Coffee is one of life’s greatest pleasures and continues to be one of the most consumed beverages in the world. Across Australia and New Zealand over 9 billion cups are drunk every year1. This equates to 300 cups every second!
There are hundreds of ways to prepare and enjoy this beverage and consumer tastes and interests are evolving all the time. With health and wellness also top of mind for today’s consumer it’s likely you may get questions about the coffee you serve. Many of these questions have their basis in outdated myth.
So, here we will do our best to bust these so you can reassure your customers of their beverage choice:
Myth: Coffee dehydrates you
Reality: Regular moderate consumption of 3-4 cups of coffee a day can actually contribute to daily fluid intake2. It’s wrongly thought that the caffeine in coffee has a diuretic action that will cause dehydration. Research shows that for regular coffee drinkers this effect is reduced. So, caffeine containing drinks won’t lead to excess fluid loss.3-5
Myth: Instant (soluble) coffee is not natural
Reality: There are no additives or chemicals used to make instant coffee, which is in itself 100% pure coffee beans. The only processing aid used to produce it is water.
Myth: Cut back on your coffee to cut back on your caffeine.
Reality: Coffee is only one of a number of caffeine sources in our day. Cola, tea, energy drinks and chocolate may also be significant sources of caffeine.
Myth: Cut back on your coffee when watching your weight.
Reality: Black coffee consumption of up to 3 cups a day accounts for less than 1% of the energy consumed in the average adult diet. And even when low fat milk is added, it remains a low kilojoule beverage compared with many other common options.
REFERENCES
1. Nielsen Scan MAT to 07.07.13
2. Popkin BM et al., (2006) A new proposed guidance system for beverage consumption in the United States. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 83: 529-42.
3. Maughan RJ and Griffin J (2003). Caffeine ingestion and fluid balance: a review. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 16:411-20.
4. Grandjean AC et al. (2000). The effect of caffeinated, noncaffeinated, caloric and non-caloric beverages on hydration. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 19(5):591- 600.
5. Killer SC et al. (2014). No evidence of dehydration with moderate daily coffee intake: A counterbalanced cross-over study in a free-living population. PLOS ONE 9(1):e84154.
6. NUTTAB Australian Food Composition Tables. FSANZ 2010
