American Coffee Trends in 2014

Coffee used to be something that people would just order because they knew it tasted good but more importantly, it woke us up. Nowadays, that is not quite the case. The amount of coffee we drink has changed as well as how we drink it.

The amount of Americans who drink a cup of coffee everyday has dropped down to 61 percent this year, a two percent drop from last year. However, those who drink java have become more prone to ordering drinks that are more espresso-based, like lattes or cappuccinos; these coffee drinkers have increased by 18 percent, a 5 percent increase from last year.

Gourmet coffee has taken a big increase in popularity, increased 31 percent since last year to a total of 34 percent of coffee drinkers opting for gourmet coffee everyday. Gourmet coffee is anything that is espresso-based as well as coffee made by beans that have been deemed gourmet.

Single cup coffee has also taken a sharp leap in popularity. With sales increasing 3x over the past few years. According to studies, 29 percent of American coffee drinkers claimed they brew their coffee from k cups, up 20 percent from last year. More and more Americans are buying single serve coffee brewing systems and finding their coffee online from online coffee retailers. 

Nearly 15 percent of American coffee drinkers reported that they have at least one single cup coffee brewer in their home or office. Those who use drip brewers have fallen to 53 percent since last year, that's more than cut in half than last year's numbers.

Coffee Has Been Tied to Lower Risk of Diabetes

Enjoy that java? Good, it turns out that coffee has been linked to lowering the chances of developing Type-2 Diabetes; also, as it turns out, cutting down on your coffee consumption can even increase your chances of developing Diabetes, as new studies report.

Over the course of 20 years, researches collected extensive information about diets, lifestyles, and medical conditions for more than 120k individuals; the discovered 7,269 individuals with Type-2 Diabetes.

Upon controlling factors such as smoking, age, weight, physical activity, alcohol consumption, and any family histories of diabetes, researchers realized that people who had increased their consumption of coffee by more than one eight-ounce cup of coffee a day (during a four year frame) had lowered their risk of diabetes by 11 percent. Individuals who decreased their coffee intake by the same amount had increased their chances of diabetes by 17 percent.

The thing is that the researchers found it was not the caffeine that was the trick; see, coffee actually has a lot of antioxidants as well as bioactive compounds in it; both antioxidants and bioactive compounds are good for glucose metabolism, which is what is affected with diabetes.

With all this being said, coffee is not a magical elixir that will cure everything; you still need to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle.

K Cup Coffee Machines to Start Making Oatmeal

You already use your single cup coffee machine to make your coffee, logical, but did you know that they will soon start making oatmeal too? Basically, you can use your coffee machine to make all your meals from when you wake up until you go to bed. The k cup brewing craze continues to own and innovate.

General Mills has reported that they are working on the portions of the oats, fruit, and nuts so the machines brew the correct amount of water; doing this will reportedly save more time than microwavable hot cereals that we eat these days. The name for the product is Bistro Cup Oatmeal.

Nature Valley, the company producing oatmeal for the k cup machines has said that they are hopeful this business decision will give a boost to the oatmeal industry. They believe that there are plenty of oatmeal lovers out there who already own k cup machines and would eat more oatmeal if it was even more convenient. Really, we know it'll taste good because it is the same oatmeal and virtually the same method of making it: brew some hot water and mix it with the oatmeal; the only thing that's different is that you are getting your hot water differently.

The product has already launched on Amazon and is planning on being launched on several store shelves across the country.

If you are looking for a place to purchase your k cup coffee, then make sure to visit Coffeevines. 

What Food Pairs with Coffee?

Coffee is a big deal, it is consumed by millions of people around the world every day. It is rather common to enjoy our coffee with some delicious food. However, what foods were basically created with coffee in mind and are the perfect partner to our java friend?

1. Beignets. This is pronounced like "ben-yay", like you just got really excited for some dude named Ben. These little guys are like heaven in your mouth! They are deep fried dough that you enjoy with a lot of powdered sugar. They are a famous treat at the renowned Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans. Due to the powered sugar, they can get a bit messy but it is worth it and they blend so well with a cup of your favorite single cup coffee. 
2. Coffee cake. Yeah, I mean "coffee" is in the name! Whether you like coffee cake that has fruit, cheese, nuts, plain, whatever, it is going to go well with some coffee. 
3. Donuts. How many times do you see someone enjoying a donut with their coffee? Think about this pairing and how perfect it is, a whole company is dedicated to this concept (Dunkin')! The best donuts for k cup coffee is a nice cake donut because they are denser but let's be real, any donut is going to work well. 
4.  Toast. Perhaps the simplest food pairing for some coffee, especially since the average household has at least one loaf of bread so you can make it whenever. Put some butter, margarine, or jam/jelly/preserves on it and you are in a good situation. 
5. Bacon, egg, and cheese bagel. Sometimes you want something savory to enjoy with your coffee, that's where this sandwich of awesomeness comes into play. Now, you don't have to do it on a bagel, an english muffin or toast works well too. 

If you are itching for some delicious coffee to enjoy with some breakfast, then visit Coffeevines and find your favorite brands of k cups of coffee and tea! 

More Good News About Green Tea!

Tea is one of the biggest and best beverages in the world; some say it is on the A-list of beverages that we have around the world. It's true, when you think about it, it is tied to all these wonderful things that can happen to our bodies; we see it is linked to weight loss, reducing stress and anxiety, controlling the growth of some cancer cells/free radicals. However, the list of things that tea can do does not stop there, now we can add… uh, what was it? Oh, that's right, "memory enhancer". Almost forgot. I should make myself a green tea K cup. 

Studies have been showing that tea, especially green tea, have been linked to enhancing our memories. Researchers from Switzerland did an experiment; in the experiment, they gave participants a drink that had 27.5 grams of green tea extract in it (those participating in the experiment were not privy to the information about what the beverage was). During the consumption of their beverages, the participants' brains were monitored by a fMRI machine as they completed tasks that challenged their short term memories.

Those who had green tea extract in their beverages were doing better than those who did not. They did better on the memory tasks and their brains showed different patterns of activation between their frontal lobe and the parietal lobe (front and back of the brain). Green tea apparently stimulates interaction between these two areas.

Further studies will be done to extend the knowledge on this subject.

Coffee and Tea Companies Will Start Selling K Cups You Can Recycle

Single cup coffee is one of the most popular forms of coffee in the world today; however, there is a hold up for some people who are more environment conscious, they struggle with the idea that all the empty k cups add a lot of waste. However, that is being resolved with a new trend for coffee and tea companies who make k cups.

One company, Mothers Parkers Tea and Coffee, based in Canada, is trying to address the problem by adopting a clear, recyclable k cup that they hope will gain popularity.

Another thing that has been going on to help improve the eco-friendliness of k cups is the reusable coffee k cup, like the one available from Keurig; Keurig also has a program where you can send your used cups to a facility and they will break them down. Keurig has made a promise that all single cup coffee will be recyclable by the year 2020.

The concept of making single serve coffee and tea something impressive to everyone is a goal for all companies involved in the industry; single cup coffee has had immense success since its introduction to the world a number of years ago; in the US, the growth rate of the industry has been 33.6% annually. Since 2008, the sales growth rate has been 78.6%.

2 Reasons Why K Cups Beat Ground Coffee

Almost every coffee lover battles with the argument about which style of coffee is better: k cup coffee or ground coffee that you brew through traditional drip methods.

However, here, we have provided two major reasons why k cups aka single cup coffee is better than ground coffee via drip method.

1. K cups do not waste any coffee. When you brew your cup of coffee from a single cup coffee brewer, you are only making enough coffee for yourself, in an amount that you can easily consume in a responsible amount of time. It may sounds selfish to only make enough coffee for yourself but in reality, it is more responsible than making a whole pot of coffee. See, when you make a whole pot, the whole thing has to be consumed within a short amount of time or it goes cold; once the coffee in the pot goes cold, you either have to heat it up again (gross), or you have to pour it down the drain (sorry, wallet). All the coffee maker brews is one cup that is a good amount, it's not like it brews a gallon just for you. 

1. You also do not waste coffee because of how long the coffee in the k cups can last. See, when you have k cups, the coffee grounds in the cups is not exposed to air or anything else until you brew the coffee. When you use bags or cans of coffee, all the grounds are exposed to air each and every time you open the packaging to scoop some coffee out. Over time, the air that gets inside reduces the quality of the coffee. 
2. Variety. With K cups, you can store them on either a carousel or a drawer and even just stack the boxes neatly in your cupboard. If you want to have 20 varieties of coffee blends on your counter, you can easily do that with the small k cups and neat organizer; if you try that with coffee cans, you will run out of counter space quickly. The convenience factor is off the charts when it comes to single cup coffee. Another aspect of convenience is the fact that if you want a different coffee blend than someone else, you don't have to wait to brew another pot to satisfy their desires, you just pop in a new k cup.