Coffee perks

Green tea may get all the glory, but when it comes to age-avenging antioxidants a different hot beverage takes the cake: coffee. The beans behind your brew – actually the seeds of the coffee tree’s fruit – contain the same kind of nutritionally supercharged compounds found in tea and other plant-based foods, such as wine and chocolate.

Coffee has been found to help ward off mental decline, certain cancers, Parkinson’s disease, high blood pressure, even extra kilos. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that each time you enjoy a cup of caffeinated or decaf in a day, you slash your diabetes risk by seven per cent; in another study, drinking two to three cups of coffee each day was associated with a 21 per cent lower risk of heart disease.

That said, it’s still best to drink the stuff in moderation. “Coffee is a natural stimulant, and high intake can bring on headaches, increased heart rate or insomnia,” says dietitian Nyree Dardarian. Plus, a study published in Personality and Individual Differences found that drinking five or more coffees a day is enough to increase a person’s tendency to hallucinate. Cap your daily fix at less than 600mg caffeine per day (that’s around six 150ml cups of espresso, or four 150ml cups of percolated) and don’t drink anything caffeinated after 2pm.

Want to reap the health benefits without the jitters? Give your next meal a shot of espresso.

“Coffee can give both sweet and savoury dishes a rich, earthy element,” says chef David Guas. “It works well in recipes that star chocolate, cherries, blueberries, lemon and stronger nuts like pecans and walnuts.”

To let a bold coffee flavour come through, Guas says it’s best to brew a dark roast with half as much water as you would normally use (let the coffee cool to room temperature if you’re adding it to a batter). Or use coffee grinds as a rub for poultry, pork or steak. Note: the finer the grind, the more intense the flavour.