Filtering Through the Coffee Studies

Coffee drinking -- even more than six cups a day over the course of almost 20 years -- won't kill you, and may even help you live longer, says a new study.

ABC News

For Dunkin’, a Tempest in an Iced-Coffee Cup

Later that day, the conservative blogger Michelle Malkin chimed in, likening the scarf to a keffiyeh and calling it “jihadi chic.” Then the story, as they say on the Internet, went totally viral.

New York Times

Do I Detect a Hint of ... Joe?

They sniffed and slurped. Then came the tricky part: finding the mot juste to describe the flavors. “I thought the Kenya had hints of curry and cedar,” began Ms. Meister, 26, who is also a copy editor and the writer of a coffee blog called Meet the Press Pot (meetthepresspot.blogspot.com).

New York Times

Dunkin' Donuts yanks Rachael Ray ad

Does Dunkin’ Donuts really think its customers could mistake Rachael Ray for a terrorist sympathizer? The Canton-based company has abruptly canceled an ad in which the domestic diva wears a scarf that looks like a keffiyeh, a traditional headdress worn by Arab men.

Boston Globe

Starbucks to roll out energy modifier

The “+Energy” mix will include B-vitamins, guarana and ginseng, the PI said. Starbucks will leverage its North American Coffee Partnership with Pepsi-Cola next month to roll out an RTD version of Doubleshot Energy + Coffee in retail locations where Starbucks’ Frappucino is sold.

BevNet

Quest for first-rate coffee to up demand for Arabica

“Maxwell House’s announcement to change their US coffee marks an important watershed, given they were one of the Big Four (Nescafe, Folgers, Yuban andMaxwell House) that drove the shift away from Arabica towards cheaper Robusta back in the late 1990s,” noted the analysts.

Business Daily Africa

Adding Coffee to Doughnut Protects Brain

GRAND FORKS, N.D., April 3 (UPI) -- Adding a coffee to that breakfast doughnut could help protect against Alzheimer's disease, U.S. researchers say.
Researchers at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences have determined the caffeine equivalent of just one cup of coffee a day could protect the blood-brain barrier from damage that occurred with a high-fat diet.
The researcher fed rabbits cholesterol-enriched diet and also gave them 3 milligrams of caffeine each day -- the equivalent of a daily cup of coffee for an average-size person.
The study, published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation, said that after 12 weeks a number of laboratory tests showed the blood-brain barrier was significantly more intact in rabbits receiving a daily dose of caffeine.
"Caffeine appears to block several of the disruptive effects of cholesterol that make the blood-brain barrier leaky," Jonathan Geiger said in a statement. "High levels of cholesterol are a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, perhaps by compromising the protective nature of the blood-brain barrier."
Its the first time chronic ingestion of caffeine has been shown to protect the blood-brain barrier from cholesterol-induced leakage, Geiger said.

Coffee fans turn to microroasts

You probably have heard of microbrews for beer. But what about microroasts for coffee?

Well, its the same concept: a fresh, locally produced drink that sellers promise has more flavor than what you get in the grocery stores or at the bar.

MyrtleBeachOnline.com

Starbucks, Back to the Future

To promote the new brew, Starbucks will spend at least two months serving all its coffee and espresso drinks in white cups with a version of its original brown mermaid logo. It's been touched up to make the her long, wavy hair cover her bare breasts -- a move aimed at pre-empting complaints it's received in the past from people who find it too racy.


BusinessWeek
Brand New
Brand Autopsy

Dunkin Donuts vs. Starbucks Democrats

The battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is sometimes boiled down to Starbucks vs. Dunkin Donuts Democrats. What can the candidates learn from the business world about these two political tribes?

NPR