Friday, January 27, 2017

Coping with Old Man Winter - Plant of the Day: Coffee – "Coffea arabica"

Winter forms our character and
Brings out our best.

Old man winter has his arms wrapped around the northern hemisphere with a grip that states emphatically that he is with us for a while.  “Ha” he says, “What do you think of that!”  And I reply, “I think I’ll take a break from your cold grip and relax in the beautiful, tropical serenity of the Como Conservatory.”

Entrance to North Garden
Seriously folks, come visit the Conservatory to experience the lush serenity of the indoor tropical gardens of the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in St. Paul.  The warm temperatures, high relative humidities, beautiful flowers and lush greenery will warm your bones and melt your heart! 


Make sure that you visit the North Garden, a repository of plants that provide social and economical benefits to communities around the world.  One of my favorite plants in this room is the coffee plant, Coffea arabica.  This is my, and possibly the world’s, favorite drink and reportedly the second most valuable international commodity after oil. This crop is grown on multiple continents in multiple countries. 


An estimated 100 million people depend on coffee for their livelihoods. Its export value alone is immense and, as such, it plays a crucial role in the economies of many countries.

In addition to its value as a rich source of antioxidants and as a necessary morning cup of joe for many (like me), other micronutrients in coffee add to the positive effects of consumption including flavonoids, magnesium, potassium, niacin and vitamin E. The caffeine in coffee is known by many to help cure headaches, but too much caffeine is also known to cause health problems. Some promote the addition of coffee grounds to prepared foods to promote the intake of antioxidants. In Japan, people imbibe the health-giving properties of ground coffee by bathing in them.  At the moment, I’ll stick to drinking my three to five cups each morning while watching the news and preparing myself for a good day’s work.

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