Poll: 65% in U.S. drink coffee daily
13 cups is the weekly average
A poll released by 7-Eleven Inc. in conjunction with National Coffee Day (Sept. 29) says that 65 percent of Americans drink coffee every day, many within an hour of waking up.
The coffee-drinkers in the survey said they consume an average of 13 cups a week, and 60 percent agreed with the statement, “I need a cup of coffee to start my day.”
In other results:
- 28 percent of the coffee drinkers had their first cup within 15 minutes of awakening, and 68 percent within the hour.
- 57 percent added sugar or another sweetener to their brew.
- 54 percent agreed with the statement, “Coffee makes me feel more like myself.”
Another National Coffee Day poll, this one from Dunkin’ Donuts, identified which professions self-identified as most likely to need morning coffee to be productive. The top three were: scientist/lab technician, marketing/public relations professional and education administrator.
Study links coffee with depression avoidance
Caffeine seen as positive agent
A new study suggests that women who drink coffee may be at lower risk of clinical depression. The research, published Sept. 26 in the Archives of Internal Medicine, was based on results from 51,000 women who participated in the Nurses’ Health Study, a long-standing epidemiological survey affiliated with Harvard University. The women in the study, average age 63, had not been previously diagnosed with depression; they were evaluated on the basis of new diagnoses with prescriptions for antidepressant medication.
According to the study, consumption of two to three cups of caffeinated coffee per day was associated with a 15 percent lower risk of clinical depression. With four cups or more, the risk dropped to 20 percent.
Researchers speculated that caffeine, which is known to stimulate production of the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin, may be the agent at work. But they cautioned that more work has to be done before causality can be established.
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‘Coffee cat’ breaks speed record
Spent grounds provide fuel for English researchers
A car fueled with coffee grounds has set a world record for a vehicle powered by bio-waste.
Researchers at England’s Teesdale Conservation Group reached a top speed of 77.5 miles per hour and an average speed of 66.5 mph in trials sponsored by the BBC. The performance broke the previous Guinness record of 47 mph average, for a car that burned wood pellets.
The Teesdale car, a modified Rover SDI, burns spent coffee grounds that have been dried and compressed into pellets. A “gasifier” in the car burns the coffee together with wood at super-high temperatures, creating a gas of carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane.
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Coffee prices coming back down
Output increases in Brazil, Vietnam and elsewhere
Coffee prices are retreating from their 30-year record highs over the summer, as increased exports seem to be depressing prices.
Prices for Arabica, the variety most often used for specialty coffee, have fallen 16 percent since September, to $2.4085 a pound as traded on the Coffee & Cocoa Exchange. Prices for the more mainstream Robusta have fallen even further, 26 percent since the spring as traded in London.
The drop in prices is attributed to increased production in Vietnam, Brazil and other major supplier nations. This year’s Brazil coffee crop is estimated to be 14 percent above last season’s, while Vietnam’s will go up 9.8 percent, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
