A Cup of Coffee

I have always been intrigued by the ingredients inside a good cup of coffee.

Like many, my initiation to coffee addiction started in 1999 (I was 26) with the regular instant coffee (Nescafe). The taste was great until Starbucks invaded every corner and I got introduced to brewed Java beans. From there on I never tasted instant coffee again.

Whether an espresso, a filter machine or a French press I have ever since enjoyed 2-3 cups per day. Below is the latest study detailing the ingredients of a good coffee cup. It is quite interesting to say the least! Check it out.

Caffeine
This is why the world produces more than 16 billion pounds of coffee beans per year. It's actually an alkaloid plant toxin (like nicotine and cocaine), a bug killer that stimulates us by blocking neuroreceptors for the sleep chemical adenosine. The result: you, awake.

Water
Hot H₂O is a super solvent, leaching flavors and oils out of the coffee bean. A good cup of joe is 98.75 percent water and 1.25 percent soluble plant matter. Caffeine is a diuretic, so coffee newbies pee out the water quickly; java junkies build up resistance.

2-Ethylphenol
Creates a tarlike, medicinal odor in your morning wake-up. It's also a component of cockroach alarm pheromones, chemical signals that warn the colony of danger.

Quinic acid
Gives coffee its slightly sour flavor. On the plus side, it's one of the starter chemicals in the formulation of Tamiflu.

3,5 Dicaffeoylquinic acid
When scientists pretreat neurons with this acid in the lab, the cells are significantly (though not completely) protected from free-radical damage. Yup: Coffee is a good source of antioxidants.

Dimethyl disulfide
A product of roasting the green coffee bean, this compound is just at the threshold of detectability in brewed java. Good thing, too, as it's one of the compounds that gives human feces its odor.

Acetylmethylcarbinol
That rich, buttery taste in your daily jolt comes in part from this flammable yellow liquid, which helps give real butter its flavor and is a component of artificial flavoring in microwave popcorn.

Putrescine
Ever wonder what makes spoiled meat so poisonous? Here you go. Ptomaines like putrescine are produced when E. coli bacteria in the meat break down amino acids. Naturally present in coffee beans, it smells, as you might guess from the name, like Satan's outhouse.

Trigonelline
Chemically, it's a molecule of niacin with a methyl group attached. It breaks down into pyridines, which give coffee its sweet, earthy taste and also prevent the tooth-eating bacterium Streptococcus mutans from attaching to your teeth. Coffee fights the Cavity Creeps.

Niacin
Trigonelline is unstable above 160 degrees F; the methyl group detaches, unleashing the niacin—vitamin B3—into your cup. Two or three espressos can provide half your recommended daily allowance.

5 Points that Makes Vietnam a Must See Destination!

Vietnam! Forget Apocalypse Now, Rambo or any Hollywood movie, cause in reality Vietnam is (at least in my opinion) a World Top Destination.

Here are 5 points that explains you why:

1- People: The Vietnamese are so nice, happy, smiley and very hospitable people. They are modest and proud at the same time. As a sign of respect, they give you or take from you whatever using both of their hands. They have humor and laugh on every occasion. They are hard workers but you can see Happiness on their faces all day long.

2- Food: Yummiiii .... you cannot escape the extra kilos you put while visiting Vietnam. Food varies from North to Mid, down to South Vietnam, but all is very tasty and rich in flavors; fresh spring rolls, pork barbecue, noodles, rice paper, Pho (traditional soup), lemongrass fish, pineapple chicken, ginger beef etc...

3- Scenery: From the Sapa Mountains, to Halong Bay to the sandy beaches or the wide rivers and lakes. The green-yellow rice fields, the clouds on top of the mountains, the parks in the city, the floating villages or floating markets etc... It all makes Vietnam so rich in all kind of colors, aspects, and tastes.

4- Transportation: All means are available: you can use the bull pulling a kind of "carriage" in the villages (we tried it!), to the bicycles, motorcycles, river boats, sea cruise ships, trains (first class is a must, less "crawling creatures"!), to the bus, mini vans, "cyclos" taking around in the streets of the city ... all means enhance your adventure and experience in this big long country.
You can travel very cheap or very luxuriously, so you are free to choose how much you want to spend and how much you want to endure ;) Same applies to your accommodation, you can choose between a 5 stars luxurious hotel resort or a sharing bed in a street hostel!

5- Activities: To be honest my favorite activity in Vietnam was "Massage" all kind of massages are offered; foot, body, hot stones, etc... for a price varying between $7 to $12/hour!!! Nevertheless many other activities are offered all over Vietnam; one of the most popular one is the water puppet show, very nice and a must see. Other activities involve, diving, fishing, trekking, cycling, museums, religious sites and temples, shopping etc... the various nature of this country can satisfy all kind of hobbies and interests.

Travel consists of meeting and getting to know new or different places, cultures, religions, gastronomy, people ... Vietnam allows you to connect on a broader level to all of that.
So go ahead, you adventurous spirits, satisfy your appetite, indulge your body and relax your mind, just don't forget your way back :)

Adou

Placebo

Back from vacation and wondering what to blog about, I fell on a very interesting article (click here) published in WIRED magazine and I recommend you all to read it. It is quite long so you can scan through it if you want.

In summary it tackles Placebo. No it is not the Alternative Pop British band that we are all familiar with, but it is about the Placebo effect that is causing headaches and bankruptcies throughout the pharmaceutical industry. In few words placebo is the concept of giving sick people a fake pill and monitoring their improvement. Weirdly enough they do get better.

The interesting aspect of the placebo effect is that you can determine the difference between a bunch of sick people taking the REAL drug as compared to another bunch that is taking the FAKE drug. If the difference is marginal then your drug is useless, however if the difference is substantial then it deserves to be out in the market.

It gets more interesting when the article discusses the fact that a lot of drugs that brought fortunes to pharmaceutical companies back in the 80s might be useless drugs after all, especially drugs that deal with depression.

This would be a very interesting read. So go ahead and take a look.

Hamra Pharma!

As I was walking on Hamra street (one of Beirut's main streets), and for the first time I noticed that you can have a freshly squeezed pomegranate juice!
So as I was approaching by curiosity, the man making the juice told me to have a cup since it's a natural killer and preventive of the virus H1N1! He assured me that the Vitamin C and the benefits of this fruit makes it the ultimate fighter of the influenza! :)
He kept going about how pharmaceuticals use the media to sell their products while "Mother Nature" have everything we need to live a long lasting happy life, which actually I totally agree to that.
I had my cup of "red" juice, delicious but a bit acid (it's healthier this way) ;) and asked me to come back in a week for a sweeter taste ... and continue the treatment!
Sometimes all you need is a regular person who offers you a simple way to make a worldwide (over-exaggerated) problem seems as little as a pom seed by adding hope and natural Vitamins to our lives ;)

Adou

Vacation

Other than the new site design there is only a well earned vacation that is keeping me from posting to the blog.
I will be away for the next 2 weeks but I promise to start posting as soon as I come back with plenty of new stuff.

Meanwhile, Adou here will make sure of keeping you entertained.

Cheers.

Close Encounter of a Third Kind!

No matter at what time is my flight, I always sleep as soon as I step foot on the plane and wake up after takeoff.
This last flight, I opened my eyes and I saw the passenger next to me like that!!!! (check pictures)

It took me some seconds just to realize what was this napkin doing on this guy's face, I just couldn't stop laughing along with the passengers who witnessed this new technique of "sleeping" during a flight, that I have to be honest never seen and will probably not see again on any flight.

Wanted to share with you this "encounter" and like "E.T", I just wanted to go back home :)

Adou

Lost but Found Again!

Two Things I Thought were lost in my dear Country Lebanon!

Our national dance: Dabkeh and Our sense of Poetry.

Lucky I was to discover during this past month that both things are still existing and kicking :)

Dabkeh: I was invited to a wedding in the far end of South Lebanon, me and another 699 guests! A real festival with beautiful and happy "ambiance".

After having all kinds of mezze and barbecues, the music started playing; for me it was a simple Arabic music but it was not just Arabic it's the Dabkeh music ... Everybody and I mean everybody, men, women, young and old, joined hands and made a huge circle all around the dance floor and started the traditional Lebanese Dabkeh! Two men with big large swords in their hands were dancing in the middle, controlling the rhythm and making sure that every movement is synchronized: shoulder to shoulder, all with one tap of foot on the floor, etc... Others are making more "advanced" moves or in a more "gaming" language: combo moves! showing off and feeling proud in mastering more complex steps than the ordinary 1,2,3 and 4!
I was so happy to witness this wave of movements and sad that I don't know how to dance our Dabkeh although some taught me in 5 min the simple steps that made me look more ridiculous in the eyes of the town's "homies" ;)

Poetry: A very "cool" (for those who thinks that poetry is boring!) group of people sent an invitation on facebook about a poetry night in

Gemayzeh, so I was curious enough to go with a group of friends (Lebanese and Swiss).
I can assure it was a hell of a night! people reading in Arabic, French and English... some they wrote the poems themselves:: funny, sad, political, environmental ... and concerning all subjects: love, hate, sex, music, God, life etc...

The thing that struck me most is the passion and the dedication of some participants who are really gifted and wrote beautiful things.

Then we got interested ourselves; so my Swiss friend read a text in French, my Lebanese friend recited also a poem in French and me, I read a poem from Rumi in English inspired from the series "Six Feet Under".

It feels so nice to be part of a "small" Lebanese society but very diversified with many interests and cultures. Everyday we meet so many people and go so many places, the most important thing is the "connection" that we keep from all these encounters.

"I am not from the world, not from beyond,
not from heaven and not from hell.
I am not from Adam, not from Eve, not from paradise and not from Ridwan.
My place is placeless, my trace is traceless,
no body, no soul, I am from the soul of souls." Rumi