STiR coffee and tea magazine

48 STiR coffee and tea | 2023 Issue 5 (October / November) America's Coffee Habit American coffee drinkers take 2.8 cups per day, and per-capita consumption is 1.7 cups, about the same as in 2020, according to the latest semi-annual edition of the National Coffee Data Trends, the hallmark report that has been published by the National Coffee Association since 1950. At-home consumption of coffee stood at 82%, near the 85% peak recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. And in-office consumption has rebounded to a pre-pandemic level of 36% of Americans, up from a pandemic low of 26% in January 2021. Some other key findings: • Despite being nearly unknown when NCA began tracking it, cold brew popularity has skyrocketed up by 45% since January 2023 and 300% since 2016! • Drip coffee makers are the most popular preparation method (40% of past day coffee drinkers), followed by single-cup brewers (27%), cold brewing (16%), and espresso machines (11%). • Lattes are the most popular espresso- based beverage (consumed by 18% of Americans in the past-week), followed by espresso (16%), and cappuccinos (15%), • 30% of Americans had flavored coffee in the past week. Vanilla is the most popular, with caramel and hazelnut tied for second, followed by mocha. https://www.ncausa.org/Research- Trends/Market-Research/NCDT Coffee Compound Could Remedy Aging of Brain Before you get old and forgetful, remember to have another cup of coffee: In a study published in the journal GeroScience, researchers in Japan tested whether trigonelline (TG), a plant alkaloid present in coffee, provided any neuroprotective benefits when administered to mice having a genetic predisposition to premature cognitive aging. Their conclusion: "Altogether, our integrated bio-cognitive approach highlights the potential of TG in alleviating age-related memory and spatial impairment." The com- pound appears to bolster learning and recall by reducing neuroinflammation, improving synaptic function, and boosting neurotransmitter release. https://bit.ly/3EPZ0bL Insurance for Sri Lankan Tea Workers Lanka's tea estate and plantation workers were economically vulnerable even before the nation's recent political and financial crises. Now the Ministry of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development, the Plantation Human Development Trust, and the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation are jointly launching a health and life insurance program called SLIC Jeevana Shakthi aimed at meeting the specific needs of this community. "There was a time when it was only this community, the tea industry that kept the country running...This initiative will ensure that they do not feel left behind," said Jeevan Thondaman, minister of water supply and estate infrastructure develop- ment, noting that the sector's 150,000 people helped Sri Lanka earn $1.2 billion in 2021. For a monthly premium of just Rs. 99, the plan provides an estate worker with health and life protection for a family of four. https://bit.ly/3LFXEEl Drought, Storms Menace Chinese Tea China's tea production looks set to decline by 15% this year because of adverse weather including heat, drought, and storms, according to a news report by Radio Free Asia. Output will fall by 40% in the central province of Henan and 30% in Fujian. In Taiwan, yields are down by half in the Chiayi tea-growing region while other areas expect falls of 20 to 30%. Extreme weather and lack of water will also affect the quality of tea produced because it will contain less sugars, polyphenols, amino acids, caffeine and catechins, all of which influence flavor. https://bit.ly/3LFM7EG UNESCO inscribes Pu'er Tea Mountain The tea growing villages of Jingmai Mountain in southwestern China's Yunnan Province were officially inscribed as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in September. This cultural landscape near the city of Pu'er was developed over a thousand years by the Blang and Dai peoples following practices that began in the 10th century. The property is a tea production area comprised of traditional villages within old tea groves surrounded by forests and tea plantations. The traditional understory cultivation of old tea trees is a method that responds to the specific conditions of the mountain's ecosystem and subtropical monsoon climate, combined with a governance system maintained by the local Indigenous communities. Traditional ceremonies and festivities relate to the Tea Ancestor belief that spirits live in the tea plantations and in the local fauna and flora, a belief that is at the core of this cultural tradition. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1665/ STiR Marketplace|Machines|Messages|Merch

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