beans from Panera Bread store in Rolla Mo, they have espresso and (regular coffee) a nice dark roasted Costa Rican blend.
Does it take long? Do you need a special roaster? Where do you get unroasted beans? I'll try anything...;-D
No it doesn't very long. I get all my unroasted beans from sweet maria's. The cool thing is you can experiment with your own blends and roast to different levels to achieve different characteristics
http://www.sweetmarias.com/
I also got my brother a Zach and Dani's roaster (web address below) for Christmas on the advice of a FReeper. That one is easy to use. I have a Fresh Roast Plus I bought from Maria's, and it takes me about 3-5 minutes to roast enough for a pot. But I like to roast a whole week's worth at once and that takes longer (because it is a small volume machine). Also because it doesn't control smoke like Z&D, I roast outside. But here in California that is not a big deal.
The coffee seems to peak in flavor 24-72 hours after I roast.
http://www.coffeeroasting.com/
Wow, thanks for the links.
One of the reasons I like grinding my own right before making it is that there IS a difference in the flavor...I'm nearly down to making one cup at a time....;-D
If you start roasting your own, you will likely be corrupted by the quality. :D And the cool thing is it costs less than buying roasted coffee. Better quality, cheaper price, what's not to like?
Sweet Maria's has a lot of info on the process, growing areas, roasting stages, that sort of thing. I bought a home roasting book, but found there was a lot more info on the web. There are probably lots of other sites you can check out.
"corrupted by the quality..." very tempting for a coffee lover like me...;-D
I guess I know what I'LL be doing this evening! Ordering green coffee beans and learning how to roast them!
"because the lactic acid dehydrates your muscles, and then the caffeine goes to those areas,"
I call BS. Any doctors out there?
There is no link whatsoever between the coffee in your mouth and the movement of your middle finger.
And the roasting aroma ... oh my.
Have fun!
Okay, now I'm hooked! I can only imagine the aroma now, but soon enough...;-D
I hope you're not referring to that Turkish enema comment....
"Oh joy - a new group to demonize! Wait for ads warning of the dangers of 'second-hand coffee aroma.' Sheesh."
They're coming. In Minneapolis, a group has formed with that very intent. Most people aren't aware that coffee vapor contains pyridine, which is a known carcinogen. In addition, it has been shown that coffee workers are prone to various maladys from exposure to coffee dust (produced when grinding the beans), and vapor. These include cancer, dermatitis, sterility, rhinitis, and Coffee Worker's Lung which is also known as Allergic Alveolitis. Alveolitis is a severe inflammation of the lung which obstructs breathing.
The war on second hand coffee (SHC) is off and running.
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