DENVER (PRNewswire) — Coffee is finally getting the respect and appreciation it deserves. Wine, with its known antioxidant ingredients, has always been hailed as a healthy choice — but believe or not, colas were once also lauded as healthy. Meanwhile, back in the day, misguided research often linked coffee drinking to heart disease, stunted growth and birth defects. In recent years — and thanks to better research — there has been a total reversal on this front. Soda drinking, with a good deal of refined sugar as its base, is now cited as a cause of the nation's diabetes and obesity epidemics, while coffee is now often associated with reduced rates of heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
However, the health aspect is not the only development that has turned coffee drinkers into aficionados reminiscent of wine lovers fiercely loyal to their favorite brands and blends. Today, the cornucopia of specialty coffees on the market offers us a very different scenario than what was previously available. Back in the '40s and even until fairly recently, we did drink lots of coffee — with breakfast, lunch and dinner, and usually at home. Back then, coffee was made from pre-ground beans, sold in cans and then boiled to oblivion in a percolator.
How far we have come. Whether served hot or over ice, or made by drip, French Press, N'Espresso or Keurig, each of us downs about 23 gallons of java a year, and those numbers are rising across the planet. Distinctions once reserved for wines are now applicable to coffee, with more Americans willing to buy premium, single-origin beans and to brew their cups carefully. Independent cafes also say they are doing more business selling high-quality beans.
Speaking of java, a relatively new entry, Marley Coffee, has already developed a loyal following for its extraordinary blends of specialty coffee maker grown on organic coffee farms in Jamaica, South America and Africa. The brand is under the aegis of Rohan Marley—yes, the son of that Marley. Bob was out to spread love, and so is Rohan—one cup at a time. Rohan's unwavering commitment to sustainable, organic and Fair Trade farming practices is evident throughout his entire business.
"Compared to wine, the new coffee culture is still in its infancy," Marley notes, "but appreciation is picking up quickly. It also helps that coffee drinkers worldwide far outnumber wine drinkers. We wanted to take the coffee-drinking experience to a new level so that more people can appreciate the sophisticated flavors. People used to think of coffee as just a cup of joe—all it had to be was strong and powerful. Now they want a whole different aroma, flavor and taste experience, and that is what we intend to keep giving them."
