I've already written what I know about the health benefits of drinking coffee and tea as well as green tea for dieting and coffee health, but I feel compelled to revisit the subject because of all the new reports I'm reading.

Coffee, Tea and Diabetes

Researchers don't know what the ingredient is, but say there may something in coffee that reduces the risk for type 2 diabetes in women by almost 50 percent. They also don't know why drinking coffee may reduce the likelihood of abnormal heart rhythms.

Studies of people who drink tea came to the same conclusions. I'll tell you what I think of all this near the end.

Coffee and Strokes

The incidents of strokes in older people have been declining and part of it may be attributed to older people drinking coffee. Studies show that people who drink coffee were 29 percent less likely to have a stroke.

Of course, that doesn't take into consideration what causes strokes in the first place.

No Bed of Roses

It's not all good news and I have my own thoughts about some of this. I would call these studies anything but an exact science. One study shows only moderate links between the increased risk of hypertension and caffeine consumption and advises anyone concerned about their blood pressure to reduce their coffee consumption. I guess it's a "damned if you do and damned if you don't" kind of situation.

Personally, I think the studies are missing the point. People that drink coffee and tea aren't drinking a lot of the other beverages, like carbonated beverages, alcoholic beverages and other kinds of flavored drinks. I think the positive results are based on what people are NOT drinking as opposed to what they are.

News Sources:

• Grab a cup of heart-friendly coffee
• Study: Coffee, Tea Can Lower Diabetes Risk
• Surprising Stroke Findings

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• What Effect does Coffee have on Alcohol Consumption?
• The Coffee Franchises are Here to Stay
• Health Benefits of Drinking Coffee and Tea
• A Possible Switch to Decaffeinated Coffee
• Coffee and Your Health – Good to the Last Drop

Whenever I shop at the Royal Subic store at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, I always stock up on coffee. I only shop there once a month, so you can imagine how much of any particular item I might buy at one time.

The problem I have is that when I enter the store's coffee and tea aisle, I tend to get stuck there, ogling all the different brands and kinds of coffee (and sometimes tea). I'm talking about everything from automatic drip coffee to canned coffee, locally produced and imported. Apparently, I'm not the only coffee lover to get stuck there at times because at least two other people were in the aisle, looking at coffee, for as long as I was. One of them was still there when I exited.

Café Time Coffee

Since I have a monthly food (and drink) budget that isn't very flexible, the only thing I can really do is taste test anything other than the coffee I normally stock up on. This time was the first time I saw this particular brand of canned coffee on the shelf.

Café Time Coffee is produced by the Apex Food Company out of Taipei, Taiwan. I bought two flavors, the french roast and the espresso. I checked out the ingredients before buying: Water, coffee, sugar and powdered milk. There's nothing unusual to be wary of.

I have since finished off both cans. The french roast tasted exactly like french roast should, but the espresso wasn't nearly as strong as I thought it would be. The cost was 80 cents (USD) for the french roast and 90 cents for the espresso, and at 11.5 fluid ounces each. This was far cheaper than anything Starbucks has to offer in the store and more liquid to add insult to injury. Do the Starbucks "frappuccino" flavors taste the same, worse or better? In my opinion, the Café Time Coffee tastes almost the same.

More Taste Testing

Next month, I plan to buy a couple of other brands of canned coffee. At this time, I have no idea which brands I'll select but I'll be steering clear of the brands I've already mentioned.

There are some really nasty-tasting coffee brands on the shelves at the Royal Subic and I hope I don't accidentally buy one or more of them since I can't remember which ones are which.

I guess I'll have to consider the luck of the draw when the time comes.

Similar Posts:

• When Trying to Save Money by Buying Cheap Coffee, Never Settle for Second Best
• The New Starbucks Coffee Shop at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone
• It All Starts with Espresso in US Coffee Shops
• Nescafé Protect – Green Coffee Beans Combined with Regular Coffee Beans
• Coffee Similar to Starbucks at Home

I've actually been asked the question: Why do I prefer to drink coffee and tea instead of beer or wine (or other alcoholic beverages)? I know people who will not drink anything but beer or just plain water. I also know people who will only drink wine and water. Every person has their own preferences and mine happens to be coffee and tea and I'll explain why.

I Over Indulge

Of course I drink more than just coffee and tea. I drink water, fruit juices, Tanduay rum and on occasion, Red Horse beer. I drink coffee in the morning and iced tea during the hot parts of the day. I drink Tanduay rum during outdoor get-togethers and I'll drink Red Horse beer when there's nothing else to drink (except water) during a get-together. I don't even like Red Horse beer and I haven't found a local wine that I like enough to drink even once.

The problem I have is that when I drink alcoholic beverages, I tend to over-indulge, almost reaching the point of getting hammered. I don't like being hammered, so I tend to avoid alcoholic beverages EXCEPT on special occasions.

Only the Best Beer

Honestly, I would drink beer if I could weed out the best beer from all the rest. My son likes Heineken and I can't stand it.

My friend Allyn is showing me some of the best beers at his new Big Beer Blog. Unfortunately, the majority of the beer he reviews isn't available outside of North America (and I'm in the Philippines). If I find a good, stout or hearty beer locally, I'll be sure to tell him about it.

My relatives, the ones living in my compound, are fine with being stuck with Red Horse. Perhaps because it's cheap beer but I'll never be sure. They do sell other brands here, such as Colt 45, but they don't seem to like it at all.

Coffee and Tea

Unless you add an alcoholic beverage of some kind, coffee and tea contains nothing that would cause me to get drunk. I have to admit, I'd drink Kahlua (a coffee liquor) if I could find it here. There's nothing quite like a good "mudslide".

No, I'll stick to coffee and tea as my primary beverages. It's the safe thing for me to do.

Similar Posts:

• Coffee or Tea, Hot or Cold, But No Soda For Me
• What Effect does Coffee have on Alcohol Consumption?
• Black Gold, Lifer Juice and Nectar of the Gods
• Coffee and Tea – Diabetes, Strokes, Hypertension and Blood Pressure
• Keeping Hot Coffee Hot with a Thermos Bottle

This blog is all about coffee, tea and anything (and I do mean anything) related to either one.

I have been drinking coffee and tea all my life (which started in 1960) and I prefer them over any other drinks, even plain water. You can ask me if I'm a coffee lover and a tea lover, a coffee addict and a tea addict, or a coffee fanatic and a tea fanatic and I'll reply with something like "all of the above".

I drank coffee and tea before I joined the military in 1978, while in the military, and I continue to drink them in my retirement years.

Similar Posts:

• My Coffee and Tea Blog
• Make Coffee Naked and get Arrested for Indecent Exposure