Brazilian “Cafezinho”
Brought from French Guiana around 1727 by Brigadier de Mello Palheta at the behest of the governor of Maranhão, coffee is still present daily in the cups of many Brazilians.
Due to the propitious climatic conditions for the planting of coffee, the cultivation of the aromatic bean spread from Maranhão to Bahia, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Parana, becoming a staple product of the national economy. According to the Brazilian Coffee Industry Association (ABIC), Brazil is currently the world’s largest coffee exporter, 28.1 million sacks were embarked for consumption in 2007.
Some consumers, however, cannot resist the flavour of fresh coffee, and exaggerate in the quantity they drink daily. Black, with milk, or diverse other accompaniments, the effect of coffee is the same. Composed of caffeine, chlorogenic acids, flavonoids, and nicotinic acids, the drink acts as a direct stimulant on the central nervous system and is absorbed rapidly.
Coffee is beneficent in the right quantity: 3 small cups a day at most. It contributes to our health by accelerating the metabolism, improving mood, helping with intestinal functions and improving disposition, therefore avoiding depression. However, if you drink more than the limit, your essential daily coffee can help to increase irritability, insomnia, tremors, anxiety and nervousness, to name but a few.
In excess, caffeine can neutralise part of your daily calcium intake, and calcium is important in the formation of bones and teeth, and helps in the coagulation of blood and the transmission of nerve impulses. Therefore, expectant mothers should further moderate their coffee consumption, as they could prejudice the foetus.
Taken in moderation, coffee has great benefits; furthermore, the aroma and the flavour are irreplaceable delights. Whether during the morning or afternoon coffee-break, or at night, coffee is a 280-year-old tradition in Brazil. It is a great conqueror of many generations, and to speak of coffee is to speak of the history of Brazil.
