Coffee Myths

1

Coffee dehydrates you.

Every coffee lover has heard that coffee will dehydrated them. But in 2014, British scientists conducted a study and found that moderate consumption of coffee (3-6 cups a day) helps to meet the body's need for fluids.

Black coffee is 95% water, so coffee contributes to hydration in the human body.

2

Coffee stunts your growth and flushes calcium out of your body.

This is one of the most common misconceptions about coffee. Many people believe that coffee increases the risk of fractures and even stunts growth.

This is far from the truth. Coffee does remove calcium from the human body, but in such an insignificant amount (40 mg per cup of coffee) that it is easy to compensate by eating a slice of cheese or a couple of nuts.

If you don't already have low calcium, there is no cause for concern if you're drinking just a couple of cups of coffee a day.

3

Espresso contains more caffeine than black coffee.

The caffeine content of a cup of coffee depends on several factors: brewing method, type of coffee, roast, grind size, and extraction time.

The myth that espresso has more caffeine than black coffee stems from espresso's stronger taste. But espresso is simply more concentrated due to the lower water content.

It's difficult to say how much caffeine a particular coffee drink contains, but the average values are 64 mg in a 1-ounce espresso and 96 mg in an 8-ounce black coffee.

4

You can't drink coffee during pregnancy.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), with the consumption of more than 300 mg of caffeine per day during pregnancy, the risk of fetal loss increases.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommends that pregnant women reduce their total caffeine intake to 200 mg per day. It is believed that this rate does not affect reproductive function or cause perinatal complications.

A general recommendation for pregnant women is to drink no more than 2 cups of coffee a day.

5

The darker the roast, the more caffeine is in the cup of coffee.

One of the most common coffee myths is that dark roast coffee beans contain more caffeine than lighter-roasted coffee beans. This myth is based dark roast coffee's more pronounced smell and taste. But caffeine is an odorless chemical.

In reality, some caffeine is lost during the roasting process. That is, dark-roasted coffee actually contains less caffeine than lightly roasted coffee beans.

However, the difference is very small—so small as to be unnoticeable.

6

Without Robusta in the blend, an espresso will have no crema.

Crema is the foam on top of an espresso shot. The layer is formed when pressurized water passes through the coffee grounds. Some espresso lovers appreciate the crema and use it to judge the freshness of the beans.

Single-origin Arabica coffee beans, not just Arabica-Robusta blends, provide espresso crema. But the crema will be less dense if there are no Robusta beans in the blend. Espresso blends that contain Robusta create a denser, longer-lasting crema.

7

Decaf coffee doesn't contain any caffeine.

If you have switched to decaf coffee, you shouldn't think you can now drink coffee as much as you want.

Research has shown that after decaffeination, some caffeine remains in coffee beans.

So choose high-quality decaf coffee brands and carefully monitor your reaction to decaf coffee to make sure you're not getting too much caffeine.