Coffee?

[GeneChing]

Have you tried Nescafe Dolce Gusto?

I live right near a gourmet coffee roastery which has converted me into a coffee snob. And I'm really not much of a coffee drinker. I drink tea. Is this truly 'sweet taste'? Actually, for me personally, I'm not into sweet. I'm asking for a friend, or at least the rest of the forum here.

I'm fascinated with the rise of coffee drinking in China and delighted that this thread has become so topical.

Tim Hortons is planning to open 1,500 stores in China over the next decade Photo: GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File

Canada coffee chain Tim Hortons to open 1,500 stores in China
July 11 11:50 pm JST
By Aaron Vincent Elkaim
MONTREAL

Canadian coffee shop chain Tim Hortons announced Wednesday it will open more than 1,500 branches in China over the next decade.

"China's population and vibrant economy represent an excellent growth opportunity for Tim Hortons in the coming years," said Alex Macedo, president of the company known for its coffee and donuts.

"We have already seen Canada's Chinese community embrace Tim Hortons and we now have the opportunity to bring the best of our Canadian brand to China," his statement said.

Burger King bought the chain in 2014 for CAN$12.5 billion (U.S.$11.4 billion), and Tim Hortons now boasts 4,700 locations worldwide, mostly in Canada and the United States.

The chain -- named after its creator, former professional ice hockey player Tim Horton -- has become a staple along Canada's roadways since opening its first counter in 1964 in Hamilton, Ontario.

The company came under fire earlier this year when some franchise owners reduced employee breaks to compensate for Ontario's rising minimum wage.

Silence from the company's headquarters sparked calls to boycott the restaurant, causing its popularity among Canadians to drop in polls.

[GeneChing]

Maybe we'll need a Luckin thread soon. Anyone try this yet?

FEELING THE HEAT
A Chinese coffee startup has Starbucks sweating


A Starbucks staff member hands out free coffee to customers at an event to mark the 10th anniversary of Starbucks' launch in China, at the the company's original outlet in Beijing Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009. The Coffee chain Starbucks has started producing coffee grown by farmers in China and hopes to bring the blend to stores all over the world.
Will they lose her to Luckin? (AP Images/Greg Baker)

WRITTEN BY Josh Horwitz
5 hours ago

Starbucks has said publicly it will ramp up its delivery services across China, as its most recent earnings report showed signs of a potential slowdown in the country.

While details about the rollout are scarce, its pending launch suggests that Starbucks is acknowledging competition in China from a fast-growing rival.

Chinese media outlet Caijing reported last week (link in Chinese) that Starbucks, in partnership with food delivery service Ele.me, will let Chinese consumers order coffee from their phones starting next month. Ele.me became a subsidiary of Alibaba in April, when the e-commerce giant acquired the startup for $9.5 billion (paywall). Its chief rival is Meituan, a delivery and services provider that recently filed to IPO in Hong Kong.

“Alibaba and Starbucks are always exploring new ways to deepen our long-term partnership in China,” Alibaba told Quartz. “We have nothing more to share at this point.” Starbucks China did not respond to Quartz’s request for comment.

On July 27, in its financial results for the quarter ending on July 1, Starbucks revealed that comparable store sales in China declined 2% annually. Somewhat worryingly, the drop comes amid a broad expansion in China. Earlier this year, the company said it hopes the country will house 6,000 stores by 2022—roughly double its current count, amounting to a new store opening every 15 hours.

What explains the drop? It’s possible that Starbucks’ new retail stores are cannibalizing sales from its existing ones. But it’s also possible that it’s facing a squeeze from Luckin Coffee, a Beijing-based rival that launched last October. The Chinese company already has over 500 outlets and has marketed itself with ubiquitous ads, steep discounts, and an aggressive media campaign. Central to Luckin Coffee’s premise is delivery: Half of its outlets are kitchens dedicated solely to fulfilling online orders.

For years, Starbucks operated in China with no serious competition, occupying 58.6% of China’s coffee market in 2016, according to research firm Euromonitor International. Its closest rivals were McDonald’s and Costa, which held 6.1% and 3.8% of the market, respectively.

Even if Luckin Coffee is currently smaller than those companies, Starbucks seems to be aware of its presence.

Speaking to analysts in an earnings call, Starbucks China CEO Belinda Wong stopped short of naming Luckin Coffee directly when discussing rivals. But by noting the competition’s delivery and penchant for discounts, it’s no secret which company Starbucks fears nipping at its heels.

“While recent coffee market entrants have chosen to capitalize on delivery combined with heavily discounted offers, there’s significant compromises at play in terms of quality, experience, and business sustainability. These will prove to be short-lived,” she said. “Let me assure you that our new delivery service will adhere to the high standards our customers in China have come to expect with regard to the Starbucks experience.”

[GeneChing]

Fremont? WTH? We're in FREMONT!!!

COFFEE 8 hours ago
California coffee shop's bikini-clad baristas will now wear shorts and tank tops following backlash from community
By Michael Bartiromo | Fox News

The owner of Pink Pantherz Espresso announced his newest location will employ baristas in more modest clothing. (Google)

The bikini-clad baristas at the newest Pink Pantherz Espresso shop near Redwood City, Calif., will be ditching their swimsuits when the café opens on Friday afternoon, albeit in favor of more modest attire.

Pink Pantherz, which regularly employs scantily-clad female baristas at its locations in Modesto, Fresno and Fremont, has come to an agreement with San Mateo County after meeting with concerned residents near the Redwood City location — and amid threats of protesters planning to march outside the café.

pinkpantherzespresso1
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675 likes
pinkpantherzespresso1Good morning! Come see @bridale22 before she’s off at 12pm in Fremont! Grab a wet kiss mocha with white coffee��☕️

As part of the agreement, the owner of the shop has confirmed the female servers in the new location – which actually sits in a unincorporated part of North Fair Oaks – will wear shorts and tank tops instead of lingerie and bikinis.

The coffee stand will also rename some of the edgier items on the menu, including its “Bootycall” and “Pantydropper” drinks.

“[Pink Pantherz is] revisiting drink names and even implementing, for the first time, a more family-friendly dress policy for their baristas,” Pink Pantherz Espresso owner, Jose Carmona, told The Mercury News.

“We’re surprised [by the backlash] obviously, just because it’s not a new concept, but at the end of the day we’re a company and we can change,” Carmona added.

Public outcry over the newest Pink Pantherz Espresso location erupted earlier this summer, after residents became aware of the “bikini shop” planning to open on El Camino Real, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

pinkpantherzespresso1
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690 likes
pinkpantherzespresso1Good afternoon Modesto!Britany is here till 8 come get a sweet thang before she’s gone!She will be back Thursday 4-10

In the time since, the San Mateo County received a petition signed by 2,000 people opposed to the shop’s opening, while another Change.org petition gathered 1,500.

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors also met with residents to discuss their issues with the baristas’ dress code, which some feared would send the wrong message to schoolchildren passing by.

While Friday afternoon's protest was canceled after the announcement, some still plan on marching as “a celebration of the power of community,” Sister Christina Heltsley told the Mercury News.

“The young women that are [employed by Pink Pantherz] have their reasons [but] it feels like we’ve made so many steps forward and this is going backward.”

County officials are also pleased with Carmona’s decision, but admitted the “distasteful” attire of the baristas was not technically violating any rules.

Bottoms Up Espresso is planning to open up a new location in Chico, Calif., but the idea appears to have residents hot and bothered - and not in the way the owners likely intended.
Pink Pantherz Espresso's opening in the summer came weeks after a similar California chain, Bottoms Up Espresso, began getting backlash over its new location in Chico.

THREADS
Breastaurants
Coffee?

Shoot, those pix aren't copying...

[GeneChing]

Ethiopian coffee chain plans for 100 cafes in China
Garden of Coffee eyes the mainland market with their artisanal Ethiopian coffee beans
by Jethro Kang October 30, 2018 in Food



China’s coffee scene continues brewing with the entrance of Ethiopian cafe chain Garden of Coffee, who plans to establish over 100 outlets on the mainland.

The African cafe and roastery will open their first branch in Shanghai soon, joining other local and foreign chains battling for a slice of China’s growing thirst for coffee.

Founded by Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu in 2016, Garden of Coffee is known for their hand-roasted Ethiopian coffee beans. The country is widely acknowledged as the birthplace of coffee and is one of the world’s largest coffee producer and the top grower of the beans.

Besides a physical location, Garden of Coffee is selling their range of five coffee beans on WeChat together with accessories. A Taobao store is also in the works.

Their bigger plan, however, is to have over 100 stores in China by 2022. Garden of Coffee is also launching a subscription service for customers to receive coffee beans in one-, two-, or four-week intervals.

Garden of Coffee isn’t the only cafe chain eyeing a slice of the mainland. Kenyan-based chain Java House signed an agreement in August with a Shanghai logistics firm to export their beans to China, while Seattle coffee behemoth Starbucks wants to double their 3,400 over stores by 2022. Most ambitious is homegrown brand Luckin Coffee, who plans to have more outlets in China than Starbucks.

I love Ethiopian coffee. Why don't we have this chain here in the U.S.?

[GeneChing]

this sux

Why Your Morning Coffee Might Cost More in 2019
By BLOOMBERG December 29, 2018

It’s been a big year for the companies that sell coffee, but not so much for the growers that supply them. That could start to change in 2019.

Historically low prices for coffee beans in 2018 will likely reduce the incentive for farmers to expand supplies, said Rodrigo Costa, the U.S.-based coffee director for Brazilian trading company Comexim. That could mean a price spurt ahead, analysts say, as major moves within the industry promise to boost consumption worldwide.

Coca-Cola Co., for instance, spent $5 billion in 2018 to get into the java space. Meanwhile, Nestle SA made its third-largest deal in 152 years when agreeing to pay $7.15 billion for the right to market products from Starbucks Corp., which is now expanding in China at a rate of a new store every 15 hours as demand in the world’s second largest economy booms.

“You can’t have everybody in the chain winning at the same time,” said Lucio Dias, commercial director at Cooxupe, the world’s largest coffee-growers cooperative, in an telephone interview from Guaxupe, Brazil. “Now, it’s been the time of the industry.”

Next year, he and others say, the growers may get a bigger piece of the action. Coffee futures are forecast to average $1.24 a pound in 2019, according to the mean estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. That’s up from $1.15 a pound this year, which is below the past five-decade average price.

That will come as consumption has increased by an average 3.6 million bags a year since 2014-15 season, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

It’s been a tough 2018 for farmers. Prices for arabica-coffee beans, the type favored by Starbucks, fell about 20 percent this year in New York, touching the lowest level since 2006.

The annual average price paid to farmers in Brazil was the lowest in four years in local currency terms. That’s because demand growth has been more than offset by a jump in coffee supplies led by the south American country after a wave of investments in trees, fertilizers and improved growing techniques in the past few years was met with near-perfect weather conditions in 2018.

Global coffee output in the current season is estimated at a record 174.5 million bags, up 15.6 million from the previous year, also reflecting output increases in Colombia and Vietnam, the USDA said on Dec. 14. Ending stocks are seen rising by a quarter to a four-year high.

Excess supplies favored the consumer end of the sector over producers. In 2018, U.S. retail prices for roasted coffee rose to an average 3.8 times the price for the commodity futures traded in New York, the highest level since 2013.

The weakening of the Brazilian real and the Colombian peso against the dollar also played a role in the drop by encouraging local farmers to sell more of their coffee, which is usually priced in the greenback. So did the worst decline in commodity prices since 2015 amid rising interest rates in the U.S.

Output in Brazil should decline to 55 million bags from a record 63.4 million bags this year as the country enters the lower-yielding half of a biennial cycle, which should help sustain prices and favor farmers over roasters, Dias of Cooxupe said.

[GeneChing]

When you learn a new term like 'anal cleft', it's time to split Bikini Baristas off into its own indie thread from Breastaurants.

A sign of the times.

COFFEEPublished 20 hours agoLast Update 14 hours ago
Bikini baristas appeal city ordinance issuing dress code
By Alexandra Deabler | Fox News

Bikini baristas appeal city ordinance issuing dress code

How much “anal cleft” is one allow to show while at work? That’s the question one Washington court is trying to answer.

A U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is reviewing an ongoing legal saga between bikini baristas and the city of Everett over the anatomical phrase “anal cleft” and whether dress codes imposed on businesses violate their civil rights.

Both sides appeared in court Monday to further argue the city’s ordinance, which was passed August 2017, that restricts what employees of “quick-service” restaurants wear by requiring that the “bottom one-half of the anal cleft” be covered, Herald Net reported.

According to the ordinance, employees who work at fast food restaurants, food trucks and coffee stands are required to wear at least a tank top and shorts while at work.


Employees are required to wear at least a tank top and shorts. (City of Everett)

U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman approved the injunction during litigation, ruling the ordinance likely violates the bikini baristas’ First and 14th Amendment rights.

“The term ‘bottom one-half of the anal cleft’ is not well-defined or reasonably understandable, and the ordinances otherwise fail to provide clear guidance and raise risks of arbitrary enforcement. The court finds that the dress code ordinance likely violates plaintiffs’ right to free expression under the First Amendment,” Pechman wrote in the injunction order, Courthouse News reported.

Jovanna Edge, owner of Hillbilly Hotties, one of several bikini barista coffee shops involved in the suit, and attorney Melinda Ebelhar argued that the order was intentionally vague and would be too difficult to enforce.

Ebelhar claimed it would take “advanced math” to figure out whether the bottom half of the anal cleft was exposed.

U.S. Circuit Judge Morgan Christen seemed to agree, asking, “How can law enforcement determine where the bottom half is and measure it?” Courthouse News reported.

Assistant city attorney Ramsey Ramerman disagreed with the questioning, saying that the legislation was specifically worded and argued that Edge understood what the new dress code law allowed.

Ramerman argued it was the city’s responsibility to combat prostitution or illegal sexual activity – messages he claimed the bikini barista coffee stand was sending.

Judge Sandra Ikuta agreed, stating she was concerned customers would see the women working as saying: “I am sexually available,” the Herald Net reported.

According to the publication, Ebelhar defended the baristas' choice of outfits as personal expression, female empowerment and a form of body positivity.

“The message they are sending is this is not your mother’s coffee stand,” she said.

A final ruling has not yet been reported.

Alexandra Deabler is a Lifestyle writer and editor for Fox News.

Man, whaddya gotta do to get a cup of coffee here?

[GeneChing]

Man, remember when the WC forum was such the rage here? Now it's a struggle for me to find newsworthy articles to post here from my newsfeeds.

Nevertheless, this looks amusing.

SMES
"Business is not a war, so stop treating it like one"
Leon co-founder John Vincent on how an ancient Chinese martial art transformed its corporate culture.
by Stephen Jones
Published: 08 Oct 2019 Last Updated: 09 Oct 2019

Leon’s director of wellbeing has just punched me in the chest. "Did you feel that?," Julian Hitch asks without a hint of remorse. "It’s so much more powerful when the arm is straight."

He’s not wrong, I mutter to myself.

We’re standing in what will be the wellbeing studio of the healthy fast food chain’s brand new Borough office, learning Wing Tsun (pronounced wing chun), a defensive martial art.

Just how a martial arts expert came to be involved with Leon is itself an interesting story. Leon co-founder John Vincent bid for Hitch in a charity fundraising event in 2015, winning the opportunity for him to host a session at the company’s upcoming wellbeing retreat.

At the time, Vincent says he was looking for a new approach, and Wing Tsun’s wisdom, focused on winning not fighting, knowing yourself and achieving longevity, opened the door to a new way of doing business. Hitch was invited to come aboard and has been heading up Leon’s wellbeing initiatives for the last four years.

All of the company’s baristas, new starters, leadership team and support staff are now offered the chance to learn Wing Tsun (WT), and Vincent says the martial art’s principles have become central to the company’s internal strategy.

It’s easy to be sceptical about the idea of building a business around principles that date back to the fourteenth century Ming dynasty, but Vincent and Hitch are convinced of its uses as a tool for business and lifestyle success - so convinced in fact that they’ve spent the last four years co-authoring a book about it.

Leon’s growth from under 20 to over 70 stores amid turbulent market conditions, they say, is physical proof of the philosophy’s impact.

WHY WING TSUN? HOW CAN IT BE USED FOR BUSINESS?
Hitch: "The barista example is really interesting. It can be a challenging position, it’s quite full on. If you get someone’s coffee wrong it can literally make or break their morning so there’s a lot of pressure - and when you’re making 200 in a morning, there's a lot of potential for mistakes.

"We started looking at how we could apply the principles of WT practically to the coffee machine - so that’s things like natural ergonomics and the shortest line. We then focused on the concept of mastery, which is how do you make something that’s repetitive something that’s actually enjoyable and becomes a professional development for you.

"The timings for our coffee test - which is make six coffees in five minutes - were on average 90 seconds quicker and heart rate went down from around 100 to 60 BPM."

Vincent: "One of the fundamental parts of transforming the culture has been getting everyone to know themselves - to understand what drives them emotionally and how to work more effectively with each other.

"The fundamental difference between Leon and other restaurants is that the managers are living free from fear. And they’re able to replicate that atmosphere in their restaurants.

"They're not blocking people or policies with their own emotions and therefore the organisation becomes more fluid and change becomes much easier because people are more willing to accept new ways of doing things."

YOU SAY THAT BUSINESS ISN’T ABOUT FIGHTING? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?
Vincent: "Business is often framed as a battle or a war. We talk about targeting the customer, having a war room or annihilating the competition.

"The impact of that is you're always forcing, you're always over-exerting, you're creating aggressive business plans,and you're fundamentally associating success with fighting. That makes you less creative - in combat you go into tunnel vision."

SURELY IT’S NOT ALWAYS THAT LITERAL - ISN’T A FUNDAMENTAL PART OF BUSINESS COMPETITION?
Vincent: "What did World War Two do for Britain? It destroyed the Empire and made us one of the poorest, stupidest countries in the world. War doesn't help, so why would businesses adopt it as a metaphor?

"In WT the first step is to know yourself and become conscious of who you are both as a person and as a business. Many people have never even asked themselves that. The first thing you recognise is that the conflict that you have perceived is created by you and your fears. So in a personal situation, understanding when you have reacted negatively and being able to understand that is really important.

"Before [I met Julian] I probably focused too much on beating the competition, and now I literally don't give a **** about competition. We’re not saying don’t have some sort of peripheral vision for what the competition is doing. We’re saying don’t make destroying them your objective. Make looking after the customer, and most importantly the people in your company, the objective.

"If you’re seeking to destroy something else you’re not doing that."


Vincent (left) bid for Hitch (right) in a charity raffle

IT ALL SOUNDS A BIT ALTRUISTIC. DOES IT REALLY WORK?
Vincent: "It’s based on a thousand years of understanding human nature and it’s completely validated by all the major psychologists of the 20th century. Businesses that adopt it are successful. Leon is the best performing company in the sector, and all the others that are focused on "fighting" are not performing as well. I would ask anyone who is sceptical about it how "fighting" is working for them? Is it helping you sleep, is it helping your people be more fulfilled? No."

SO WHERE SHOULD A BOSS START?
Vincent: "It’s a process where you get to understand ego and what causes conflict in the workplace or in your life in general. So everybody’s first step should be to have a really clear map of your own personality and then to watch out for when a situation, or their reaction to a situation, could be caused by their own ego or insecurities."

Hitch: "Understand that the more you force others, the more it takes of your own energy. So that ability to know yourself and then become more relaxed through that can have a profound change on you and your business."

Vincent and Hitch’s book, Winning Not Fighting: Why you need to rethink success and how you can achieve it with the ancient art of Wing Tsun, published by Penguin Business, is out in November.

THREADS
Wing chun books
Coffee?

[GeneChing]

Replacing Coffee With Green Tea Affects Your Body In These 6 Ways, Experts Say
By JR THORPE
Dec 1, 2019


Lars Mensel / EyeEm/EyeEm/Getty Images

Coffee is one of America's favorite beverages — a survey published in 2018 found that 64% of the nation drinks at least one cup every day — and a hot steaming espresso in the morning can be one of life's greatest joys. However, coffee isn't your only choice for morning caffeine. Green teas, which are created by treating fresh tea leaves with steaming or gentle heating, have less caffeine in them than black teas or coffee, but enough to give you a boost. They also have a host of other health benefits. If you're looking for a way to perk up in the morning but are increasingly dissatisfied with coffee, switching from coffee to green tea might be a great option.

There isn't one uniform type of green tea; there are a lot of varieties, including those with added flavors like flowers or herbs. Smoky, roasted green teas like hojicha taste very different from steamed teas like sencha because of their method of production — and leaf teas taste much better than anything you get in a teabag. (Sorry, but it's true.) However, all green teas have particular ingredients and compounds that can affect your health. If you're interested in switching over from coffee to green tea in the mornings for your dose of caffeine, here's what might happen.

1. You'll Be Ingesting Less Caffeine — If You Don't Drink Matcha


Lorenzo Antonucci/Image Source/Getty Images

You may have heard that tea contains more caffeine than coffee, but that's only half the story. "At its core, tea leaves contain more caffeine than coffee beans," Dr. Edo Paz, M.D., a cardiologist at online health consultancy K Health, tells Bustle. "However, once both are brewed, the amount of caffeine in coffee exceeds that in tea."

The amount of caffeine you ingest from green tea depends on a lot of things: the variety you choose, whether it involves leaf tips or buds (which contain more caffeine), and whether it's powdered or uses whole leaves. Matcha, the popular powdered tea, has a much higher caffeine content than leaf green teas, because a single cup of it contains many more ground-up leaves than a cup of leaf tea. If you drink matcha in the mornings rather than coffee, you'll be ingesting more caffeine than you once did. If, however, you stick to the non-powdered varieties of green tea, your caffeine intake will drop, which can cause withdrawal symptoms.

"If you drink a lot of coffee, you may get headaches when you try to cut back," Dr. Paz says. Switching from coffee to green tea may not cause all the symptoms of caffeine withdrawal, because green tea still contains approximately 20 to 30 milligrams of caffeine per cup. If you're switching from very strong double espressos to one cup of green tea, though, you may experience headaches, irritability, difficulty concentrating and lack of focus for a short time until your body adjusts.

2. You Might Help Anxiety & Sleep Issues

Cutting back on caffeine levels by drinking green tea may help lower anxiety and improve sleep, particularly if you happen to be sensitive to caffeine. "The higher caffeine content of coffee may negatively impact people who are sensitive to caffeine," Ramzi Yacoub, the chief pharmacy officer at SingleCare, a prescriptions service, tells Bustle. "They may experience anxiety, insomnia, and heart effects like increased heart rate or blood pressure."

If this sounds familiar, it might be worth lowering your caffeine levels by switching over to green tea. The change could help decrease your body's anxiety response and reduce symptoms of caffeine over-stimulation — while still giving you enough of a caffeine boost to get going in the morning.

3. You'll Ingest More Antioxidants


Jurga Po Alessi/Moment/Getty Images

Green tea also contains various compounds and ingredients that can help our immune systems, fight off infection, and lower our risk of diseases. "Another benefit of tea is the amount of antioxidants it contains," Dr. Paz tells Bustle. "While coffee also has its fair share, tea typically has a higher concentration." Green tea in particular has a variety of antioxidants that have been shown to have health-boosting properties, and has a higher antioxidant content than coffee.

One of the most studied antioxidants in green tea are the catechins, a compound found abundantly in tea, cocoa, and berries. Catechins have been shown in studies to have antimicrobial properties, and a review of science published in 2010 found that they've also been shown to lower cardiovascular disease risk, help prevent degenerative diseases, and assist with kidney and liver function. Catechins have also been implicated as a possible way to lower the risk of breast and other cancers, but as with a lot of dietary science, the possibility that green tea is a cancer-buster is hugely individual. Just switching from coffee to green tea won't automatically change your cancer risk.

continued next post

[GeneChing]

4. You May Reduce Inflammation

Inflammation, which is the immune system's response to threats and stress, is a key factor in keeping you healthy, but it's also a component in a lot of health conditions, particularly when it won't go away. Persistent low-grade inflammation has been linked to heart conditions, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, degenerative illnesses and various cancers, according to research published in 2018.

Enter green tea. A study in 2018 found that green tea has serious anti-inflammatory properties; in other words, it's capable of reducing inflammation levels, because it stimulates the body's anti-inflammatory responses and calms the immune system down. Coffee can also reduce inflammation levels, but its anti-inflammatory properties are lower than those of coffee. If you have chronic low-grade inflammation, you may find that green tea can help more than coffee does.

5. It May Be Better For Your Oral Health


Jurga Po Alessi/Moment/Getty Images

Switching from coffee to green tea may be an unexpected boost for your mouth. Coffee can heighten your risk for the gum infection periodontitis, according to a large study published in PLoS One in 2018, and also increases your risk of tooth staining. Green tea, however, seems to have benefits. A study published in Oral Chemistry in 2016 found that its anti-microbial properties might reduce the risk of certain harmful bacteria building up in the mouth over time.

Switching over from coffee to green tea may also help the bacterial population in your mouth in general. We all have an oral microbiome; it's a collection of bacteria and other living things in our mouths that can help or hinder its health. A study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention in 2018 found that tea drinkers had a more varied microbiome in their mouths than coffee drinkers, complete with higher amounts of helpful bacteria. That could help prevent infections and general oral issues. Tea might change your mouth for the better.

6. You'll Still Reap The Benefits Of Caffeine

Caffeine can have serious benefits, even in the small amounts you get from green tea. Scaling your caffeine intake down rather than going cold turkey means that you can still reap some of those benefits. "Caffeine is an effective stimulant to help improve physical performance and mental alertness," Yacoub tells Bustle. "In some studies, caffeine has also been shown to reduce type two diabetes." Harvard Medical School notes that in small doses caffeine has also been shown to help protect against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. A little caffeine a day may prove to be helpful to your health in the long run.

If you're thinking of making the move from coffee to green tea, research indicates that you may be looking at improved health outcomes in the future. It's definitely worth considering swapping your espresso for a cup of sencha. Just don't pour boiling water over green tea leaves; it scorches them. Take it from a devotee.

Studies cited:

Bhupathiraju, S. N., Pan, A., Manson, J. E., Willett, W. C., Dam, R. M. V., & Hu, F. B. (2014). Changes in coffee intake and subsequent risk of type 2 diabetes: three large cohorts of US men and women. Diabetologia, 57(7), 1346–1354. doi: 10.1007/s00125-014-3235-7

Chacko, S. M., Thambi, P. T., Kuttan, R., & Nishigaki, I. (2010). Beneficial effects of green tea: a literature review. Chinese medicine, 5, 13. doi:10.1186/1749-8546-5-13

Fujiki, H., Sueoka, E., Watanabe, T., & Suganuma, M. (2015). Primary cancer prevention by green tea, and tertiary cancer prevention by the combination of green tea catechins and anticancer compounds. Journal of cancer prevention, 20(1), 1–4. doi:10.15430/JCP.2015.20.1.1

Han, K., Hwang, E., & Park, J. B. (2016). Association between Consumption of Coffee and the Prevalence of Periodontitis: The 2008-2010 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. PloS one, 11(7), e0158845. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0158845

Khurshid, Z., Zafar, M. S., Zohaib, S., Najeeb, S., & Naseem, M. (2016). Green Tea (Camellia Sinensis): Chemistry and Oral Health. The open dentistry journal, 10, 166–173. doi:10.2174/1874210601610010166

Pahwa, R., Jialal, I. (2019) Chronic Inflammation. StatPearls Treasure Island (FL). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493173

Paiva, C., Beserra, B., Reis, C., Dorea, J., Costa, T. D., & Amato, A. (2017). Consumption of coffee or caffeine and serum concentration of inflammatory markers: A systematic review. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 59(4), 652–663. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2017.1386159

Peters, B. A., Mccullough, M. L., Purdue, M. P., Freedman, N. D., Um, C. Y., Gapstur, S. M., … Ahn, J. (2018). Association of Coffee and Tea Intake with the Oral Microbiome: Results from a Large Cross-Sectional Study. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, 27(7), 814–821. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.epi-18-0184

Reygaert W. C. (2018). Green Tea Catechins: Their Use in Treating and Preventing Infectious Diseases. BioMed research international, 2018, 9105261. doi:10.1155/2018/9105261

Sajadi-Ernazarova KR, Hamilton RJ. Caffeine, Withdrawal. (2019) In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2019 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430790/

Yang, C., & Wang, H. (2016). Cancer Preventive Activities of Tea Catechins. Molecules, 21(12), 1679. doi: 10.3390/molecules21121679

Experts:

Dr. Edo Paz, M.D., cardiologist at K Health

Ramzi Yacoub, chief pharmacy officer at SingleCare

THREADS
Coffee
Tea

[GeneChing]

It's never duck.

SEPTEMBER 21, 20207:50 PM UPDATED A DAY AGO
China fines Luckin Coffee and linked firms a total of $9 million
By Reuters Staff

2 MIN READ


FILE PHOTO: A woman leaves a store of the Chinese coffee house chain Luckin Coffee in Beijing, China, July 8, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s markets regulator said on Tuesday it has fined a group of 45 firms, including Luckin Coffee, a combined 61 million yuan ($8.98 million) for acts linked to Luckin’s falsification of financial records and misleading of the public.

China’s finance ministry said earlier this year that Luckin booked 2.25 billion yuan of sales through fake coupons from April 2019 to end of 2019. The ministry’s investigation also found that Luckin inflated other figures including its revenue, costs and profit in that same period.

The market regulator said a probe it launched in April found that Luckin violated Chinese laws on inappropriate competition by inflating its operational data, and also misled the public with faked statistics between August 2019 and April this year.

A total of 43 companies were fined for helping Luckin in these activities. Two Luckin entities were involved.

Luckin responded on its Weibo account on Tuesday that it respected the regulator’s decision.

“We have carried out an overall rectification on the related issues,” the company said: “We will further improve our operations according to related laws and regulations.”

Luckin had positioned itself in China as a local and ambitious challenger to U.S. coffee chain Starbucks Corp SBUX.O. Luckin delisted from Nasdaq at the end of June after admitting to accounting fraud.

The company wound up an internal probe in July that found its revenue was inflated by around 2.12 billion yuan in 2019. During the investigation, Luckin sacked its CEO and COO.

Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Writing by Se Young Lee; Additional reporting by Sophie Yu; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Raju Gopalakrishnan

[Turiyan]

any coffee junkies out there? i'm so bad, i roast my own stuff! anyone else?

My mom was a nurse under Hanna Kroeger. She said this about Coffee:

Black Coffee is Neutral.
Black Coffee with Milk or Sugar is Negative.
Black Coffee with Honey turns it Positive and then it opens up the glands. One cup a day only.

[highlypotion]

My mom was a nurse under Hanna Kroeger. She said this about Coffee:

Black Coffee is Neutral.
Black Coffee with Milk or Sugar is Negative.
Black Coffee with Honey turns it Positive and then it opens up the glands. One cup a day only.

Thank you very much for the information.

[GeneChing]

US coffee giant Starbucks ‘deeply shocked’ by report two China shops used expired ingredients
An undercover report on Monday by the state-backed Beijing News showed staff in the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi using expired cocoa liquid, matcha liquid and cream
The American coffee chain, which has 5,400 shops in China, closed both outlets pending an investigation

Mia Nulimaimaiti

Published: 7:43pm, 13 Dec, 2021

Expired matcha liquid being used at a Starbucks store in China, according to a video posted by Beijing News. Photo: Weibo
American coffee chain Starbucks said it was “deeply shocked” after videos of expired ingredients being used in two shops in the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi went viral on social media.
State-backed newspaper Beijing News on Monday published an article and subsequent videos taken by undercover reporters posing as a member of staff claiming to show expired cocoa liquid, matcha liquid and cream being used in drinks that were served to customers.
In one video, an employee can be seen removing an expiry date on a bottle of chocolate chips and replacing it with a new label, artificially extending the shelf life by one week.
The video also showed cake said to be from the previous day being sold, as well as a bin being cleaned with a towel intended to be used for tables.

We take what was reported by local media very seriously, and have immediately closed the two stores in question to conduct a thorough investigation
Starbucks

“We take what was reported by local media very seriously, and have immediately closed the two stores in question to conduct a thorough investigation,” a Starbucks statement said after the report concerning its Zhenze Road and Changxing Building stores emerged.
“Since entering the Chinese mainland market 22 years ago, we have been committed to implementing strict food safety standards and adopting a ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards food safety issues. We welcome the continued supervision of members of the media and the public.”
The video also showed an employee explaining the store would be charged for any expired food that is thrown away, which would impact its profits.
Since entering the Chinese market in 1999, Starbucks has opened 5,400 shops in its fastest-growing overseas market.

I originally trusted these chain brands and thought they would not have safety issues. But this incident disappointed consumers
Starbucks customer, surnamed Hua

Starbucks’ first quarter report showed that while global store sales fell by 5 per cent, its sales volume in China increased by 5 per cent.
A regular customer to the Changxing Building store, who only gave her surname as Hua as she did not want to be fully identified, said she often had stomach aches after drinking coffee from the chain since she began working in a nearby office building last month.
“I originally trusted these chain brands and thought they would not have safety issues. But this incident disappointed consumers,” she said.

Expired matcha liquid, cream, peaches and black tea used at a Starbucks store in China, according to a video posted by Beijing News. Photo: Weibo
According to Tianyan Check, an app which provides company information, a Starbucks coffee shop in the southern city of Shenzhen was fined for similar food safety issues last month.
Another shop in the central province of Hubei was also fined in July 2019, according to the popular app.
In January, President Xi Jinping told Starbucks founder Howard Schultz that he and the American coffee chain can help promote US-China trade cooperation as well as help develop bilateral relations.

deeply shocked? I'm not...

[GeneChing]

Hip American Coffee Chain Blue Bottle to Open in Shanghai
Many caffeinated beverage aficionados in China are already excited about the popular coffee shop’s arrival in Shanghai
By KAYLA HE 12 mins ago

The famous American coffee brand Blue Bottle is officially coming to the Chinese mainland, opening a store in Shanghai on February 25, according to a post from the brand on Chinese lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu.

Similar to the coffee chain’s selection of a historical building for its first branch in Kyoto, the brand has chosen a vintage-looking building in Jing’an International Center as its new home in Shanghai.


Blue Bottle in Shanghai. Image via Blue Bottle’s official Xiaohongshu account

“We just want to make a tasty cup of coffee and hope our customers are happy with it,” wrote the company on Xiaohongshu.

The Oakland-based coffee brand was founded by James Freeman in 2002. Currently, it has branches in the U.S., South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong.

Many caffeinated beverage aficionados in China are already excited about the coffee shop’s launch in Shanghai.

“I am really looking forward to the first store in Shanghai. Hopefully, they can open another store in Beijing soon,” wrote one netizen in response to the announcement.

“I got to try the coffee through a connection of my husband, and it tastes a little like wine, which is great,” another shared.

As of January 2021, Shanghai has the most coffee shops of any city globally, with more than 6,900 coffee shops having established themselves in the metropolis.

Having landed itself in a city where coffee culture thrives, and choices are numerous, the coffee company will need to find ways to stand out from thousands of competitors.

According to the company’s website, Freeman was inspired by Franz George Kol****sky, who played a crucial role in repelling Turkish invaders when they tried to besiege Vienna in the 17th century.

After the failed siege, Kol****sky took coffee bags left by the Turks and opened the first-ever coffee house in Central Europe in Vienna, naming it ‘The Blue Bottle.’

More than 300 years later, Freeman adopted the name Blue Bottle in honor of the historic coffee house.


Service staff at a Blue Bottle location in South Korea. Image via Jinsoo Choi on Unsplash

Priding itself on serving high-quality coffee, Blue Bottle today sources materials from farmers around the globe and is considered part of third-wave coffee, a movement emphasizing the quality of coffee.

How will Blue Bottle fare in ultra-competitive Shanghai? Who knows, but we’re excited to give it a try.

Cover image via RADII

I've had Blue Bottle in SF. It's a decent brew, although I'm told by locals that they've declined.

[GeneChing]

China's Moutai, Luckin launch alcohol-tinged latte to woo young Chinese consumers
China | 4 Sep 2023 4:20 pm

An advertisement promoting a Kweichow Moutai liquor latte is seen at a Luckin Coffee store in Beijing. (Reuters)
Kweichow Moutai and coffee brand Luckin Coffee on Monday launched in China a latte advertised as containing the fiery Chinese spirit baijiu, as the Chinese luxury liquor maker aims to pull in younger consumers.

The 38 yuan (US$5.23) "sauce-flavored latte", which Luckin discounted to 19 yuan on the first day of sales, was one of the most discussed topics on Chinese social media platform Weibo, with several users saying they had placed orders.

Moutai, known as the national liquor of China, is a potent, colorless spirit that is usually served at banquets in China, and drinkers say that the flavor and aroma of Kweichow Moutai's version are similar to soy sauce. The companies said the latte alcohol content was lower than 0.5 percent of its volume.

The launch comes amid a slowing economy and as Kweichow Moutai, whose alcohol sells at an average market guide price of 1,499 yuan, has been looking for ways to be more accessible and pull in a new generation of users. The company, based in China's southwestern Guizhou province, also launched a baijiu-infused ice cream last year.

Chinese social media users posted videos of themselves picking up cups of the drink and being told by sales staff that they should not drive after drinking it. By Monday afternoon in Beijing and Shanghai, Luckin's app showed that the drink had sold out at several stores.

Independent food industry analyst Zhu Danpeng said the collaboration would most likely benefit both brands.

"Moutai and Luckin are the leading enterprises in the domestic liquor and coffee sectors, respectively," Zhu said. "On the one hand, Moutai accelerates its brand rejuvenation through cooperation with Luckin and on the other hand, for Luckin, its cooperation with Moutai also helps to improve its comprehensive strength and brand tone in the coffee industry."

Luckin has been aggressively expanding its store portfolio in China after surviving an accounting fraud scandal in 2020 that forced it to withdraw from the Nasdaq exchange and brought it to the brink of collapse.

(Reuters)

I'm not sure this would taste good.

Coffee
Bai-Jiu-(Moutai)