[skiwi]

Cafe coffee prices set to boil over

...Coffee is the world's second-most-traded commodity - behind crude oil, which has also soared in price...

.." Within a year coffee prices could be double what they are now."..

[jimmyz]

it has almost doubled here in the past 6 months.

[Jack]

Now, this is getting serious!

Time for a trip to Costco....

[TheTurtle]

The Good News: Coffee was popular in the 17th and 18th centuries --- pre-Oil Bubble --- so as long as wooden ships set out to sea, there should continue to be an adequate supply.

The Bad News: It wasn't vacuum packed until 1900, so if you want to continue drinking it, you might consider purchasing a coffee grinder so that you can grind your own beans. Oh, and be sure to purchase a MANUAL grinder rather than an ELECTRIC one.

(Note to self: Add coffee to the growing list of habits to break before Post-Peak forces involuntary withdrawal)

[aahala]

OMG. This means that at Starbucks, they will increase retail prices
1% if they just pass on the increase in the price of the input, or
will add $4 a cup if they take their usual markup.

[ararboin]

I read somewhere that coffee production is a tremendous polluter of rivers, etc. from production residues. Can't remember facts but it seemed to be in the thousands of gallons of water polluted for a small amount of coffee produced. Anybody else heard of that? Maybe it is time to wean oneself from coffee.

[Ludi]

You can buy organic, fair trade, forest-grown coffee. It's already very expensive!

[bobaloo]

If you like coffee, roast your own. It's dead easy, been doing it for a couple of years. First, you can buy some of the world's finest estate-labeled coffee, in an amazing variety, for $3-$5 per pound (green). Second, it keeps for many years in the green state without deteriorating, so you can squirrel away a 25 pound sack and it'll still be good in 3-4 years. Finally, it makes the best coffee you've ever had.

I've been using just a Poppery hot air popcorn popper, just picked up one of those metal basket dealies with a stirring device, also designed for popcorn, going to give that a try to do bigger batches.

For more info visit SweetMaria's

[Schneider]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('bobaloo', 'I')f you like coffee, roast your own. It's dead easy, been doing it for a couple of years. First, you can buy some of the world's finest estate-labeled coffee, in an amazing variety, for $3-$5 per pound (green). Second, it keeps for many years in the green state without deteriorating, so you can squirrel away a 25 pound sack and it'll still be good in 3-4 years. Finally, it makes the best coffee you've ever had.

I've been using just a Poppery hot air popcorn popper, just picked up one of those metal basket dealies with a stirring device, also designed for popcorn, going to give that a try to do bigger batches.

For more info visit SweetMaria's

[savethehumans]

**S I G H**

Coffee and cola--the two beverages I will miss most after the crash.

Think I'll go visit my favorite coffeehouse today--while I still can.

[DomusAlbion]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', 'Y')ou can buy organic, fair trade, forest-grown coffee. It's already very expensive!

[Leanan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he Good News: Coffee was popular in the 17th and 18th centuries --- pre-Oil Bubble --- so as long as wooden ships set out to sea, there should continue to be an adequate supply.

[accept_death]

Coffee is basically poison. The "buzz" you get from it is your body going into hyper mode to dispell the toxin. Caffeine is also extremely addictive. Withdrawl symptoms are miserable (headaches and anxiety attacks amongst them) and can last for months after you stop drinking it, though most never quit for that long. Part of the problem is that it's such a socially acceptable addiction, unlike nicotine or alcohol. Coffee is always readily available. Everyone drinks it, so it must not be bad. But do an online search on "caffeine addiction", or on the book "Caffeine Blues" and it might turn up some suprising information. Here's a sample link to start:

http://www.justeatanapple.com/coffee.html

Personally, I never had any problems with cigarette's or alcohol, in terms of getting addicted. I can smoke and drink pretty much all I want (which isn't all that much) and not have to worry about dependance. Caffeine is quite a different story. I tried to cut back a couple of times. During a low stress time I lasted 10 days. During a high stress time, 2. The moral? Quit now, before you don't have a choice.

[Leanan]

Caffeine withdrawal can be nasty. People often think they've come down with the flu or something. It's that bad.

However, unlike most drug addictions, gradual withdrawal works well with caffeine. There's no need to go cold turkey. Drink less coffee, or mix decaf with regular. If you cut back each week by a third of a cup a day (or one can of cola), it's pretty painless.

[bruin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Schneider', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('bobaloo', 'I')f you like coffee, roast your own. It's dead easy, been doing it for a couple of years. First, you can buy some of the world's finest estate-labeled coffee, in an amazing variety, for $3-$5 per pound (green). Second, it keeps for many years in the green state without deteriorating, so you can squirrel away a 25 pound sack and it'll still be good in 3-4 years. Finally, it makes the best coffee you've ever had.

I've been using just a Poppery hot air popcorn popper, just picked up one of those metal basket dealies with a stirring device, also designed for popcorn, going to give that a try to do bigger batches.

For more info visit SweetMaria's

[stu]

Coffee prices on a caffeine buzz

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'C')offee prices have reached their highest levels in the past five years, the Viet Nam Coffee and Cocoa Association has (VICOFA) has reported.

On Tuesday, the purchase price from farmers was VND15-15.7 million (US$951-$995.6) per tonne and VND16.2 million ($1,027) at wholesale agencies.

[erl]

I am a coffee drinker. I have several coffee plants growing out in my yard. They have yet to produce any beans. I don't know how long it takes. Also, the climate may be too hot here. It's supposed to get to 113 this weekend. *sigh*

But as to withdrawl symptoms:

Periodically, I stop all caffeine intake. Usually whenever I go on vacation. This always results in headaches. They usually last for about three days and then go away. I know they say it takes longer for all the caffeine to exit your system. But for me, three days seems to do it.

Another effect that I have noticed in myself: I used to be a competitive shooter. If I stopped drinking coffee and coke a couple of days or so before the meet my scores would improve. Now, at three hundred yards it doesn't take much of a shaking trigger finger to throw off your score, but the caffeine and lack of caffeine was sure a noticeable difference.

I love coffee, but I do notice the problems it can cause.

[Hubbert2005]

I can attest to the symptoms of coffee withdrawal. For about a week I had acute symptoms like severe headache and muscle aches and pains. It felt like I had the flu minus the nausea!

[erl]

That is an excellent description of the effects.

[dirac]

To answer araboin's earlier point about caffeine pollution in water - this was the subject of my Oceanography Honours project over a decade ago - using caffeine as a trace of marine pollution. Oceanographers want to trace the flow of pollution from rivers to the sea. In the past, such items as tomato seeds and dyes have been used. My project involved taking water samples from various points along the river Mersey near Liverpool and measuring caffeine concentrations. It was indeed detectable - all those small swills of coffee that you pour into the sink do add up eventually, and can be traced.

Incidentally, raw caffeine was the most dangerous chemical I handled at University. I had to wear a mask and gloves. If you breathed in the raw dust it was likely to trigger a heart attack. Dangerous stuff.