The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

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With anything good comes pluses and minuses, pros and cons, ins and outs! This can surely be said of our most favorite yummy morning, afternoon and sometimes evening savorings. Coffee, tea, hot cocoa — yum-yum-m-m-m-m! Each carries with it a unique aroma and special goodness that is possibly only surpassed by one craving, that of pure chocolate! Ah-ha! Of course, there is the addition of extra chocolate to any of the aforementioned that makes it all the more sinful! Don't leave without the recipe at the end! 

Now, on to the topic at hand, The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly of your favorite brews!

 

COFFEE

I think we will all pray to the first cup of the day. It's a silent prayer, sung while the mind is still foggy and blue. "O Magic Cup, " it might go, "carry me above the traffic jam. Keep me civil in the subway. And forgive my employer, as you forgive me." Amen. ~Stewert Lee Allen

The Good...

+ Coffee Reduces Your Risk of Diabetes
+ Coffee Fights Free Radicals
+ Coffee Improves Memory and Cognition

The Bad...

- Coffee can increase Osteoporosis
- Conventional Coffee is Laden with Pesticides

The Ugly...

- - Coffee Causes Wrinkles
- - Coffee Can Actually Cause Weight Gain

Tidbits of Coffee Trivia:

25 Weird Coffee Trivia #10: By 1900 what could you expect to be delivered to your door in the United States by horse-pulled wagons besides blocks of ice? Coffee. Door-to-door salesmen, the kind you like to see coming.

Coffee Trivia: #100 The most widely accepted legend associated to the discovery of coffee is of the goat herder named Kaldi of Ethiopia. Around the year 800-850 A.D., Kaldi was amazed as he noticed his goats behaving in a frisky manner after eating the leaves and berries of a coffee shrub. And, of course, he had to try them!

More Coffee Trivia: Did you know in Turkey, wives can legally divorce if their husbands don’t provide a daily coffee quota?

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TEA

Tea can be hot or cold, and is a virtually calorie free, sugar free, fat free, and sodium free drink, but yet is said to be an aromatic and satisfying drink!

The Good...

+ Drinking hot tea offers some of the same benefits as chicken soup.
+Tea is known as nature's 'wonder drug'.
+Tea can reduce stress levels by up to a quarter.
+ Drinking one cup of tea daily could help reduce the risk of ovarian cancer.

The Bad...

- Drinking steaming tea may cause throat cancer.
- Drinking more than four cups of tea a day can increase women's risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.

The Ugly...

- - Tea contains oxalates, over consumption of which can cause kidney stones.

Tidbits of Tea Trivia:

51 Tea Facts Every Tea Lover Should Know  

# 5: The art of reading tea leaves is called tasseography.

#13: For centuries, tea was used only as a medicine. It took almost 3,000 years for tea to become an everyday drink.

#51:  Pu-erh tea is supposed to be slurped. Slurping aerates the tea, increasing the flavors and allowing better contact with the taste buds.

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HOT COCOA/CHOCOLATE

Amidst the frosty temperatures of Winter, what could be better that putting your lips to a cup of steaming hot chocolate? While the silky richness of the hot chocolate is absolutely delicious, it also provides a shield from the wicked bursts of cold.

The Good... 

+ Hot Cocoa/Chocolate reduces anxiety and anger due to phenyl ethylamine present in chocolate.

+ Hot Cocoa/Chocolate has a yummy taste and is consumed with pleasure.
+ Hot Cocoa/Chocolate is very good for digestion.

The Bad...

- Hot Cocoa/Chocolate contains caffeine which can be bad for the health.

The Ugly...

- - Hot Cocoa/Chocolate contains many calories because of high sugar and saturated fats that can lead to obesity.

Tidbits of Hot Cocoa/Chocolate Trivia: 

Fun Facts About Hot Chocolate: Hot Chocolate vs. Hot Cocoa—there IS a difference: (A) Hot chocolate is made directly from bar chocolate, which already contains cocoa, sugar and cocoa butter. (B) Hot cocoa is made from powder made by extracting most of the rich cocoa butter from the ground cacao beans.

Br-r-r-r-r-r! Is it freezing outside where you are? Not yet, you say. Well, you do not have to wait until cold weather to enjoy a cup of coffee, tea or hot cocoa/chocolate. A jolt of caffeine is a great pick-me-up any day, any time of day! 

Drink the REAL stuff...

So what is your favorite 'poison'. . . Coffee, Tea or Hot Cocoa/Chocolate or neither? Which brew would you choose as being the most beneficial? 

I promised you a recipe, so here it is...GO FOR IT!

 

Related Articles:

7 Coffee Pros & Cons
Interesting Tea Trivia
Top 10 Health Benefits of Drinking Tea
Funtastic Facts About Chocolate