water-soluble. Instant, freeze-dried, and decaffeinated coffees all have less caffeine than plain
ground roasted coffee.
The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food
In moderation, with high-calcium foods. Like spinach, rhubarb, and tea, coffee has oxalic
acid, which binds calcium into insoluble compounds. This will have no important effect as
long as you keep your consumption moderate (two to four cups of coffee a day) and your
calcium consumption high.
Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food
Bland diet
Gout diet
Diet for people with heart disease (regular coffee)
Buying This Food
Look for: Ground coffee and coffee beans in tightly sealed, air- and moisture-proof
containers.
Avoid: Bulk coffees or coffee beans stored in open bins. When coffee is exposed to air, the
volatile molecules that give it its distinctive flavor and richness escape, leaving the coffee
flavorless and/or bitter.
Storing This Food
Store unopened vacuum-packed cans of ground coffee or coffee beans in a cool, dark
cabinet—where they will stay fresh for six months to a year. They will lose some flavor
in storage, though, because it is impossible to can coffee without trapping some flavor-
destroying air inside the can.
Once the can or paper sack has been opened, the coffee or beans should be sealed as
tight as possible and stored in the refrigerator. Tightly wrapped, refrigerated ground coffee
will hold its freshness and flavor for about a week, whole beans for about three weeks. For
longer storage, freeze the coffee or beans in an air- and moistureproof container. (You can
brew coffee directly from frozen ground coffee and you can grind frozen beans without
thawing them.)
Preparing This Food
If you make your coffee with tap water, let the water run for a while to add oxygen. Soft
water makes “cleaner”-tasting coffee than mineral-rich hard water. Coffee made with
Coffee