I get many questions about the different levels of roasting coffee beans. Well, I love coffee so much that very quickly I start talking about at least a dozen different levels of roasted coffee beans. People start looking at me like if I am a coffee geek. Yes, I think that it may be true in some ways but, it made me realize that people just want to have a basic and simple idea of the different roasting levels. So, here it goes...

The images below show the basic levels of roasting coffee beans. Please, read the description of each level and think about what is your preferred one!

There are several other levels in between these but, as I mentioned before, I do not want to complicate your life. My preferred levels are City Roast and Vienna Roast depending on the type and size of the beans and how you will drink the coffee.

Healthy reasons to drink Coffee

Q: Can coffee drinking help control my diabetes?

A: Yes, coffee has large amounts of antioxidants such as chlorogenic acid and tocopherols, and minerals such as magnesium. All these components have been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism." Harvard researchers calculate that compared with not partaking in America's favorite morning drink, downing one to three cups of caffeinated coffee daily can reduce diabetes risk by single digits. But having six cups or more each day slashed men's risk by 54% and women's by 30% over java avoiders.

Q:  Can Coffee help me work out harder and longer?

Caffeine may even have a direct effect on muscles themselves, causing them to produce a stronger contraction.

Q: Can coffee help lower your risk of getting Parkinsons disease?

A;  At least six studies indicate that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are up to 80% less likely to develop Parkinson's, with three showing the more they drink, the lower the risk. Other research shows that compared to not drinking coffee, at least two cups daily can translate to a 25% reduced risk of colon cancer, an 80% drop in liver cirrhosis risk, and nearly half the risk of gallstones.

Q:  Can coffee help control my asthma?

A;  Numerous research studies have said that drinking coffee can help control the onset of asthma reactions.

Healthy reasons to drink Teas

Q:  Does tea have a lower amonut of caffiene than coffee?

Coffee usually has two to three times the caffeine of tea (unless you're a fan of Morning Thunder, which combines caffeine with mate, an herb that acts like caffeine in our body). An eight-ounce cup of coffee contains around 135 mg caffeine; tea contains only 30 to 40 mg per cup.

Q: Can tea reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke?

A:  Unwanted blood clots formed from cholesterol and blood platelets cause heart attack and stroke.  A 5.6-year study from the Netherlands found a 70 percent lower risk of fatal heart attack in people who drank at least two to three cups of black tea daily compared to non-tea drinkers.

Q:  Does tea protect your bones?

A:   It's not just the milk added to tea that builds strong bones. One study that compared tea drinkers with non-drinkers, found that people who drank tea for 10 or more years had the strongest bones, even after adjusting for age, weight, exercise,  smoking and other risk factors. Researchers suggest that this may be the work of tea's many beneficial phytochemicals.

Q: Can tea help your immune defenses?

A:   Drinking tea may help your body's immune system fight off infection. When 21 volunteers drank either five cups of tea or coffee each day for four weeks, researchers saw higher immune system activity in the blood of the tea drinkers.

Q:  Can tea protect you against cancer?

Researchers believe that the polyphenols, the antioxidants found in tea,  are a key substance known to fight off cancer.  While the overall research is inconclusive, there are enough studies that show the potential protective effects of drinking tea to make adding tea to your list of daily beverages.