Morning Blues
Is that same cup of coffee in the morning not giving you the same kick of energy anymore? Need some extra energy today for an important interview? Are you finding yourself drinking more and more cups of coffee to jumpstart your day? Then it may be time to learn some new tricks on how to get more bang for your cup of coffee!
The Secret is Caffeine
The active ingredient in coffee that keeps us awake when we chug it when our morning alarms go off is caffeine. Caffeine works by tricking brain receptors into thinking we are not sleepy. Adenosine is a natural chemical that the body produces which binds to receptors in the brain that slows down brain function telling us that our body needs to recharge and sleep. Caffeine mimics adenosine in the brain and binds to the sleep receptors that adenosine is supposed to bind to. This means that the real adenosine cannon bind to these receptors, thus tricking our bodies into thinking we are not tired!
The More the Better
So, obviously, more caffeine would make a stronger coffee to give us more energy! To get the most caffeine out of your coffee, you can use a lighter roast. Grinding the beans as finely as possible will extract more caffeine for your cup as well. Brewing your coffee for a longer period of time also extracts more caffeine. A good rule of thumb is that the lighter the roast, the finer the beans, and the longer the brew time, the more caffeine you’ll get for your coffee! So rise and grind!
By John Toledo
