Dana’s Coffee habits
The other day, a friend asked me which coffee supplier I use! It was great timing for the question because I have been meaning to write a up a post about the coffee I have been using!!
My coffee journey has been an evolution of acquired taste over time. In my 20s, when I used to work at a popular coffee purveyor, I rarely consumed any coffee, always giving away my free perks to friends and family. It wasn’t until I started travel nursing that I began consuming coffee regularly. I guess the timing of the new adventure away from home was right for really needing a “hug in a mug.” I have also come to love the “off label” benefits of the nutrients beyond the caffeine that perks us up!
Hug in a mug!
Coffee’s possible health benefits beyond caffiene stimulation:
Improve glucose trends and improve insulin sensitivity
Promote liver health
Have anti carcinogenic properties that provide protective effect against colorectal cancer (CRC)
Improve muscle and mitochondrial function
Coffee is truly a healthy “hug in a mug” that hits the mark! (See resources 1-4 for more detail).
One thing that came from my experience of working at the popular coffee purveyor I mentioned above is that I was exposed to the inner workings of the coffee industry’s various methods of sourcing, processing, and delivery. My time in that space, even without coffee consumption, helped me understand the need for being selective as reasonably possible when picking out a coffee supplier.
Last year, I made the decision and took leap from drinking organic Costco bulk finds to investing in a high quality, mold and mycotoxin tested brand. There are several reasons why I decided to make the leap. Like everyone else, I have to prioritize where to spend my food budget and it took me awhile to decide this was the next priority step in my healthful selection process (always prioritizing filtered water, clean air, and macro nutrients first in my opinion).
When I started “clean coffee” shopping, I realized that the options were limited and this decision was going to be an investment, so I needed to find the biggest bang for my buck which is why I decided on Purity Coffee. From what I found, Purity offers 5 pound bulk bags of beans for the best buck bang (especially if you can find an influencer code. They also have special discount codes for health care providers and first responders).
My favorite things about Purity Coffee:
Stewardship: Purity is committed to producing regeneratively-farmed, certified organic coffees. This is really important for stewardship of not only the environment and creation, but also the people who cultivate the yields.
Sourcing: Purity coffee is made from hand-picked, organic arabica beans that are grown on fully-traceable farms and imported using only the most sustainable and environmentally-friendly methods. There are absolutely no chemicals or harmful additives.
Proper Roasting: They roast the beans just long enough to burn off early toxins (such as acrylamide) and stop short of the point where carcinogens (PAHs) are produced.
TESTING: Through rigorous third-party testing, Purity assures their coffee beans are free from pesticide residue, mold, mycotoxins, and other contaminants. Purity Coffee® is also the only coffee brand that is actively testing for and optimizing the retention of antioxidants and micronutrients.
These are all vital check marks that were needed for me to make such an important financial and health investment. (See resource 5 for detail).
The last and most recently important point that has made me a loyal Purity customer is their DECAF option. Going into the new year of 2024, I decided to significantly reduce my caffeine intake. I was having some new brain fog and decided my adrenal system probably needed a rest (and that I maybe I had some “dirty genes” so I wasn’t clearing the caffeine as effectively as I could be - see Dr Ben Lynch’s book “Dirty Genes - see resource 6). But I didn’t want to give up my “warm hug” completely. So I started looking into decaf options.
I knew that most decaf coffee is produced through chemical extraction processes that are dirty and leave a lot of unwanted synthetic resides and toxins. So I researched my “clean” processing options and found out about the SWP (Swiss Water Process - see resource 8). Since I was already on the Purity kick, I looked up their decaf option “CALM” and found the SWP was the decaf process they used, so I switched over from their most caffeinated option to CALM.
5LB bag of Purity’s CALM Decaf coffee.
And here is what Purity shares about their decaffeination process:
“The proprietary Swiss Water® Process (SWP) yields a coffee that is more than 99.9% caffeine free, which is best in the industry, and avoids any of the solvent-based methods which can leave toxic residues behind. In addition, our roasting partner makes sure to clear the roasters of any leftover regular coffee before doing a decaf run, and roasts the decaf to a level that retains the maximum antioxidants.”
Some would propose that SWP decaffeinated coffee might be more healthful than a caffeinated option. (See resource 7 for more detail).
As for taste and flavor, I would rate Purity’s coffees at a 7/10 as it can be turn out little bit acidic for taste buds if not brewed perfectly. It also has a very robust body with a variety of tones (if you are into that kind of thing). At this point, I would like to mention that many really great tasting coffees have natural flavor enhancers added, so it can take time to adjust to an authentic, clean, coffee taste. Thankfully, I have retrained my mind and body to enjoy what nature has to offer over synthetically designed flavor hits. For me, knowing my daily cup (or cups) of decaf hot or cold brews are sustainability stewarded and sourced, properly roasted, and vigorously tested for toxins and containments makes up for when the brew turns out to have a little bite.
How do you pick your coffee?! I would love to hear in the comments below!
Resources & Links
Purity Blog Post: BREWING SUCCESS: HOW YOUR COFFEE HABITS IMPACT DIABETES MANAGEMENT
Purity Blog Post: WHAT THE SCIENCE SAYS: HEALTH BENEFITS OF COFFEE AND DECAF
A natural alkaloid found in coffee and made by the human body is an NAD+ precursor that improves muscle function and is reduced during aging. | William A. Wallace, Ph.D.
Membrez, M., Migliavacca, E., Christen, S., Yaku, K., Trieu, J., Lee, A. K., Morandini, F., Giner, M. P., Stiner, J., Makarov, M. V., Garratt, E. S., Vasiloglou, M. F., Chanvillard, L., Dalbram, E., Ehrlich, A. M., Sanchez-Garcia, J. L., Canto, C., Karagounis, L. G., Treebak, J. T., Migaud, M. E., … Feige, J. N. (2024). Trigonelline is an NAD+ precursor that improves muscle function during ageing and is reduced in human sarcopenia. Nature metabolism, 6(3), 433–447.
Purity Process Page
Dirty Genes: A Breakthrough Program to Treat the Root Cause of Illness and Optimize Your Health by Dr Ben Lynch
Why Your Coffee May be Destroying You | Dr Brad Campbell