Many people drink coffee just as a way to get going in the morning. But a lot of my happy moments actually circle around the “morning cup of Joe.” Therefore, the advicesisters.com “Things to Be Happy About #19 is — Coffee!
before large mugs were popular we had coffee cups that looked like these. Obviously there aren’t my parents!
The first thing I remember about mornings as a kid, was the sound of my mother using the coffee grinder. Then, it was the deliciously reviving smell of fresh brewing coffee. I was too young to drink it. My parents would put a tiny bit of coffee into my milk because I insisted!
As I got a bit older, I’d visit my grandmother who used an old percolator (do you remember those)? She would boil the coffee until it was almost like mud. However, she always brought out crackers with cream cheese and morello cherry jam. I really loved her, so I loved her coffee, too!
Now, my husband makes our morning coffee (thank you, John). He wakes me up with a mug of it. We drink our coffee together, as we watch the sun over the Gulf of Mexico. This really makes me happy!
Coffee is such a social ritual. How many of you meet up for “coffee” just to spend some quality time with someone? Quick coffee dates are still the best way to meet someone in person that you don’t know well.
Health Benefits of Coffee:
Aside from sweet memories surrounding coffee, this fabled beverage offers more than just a quick pick-me-up. Coffee can actually improve your mood, energize you, and provide some health benefits. According to *Web MD, some experts think coffee could help to prevent Type 2 diabetes. In fact, there is some evidence that even decaffeinated coffee may have the same benefit as regular coffee. Others suggest that coffee can help reduce heart disease and stroke, and much more than that.
On the flip side, there are some negatives to drinking coffee which include an increase in blood pressure and increased anxiety levels, to name a few. I am not sure if you can really become addicted to coffee per see, but you can get dependent on caffeine. I would assume it depends upon how much you drink and we all may experience different reactions to caffeine.
The caffeine in your coffee is a mild diuretic, and on top of that, a cup of coffee black has very few calories. Of course, if you load it down with sugar and cream, that is another story entirely.
Energy Boosting, Thanks Caffeine:
Unless you drink only decaf coffee you’ll find that coffee has caffeine. It’s a stimulant that can boost your energy. If you’ve ever overdone the caffeine and can’t fall asleep, you know that drinking coffee late in the day is best when you have to cram for an exam. Every time I have regular coffee at dinner, I regret it as I’ll toss and stay awake for longer than I had intended.
Why Do We Call Coffee “a cup of Joe?
No one is sure how coffee got this nickname. However, one theory is that the “cup of Joe,” concerns Josephus Daniels, the Secretary of the Navy during World War I. He banned alcohol consumption on all U.S. Navy ships. Since coffee was the next strongest substitute, sailors sarcastically deemed it “a cup of Josephus.” Soon it was shortened to just “a cup of Joe.”
Uses for Coffee Grounds:
Among its many attributes, coffee can absorb odors. It’s one of the reasons that when you are testing fragrances, you might find a small bowl of coffee beans or grounds on the counter. You can also keep coffee grounds in your refrigerator to absorb odors in there. Use coffee grounds to scrub dirty pans and then rinse it all down the drain. Use ground coffee as a meat tenderizer and rub. Also as a furniture stain, bug repellent, And there are dozens and dozens of other ways to use used or fresh ground coffee
You can use your coffee grounds on your plants. You can also use them in a DIY body scrub. Here’s a quick recipe:
Quick DIY – A Coffee Grounds Body Scrub:
1 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp coffee grounds
Melt coconut oil, add sugar and coffee and store in the refrigerator.
There are plusses and minuses to everything. Coffee can be addicting. However, the smell of freshly brewing coffee still brings me back to when I’d stay in bed just a little longer, to hear the sound of the coffee grinder and smell the percolator, brewing it! Therefore, Things to Be Happy About #19 is about coffee! What are you happy about? From little to big, I’d love to hear about it in the comments section!
