From: Karen Yue Sent: Mon 3/11/2008 5:37 PM
To: angie.eng
Cc:
Subject: Fwd: The caffeine curve

This is dedicated to you, girl.

I don't deny that it's great to have friends who are in the health industry. They can dish out advice and shed light on many health issues which are otherwise elusive to us aka commoners. A good example is The Best Friend; she buys me antibiotics, supplements and other pharmaceutical products at a cheaper rate and tells me what cervical cancer is about. Plus she's really good in Chemistry which makes her The Brother's official tutor. This is one reason I'm staying friends with her. LOL.

Then again, medical practitioners sometimes tend to overstep their professional boundaries and cannot start a meal without first warning about the amount of calories in each glass of Milo (and the distance one has to run to lose it), the cholesterol level in prawns or the zinc/iron/steel/whatever level in seafood.

Let me get straight to the point. You can throw me a disgusted stare if I'm eating and praising totally subprime food. But you will never stop me from eating my Puay Huat minced pork noodles, with every sesame oil, chilli oil and fried pork lard included.

Last night, I had a dinner gathering with the girls to celebrate Liming's birthday. Still waiting for the rest of the perpetual late-comers, I urged two girl friends to place their orders first. While at it, I declined any drinks. I cited Starbucks is across the road and I wanted to have my caffeine fix there after the meal. A girl friend's eyes immediately flicked to me, wide open. Like I've committed the biggest taboo, she asked if I knew what caffeine could implicate. Somehow I had a bad premonition. I furrowed my brows a little and wondered if she's going to 101 me about osteoporosis.

In a slow prolonged drawl, she said, "Donnn't youuu knooow... coffee causes osteoporousisss... Next time I will see youuu in my hospitaaal."

I froze. I looked at her with my brows knitted and tangled all over. I've never felt like bitch-slapping any homo sapien as much I wanted to at that very second.

There is a mighty fine line between giving concerned advice and being bitchy. MIGHTY FINE LINE. (Yes Best Friend, I'm trying not to use profanes here)

I offered a weak smile and turned my face away because I might just give in to the urge to spit at her face. Nobody, I mean nobody, puts my latte in a corner. Especially not with that bitch-slap-friendly face.

Thanks but the tone the expression the mention of hospital... it's akin to warning me that I better start believing in God before He strikes earth with his stuff, otherwise express lane to hell is waiting for me. Pleez.

In fact, I could list out so many reasons why caffeine is the next best gift from God. (First being the cacao tree)

With moderated intake:

1. Caffeine enhances brain stimulation and alertness
2. Caffeine improves the working of Short-term Memory (STM)
3. The high level of anti-oxidants in caffeine protect us from damaging free-radicals
4. Caffeine reduces stiffness in muscles and rid of muscle-aches (Good drink the morning after a long run)
5. Caffeine consumption decreases the risk of Parkinson's disease, and delay the onset of it
6. Caffeine protects against cirrhosis of the liver
7. Caffeine protects against gallbladder disease
8. Caffeine protects against colon cancer
9. Caffeine protects against heart disease
10. Caffeine offers a laxative effect for some (good for those with constipation)
11. Caffeine is used to treat headaches and asthma
12. Caffeine has shown to improve insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism, which proves to be beneficial for diabetes
13. A cup of coffee after lunch counters the 'post-lunch dip'
14. Caffeine calms and reduces anxiety and depression
15. Trigonelline, a compound in coffee, has anti-adhesive and antibacterial properties, which helps prevent cavities
16. A coffee break with colleagues helps in team bonding and office gossip-spreading (very healthy)

So if you have had a loooong day at work, beer - which gives you infinite gas, burps and a bloated stomach - is not the only way out. A cuppa warm gourmet coffee gives a good level of comfort too. So you know what my stand is: put your 'hospital scare' tactic away cos ain't nobody is keeping me away from my cafe latte.

Black as the devil, Hot as hell,
Pure as an angel, Sweet as love.

- Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord

Sod's Law
- noun
1. humorous axiom stating that anything that can go wrong will go wrong at the worst possible moment or manner: Knowing that I'm in white linen crop pants, the kopitiam auntie thinks it's funny to pack my kopi in plastic bag with holes...

Clearly, I have one more reason to avoid the kopitiam scene and just stick with Spinelli... For now, I just gotta live with white linen crop pants with brown podka dots on the one side of the pants. Blardy hell damn it.

A few nights ago I dreamt of coffee. Don't roll your eyes yet. I dreamt of me quitting coffee (now that's new). I went cold turkey all together and it hurts. It hurts from the roots of my hair, right down to the nails of my toes. And strangely, it feels worse than having to quit on drugs (I wouldn't know, just imagining). It was a nightmare.

The following morning, I thought I should skip my usual skinny latte. Boy I was so darn wrong. What followed was a potential week of crankiness. A dark and gloomy cloud was literally hanging over my head - my eyes felt heavy, my shoulders aching, my incessant yawning and the inability to read a single structured sentence without going off-focus. I couldn't stop tapping my feet to shake off the urge for a java jolt. I endured this for two days, but it seemed like eternity. Like 'whatthehellwhenisthisgogintoend'

F*** it. I'm never gonna make it. At least not now. Work is piling up (more than the Post-Its notes on my desk) and fellow homo sapien I call 'friend' is not exacting helping by throwing tantrums over trivia and meaningless matters. How could a simple one sentence question escalate into a 'flame-war'? -throws hands up in the air- I give up. My harmless intention is mistaken and I get criticised as 'childish'. O_o" I swear this time I am not at fault and my temper is in check. If this fails, I don't know what else works.

My brainy gears need to work and caffeine is the oil. Period.

My drink personality says:

"You want to start your day with something you can relax and enjoy. You need this drink size because you want to enjoy more! You day looks like... It's coffee time!
I see you are an adventurous person."

Coffee addicts lovers out there, check out the latest promotion from Starbucks at www.itsmydrink.starbucks.com.sg

And this is why I'm so f**ing in love with Spinelli (pardon my French). It understands why we're in NEED coffee!

Kai (the server) knows exactly what I want before I make my order and the americano he makes certainly breathes in life, well, in my life. But now that the purse strings have tightened, I got to make do with 90-cents coffee from Ya Kun-wannabes. I'm sure I'll see light again very soon.

Colleague: sigh... hot coffee never tasted better than when you're cold and sleepy...

I couldn't agree more. Never mind we're not logging in late nights (madness kinda late nights) anymore since the Pattaya show ended. Oh heavenly, the sensation of enriching our sleepy droopy heads with the intensity of aromatic volatile coffee compunds, the masking of its acidity, viscosity of proteins and fibers in the brew and the lingering remnant of the coffee taste. Omph....

Anyway, a sleepy after-lunch afternoon is just another excuse to experience such beautiful awakening process. Here's a comic strip dedicated to you, Wendy. =D

Some little known facts about coffee:

• From Ethiopia to Seattle, five billion people around the world drink coffee daily. And half of them have the beverage during breakfast.

• Coffee bean is the second largest commodity to be traded after oil.

• Coffee is considered a legal drug. Ask me for starters and you'll know why 'legal drug'.

• For every $2 of coffee, 1 cent goes to the coffee bean farmer.

• A certain Pope was asked to condemn coffee, reason being it was thought to be associated with the devil and hence its evilness. Instead, the Pope fell in love with coffee and had it baptised.

• Espresso has less caffeine than other brews of coffee

• The introduction of coffee indirectly brought about the French Revolution. The French suddenly find themselves less dependent on alcohol and were able to think with clear minds. Coffeehouses became the meeting point for the flowing of ideas, visions and all that jazz. Fast forward, French Revolution started.

• Coffee beans were exported to Brazil due to an illicit affair between a Brazilian envoy and the wife of a French diplomat. The lady tucked coffee beans into a bouquet of roses and gave the Brazilian as a parting gift.

• During a certain revolution, the British showed their patriotism by ditching tea for coffee.

• Slavery fuelled the coffee production in Brazil

• A certain Brazilian dictator shot himself in the heart after failing to prevent prices of Brazil coffee beans from falling – due to an oversupply.

Cool yeah? This is only the tip of the ice berg. Coffee never seems the same anymore. So much behind one puny little bean; the pleasure and pain it caused. Shan't write a thesis paper on it (am not well-versed in that either).

Meanwhile, everyone raise your cups and cans, cheers to coffee and drink up! *SLURP*

More interesting stuff on Black Coffee, Discovery Travel & Living, every Tuesday 10pm.

"I want this," I pointed at the drink featured on Wendy's Spinelli's Friend Card.
"This?" "Yeah, THIS one."

Always so fasinated by latte art, I want to find a good coffee place which serves decent latte art (and superb coffee no less) next to Gloria Jeans (it closed its outlets in Singapore, heaven knows why).

"Okay, latte art must add another five dollars," the server laughed "No lah, just joking."
"If you can write my name on it, I don't mind giving you the five bucks," I replied as a matter-of-factly.
The server turned to his colleague - a young chap, "Eh you got challenge now."

Nay, it seems that they haven't been challenged very often. The young chap's hands were trembling when he poured the espresso in. He couldn't even etch the froth properly. And I got this. Hmm...

Trust me. My mobile camera did a good job at enhancing the tones and highlights; the real thing seemed so *bleah*. Fortunately (for me or them?), the coffee itself was good enough to cover up that unfortunate-looking froth.

Probably I should check out the Spinelli branch at Caltex House. Kai should be able to give me a (more) decent one.

missybe is an incidental blogger-cum-caffiene-addict who digs latte BIG time. Who says sick cannot drink kopi??

Technorati Tag: Latte Art, Spinelli

Stress (noun)
A mentally or emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to adverse external influences and capable of affecting physical health, usually characterized by incread heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability, and depression.

****
I feel so stretched at work. Smokers can take their faggers' break while I take my coffee break. So much so that by looking at the rate I'm consuming coffee and dark chocolate every morning, afternoon and night, I could jolly well drop dead, dehydrated, in my own LS at the ladies. Oops, gross.

P.S. In case you don't know or haven't got a freaking clue of what I'm talking about, coffee has strong laxative effect.

missybe is an incidental blogger-cum-high-time-coffee-addict who has quited coffee for the past 5 months. Now, she's back at it again. Bad news.