Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Bold coffee as a digestive health issue...



Some of us have expressed our online frustrations over Starbucks' failure to have a bold coffee option available after the noon hour. It might seem like we're being picky, but the truth is we are far from alone in our complaints - see the chart above (click on the chart to see a larger version) - and for some coffee drinkers, the blend served is important to digestive health. Yesterday I was in Java City, a Starbucks competitor with shops all over the U.S. and in Asia, and one of their baristas explained to me that bold coffee has not only less acid but much less caffeine than the lighter brews. Most people will assume that just the opposite is true, that dark or bold equals heavy and strong...

You can do some quick research of your own. Using a search engine like Google, enter terms like Crohn's disease coffee caffeine; or Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) coffee caffeine; or Colitis caffeine coffee. You'll find that for persons with these digestive conditions, minimizing their caffeine intake is important. Bold brewed coffee helps in this respect, and every little bit helps.

So, here's a kudos to Java City and Peet's, two of the coffee companies that make a point of offering at least one bold coffee blend choice whenever their shops' doors are open! As for Starbucks, we're still waiting - and waiting and waiting and waiting - for them to get with the program.

Note: The chart above represents issues raised at My Starbucks Idea. As of early November 2008, over 17,000 respondents had expressed their desire - their idea in action, if you will - to have "Bold Coffee (Served) All Day."

1 comment:

  1. Absolutely, I love the bold coffees, and sometimes during the day, I like that extra punch of coffee taste and aroma. It's a comfort thing, I'd love them to add Sumatra to their daily brew. But that's just me.

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