Pu’er Coffee

 Here’s what happened. A while ago, while I was scrolling through short-form videos, I came across a piece of medical-related news about coffee. It said that drinking coffee made without a filtration step—such as coffee brewed with a moka pot or a French press—may raise cholesterol levels in the body, thereby increasing the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. I don’t claim any authority when it comes to medical science, but this still made me curious enough to dig a little deeper and see what was really going on. So today, I’d like to talk about this topic with you. The reason behind this has to do with two natural oils found in coffee: cafestol and kahweol . Cafestol is a diterpene compound extracted from coffee beans and is structurally similar to kahweol. Research suggests that cafestol may increase cholesterol levels. Kahweol, also a natural diterpene compound from coffee beans, has been shown to have anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic, and anti-cancer prope...

 One cup wakes you up. Two cups keep you going. The bitter, aromatic taste is hard to resist. Among all the things that stimulate the brain and create mild dependence, coffee is arguably one of the healthiest. A morning cup, an afternoon cup, one more before work begins—this is everyday life for countless coffee lovers. But what many people don’t realize is that choosing the wrong coffee—or brewing it the wrong way—can quietly work against your health . Certain types of coffee can actually raise total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels. The hidden culprit? Unfiltered coffee. Let’s start with a quick explanation of LDL cholesterol, often referred to as “bad cholesterol.” Unlike HDL (“good cholesterol”), which helps clear cholesterol from blood vessels, LDL transports cholesterol from the liver throughout the body. When LDL levels are too high, it can penetrate blood vessel walls, become oxidized, trigger inflammation, and gradually form plaques. These plaques narrow arteries ...

  When you drink an espresso, what are you actually drinking? Before your lips even touch the cup, your eyes and nose experience the magic first — that rich aroma rising from a deep brown liquid, topped with a layer of golden caramel-colored foam. This shimmering reddish-brown layer is what we call coffee crema — or simply Crema in Italian. For many coffee lovers, crema is one of the key indicators of a well-made espresso. “Look at that thick, velvety crema — this shot must be great.” “Wow, it even has tiger stripes — gotta take a photo!” But what exactly is this much-admired crema? In Italian, crema refers to the fine foam that forms when coffee’s natural water-soluble oils and carbon dioxide combine briefly during extraction. It’s made up mostly of tiny bubbles, mixed with small amounts of fat, protein, and other compounds. When water passes through the coffee puck under high temperature and pressure, it extracts soluble materials while emulsifying the coffee’s natural f...