The Palmier: On Coffee

Tonight,

as we sit across campus from each other, peering into the Zoom screens we now call home while reviewing the final draft of The Palmier’s Coffee Edition, we both take a sip of coffee. Megan has a tiny mug of Cafecito that she made minutes before and Holden has a pre-packaged Vanilla Cold Brew. It will be a long night for both of us, but at least our coffees will get us through. We reminisce about why we chose this topic for our first edition.

We have all experienced long nights this semester. When all hope may have seemed lost, either from being far behind in Intro to Environmental Fieldwork or procrastinating an Organic Chemistry lab report, only one shining glimmer of light got us through the night: coffee. Its bitter aroma wafting throughout a room inspires anyone to get out of bed and conquer the day. Whether we’re dying of heat stroke in Miami feeling refreshed by an iced vanilla latte or sitting in our dorms in Boston in the dead of winter trying to gain the feeling back in our fingers as we sip a warm café au lait, coffee com forts us during every challenge life throws at us. Still, even if coffee isn’t really your bread and butter, this edition aims to bring people together to further understand this versatile bean, including recipes for dishes typically served alongside coffee and enticing articles about any thing having to do with coffee. From a soft and warm coffee cake recipe to an investigation into the rumored home of the American coffee break, The Palmier: On Coffee has it all.

After months of hard work, tal ent, and effort by the most talented and mutually-supportive individuals, we proudly present The Palmier: On Coffee! We implore you to read this edition during your late night study ing, early morning baking, or any time when you just need that “pick-me-up”. Cheers!

Shaking from excitement (and a little bit too much caffeine), Megan Houchin and Holden Dahlerbruch Co-Presidents of The Palmier

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How Does Caffeine Affect the Body?

And how much is too much?

Madison Wong

As stressed out, overworked, and sleep-deprived college students, we’ve all had nights where we stayed up much later than we’d like to admit. You may lean on a cup or two of coffee or black tea for a boost in energy while others may go straight for the can of Red Bull or Yerba Mate. While we’ve experienced firsthand the stimulating effects of caffeinated beverages, many of us don’t actu ally know how caffeine works.

Let me start by explaining how your body functions with out caffeine. When you wake up first thing in the morning, you should feel rested and alert. As the day goes on, however, your energy will naturally wane as your body begins to prepare itself to get a full night of rest. The onset of tiredness is due, in part, to a compound called adenosine that accumulates in the brain throughout the day. Certain receptors in the brain are designed to recognize only ade nosine molecules, just like how your house key is only meant to unlock your front door. These adenosine receptors allow your brain to recognize the gradual in crease in adenosine and tell it to slow down activity, making you feel sleepy.

So what about when caffeine comes into the picture? Well, it turns out that caffeine is like

adenosine’s doppelgänger. They happen to bear a resemblance to one another but, in reality, they have quite different personalities. Because of their likeness, caf feine can mimic adenosine when it enters the brain by filling the receptors specifically made to fit adenosine.

In other words, caffeine is like another person’s key that fits into your front door. But, in this case, the key fitting doesn’t mean your door can be unlocked by some one else. Thus, while caffeine can fill the space of adenosine in the receptor, it can’t send the same message to slow down and relax; your brain continues to tell the rest of your body to stay awake. This is why consuming caffeine, especially in the afternoon, will allow you to stay very alert into the night, when you’d usually be sleeping.

Caffeine doesn’t just affect your alertness when ingested; it can also impact your mood. Caffeine has been shown to promote feelings of well-being and happiness. This is done by the same mechanism of adenosine mimicry that allows you to work into the wee hours of the night, only with the additional help of a chemical messenger in the brain called dopamine. You may be familiar with this neurotrans mitter because of its infamous

role in experiencing pleasure, reward, and — of course — happiness. Caffeine is able to en hance dopamine activity when it takes the place of adenosine in certain receptors, which makes you feel temporarily uplifted while caffeinated. Unfortunately, these happy feelings don’t grow infinitely with an increase in caffeine intake. Upwards of 500 milligrams — equivalent to about four strong cups of coffee, ten cups of tea, six eight-ounce Red Bulls, or three bottles of Yerba Mate — is generally recognized as safe for daily consumption by adults. Any more than that and you may be more likely to experience negative side effects. Everyone’s tolerance, however, is different. If you experience symptoms such as jitters, anxi ety, insomnia, and digestive distress after consuming caffeine, it is likely a sign that you may need to dial down your intake.

Though coffee and caffeine are generally tremendous aids in times of need, like helping us to cram for those make-it-or-breakit finals, it’s best not to over caffeinate on a regular basis. Not only can this disrupt your natural sleep cycle long term, but this can also lead to a dependence in which you may feel reliant on coffee to feel focused and alert throughout your day.

Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

by Malcolm Cox ‘23

For the Cinnamon Streusel

⅔ cup packed brown sugar

1-⅓ cup all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon fine salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

For the cake

2-½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon fine salt

12 tablespoons (1-½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1-½ cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 eggs

1-¼ cups sour cream or plain yogurt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease the cake pan with butter.

2. For the streusel: In a small mixing bowl, whisk together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt until incorporated. Add in the cubed butter and press together with a spatula until crumbly. Set aside.

Serving size: 12

Total time: 1 hour 20 minutes

3. For the cake: In the second small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until combined. Set aside.

4. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with a whisk (or an electric mixer on high for ap proximately 3-5 minutes). Add vanilla, and eggs (one at a time), mixing on low and scraping the sides of the bowl when necessary until combined.

5. Gently fold the flour mixture and yogurt/sour cream into the butter mixture until just incorporated.

6. Spread half of the batter into your greased pan. Crumble ½ of the streusel evenly over the batter. Pour the remaining batter into the pan and top with leftover streusel.

7. Bake for approximately 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes outmostly clean (a few crumbs are okay).

Caramel Macchiato

Megan Houchin ‘23

Instructions:

Frothed Milk:

1. Pour your cream into a closed jar or bottle.

Ingredients:

1-2 tablespoons of caramel

To read more on how to make caramel, go to www.ThePalmier.net/Caramel.

¼ cup of half and half

(Note: The amount of milk you use may vary depending on how much 2 shots prepared espresso

2. Shake for about 30 seconds to a minute.

3. Place into a microwaveable cup or mug and microwave until milk is hot, about 30 seconds.

To assemble the drink:

1. Place 1-2 tablespoons of your freshly made

mug. Actual caramel sauce rather than even better!

2. Pour your premade double shot of espresso on top of the caramel.

spoon and place the leftover milk foam on top.

4. Enjoy with friends on a cold winters day.

Optional: Add a fun design on top with some of the remaining caramel! Simply drizzle negative space with sauce.

Cafecito

Stoughton, WI:

Birthplace of the American Coffee Break?

Victoria Rose ‘23

Stoughton,

WI proudly claims the title: birth

I imagined the birthplace itants located a mere thirty to visit this under-hyped tour description in the opening parathe heartland’s shelves, barreled missed my exit and had to drive

As the speed limit shifted

is the poster child of a small

light poles along the main street and everyone seemed my research, I search for athe small shop, I am greeted by

tout their brainchild and tells remove the bitterness and cre ate a velvety texture (die-hard purists also add crushed egg me that Scandinavians immi Abby, a seventeen-year-old

pastry counter, artfully juggles donut coated in cinnamon andthey, even as Stoughton na tives, have never heard of the

With a pressed tin ceiling directs me to a man sitting at a near-by table and assures

children, start a meal, and, recent Scandinavian immi vian countries hold the top four favorite is a framed poem by could get me through more

I’m borderline content to say that Stoughton is the home all honesty, Stoughton is pos-

upon noticing that Merri am-Webster’s online dictionary

obliged to clarify, respectfully suggesting that the date should

Diclaimer: Victoria traveled

“We Got Coffee” You need to come visit Stoughton For an eternal coffee break

We are the ones who started it in 1898 If you don’t wish to guzzle beer but instead would like to sip come on in; put a bib ‘neath your chin and rest your cup on your lower lip and we’ll fill up your cup again and again.

Lee C. Mashall “The Volunteer Poet of Tennessee”

THE EVOLUTION OF DECAFFEINATED COFFEE

Everyone has, at least once, utilized the energizing properties of caffeine to kick start their days or give them an extra boost. For me personally, drinking cof fee was not only a social activity with friends, but it also played a dual role in assisting me with my groggy mornings. While caf feine may be the primary reason for why many people consume coffee, there are plenty of coffee affectionados who might savour the more mellow qualities of the beverage without necessarily ex periencing some of the stimu lant-anxiety-inducing properties of caffeine. Decaffeinated coffee has been served cup after cup since 1906, but who even decid ed that it was a good idea to ex tract caffeine from coffee in the first place? How did that process happen, then or even today?

In 1903, German merchant Ludwig Roselius, received a ship ment of coffee. The coffee had been waterlogged with sea wa ter on the journey, resulting in a batch of coffee beans containing a decreased amount of caffeine with little change in its flavour. This accidental occurrence led

to the first version of what we know today as decaf coffee. In 1905, Roselius began creating his own decaf coffee manually in efforts to extract the caffeine from the bean while maintain ing the taste. Roselius used ben zene, a flammable chemical with a sweet odor, to decaffeinate green coffee beans in its purest, rawest format. While this meth od is no longer used in practice due to benzene’s carcinogenic properties, this was the first step in the field of manual caffeine extraction.

Today, decaf coffee is pro duced three different ways. The first process is called the direct solvent method. This process uses green coffee, which is the unroasted and rawest form of the coffee bean, with methylene chloride or ethyl acetate. The chemicals break down and dis solve the caffeine, extracting the caffeine from the green coffee. The second most common decaf feination method uses “super critical carbon dioxide,” which is essentially carbon dioxide at a very high pressure, to remove the caffeine. The third and final method does not use chemicals but rather water, the solids from green coffee, and carbon filters. This method is known as the Swiss Water Process. The green coffee seeds soak in water to in crease their moisture level, then the beans are combined with

a decaffeinated green coffee ex tract which does not contain any caffeine. Through a kind of os mosis, the caffeine is transferred from the bean to the extract. To restart the process, the green coffee extract goes through the carbon filters which pull the caffeine out.

Decaf coffee comes in many iterations but one thing remains true: the intersection of science and serendipity were instrumen tal in the making of this seem ingly simple drink. The next time you decide to shake up an order with a decaf coffee from your fa vorite coffee shop, just remem ber all the work and the many processes that it takes to create the fuel in your hand for a familiar taste and an anxiety-free day.

Ingredients

1/2 yellow onion

2 cloves of garlic

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 cup ketchup

2/3 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons instant espresso powder

Instructions

1. Chop the onions into medium-sized pieces and crush the garlic cloves.

2. In a pot, heat the oil then add in the onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until browned and aromatic.

3. Add all the dry spices into the pot with the onion mixture and mix. Toast for roughly thirty seconds then add in the butter.

4. Add the Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, ketchup, and apple cider vinegar. Stir until combined.

5. Loosely cover the pot with a lid, raise the heat, and boil for 10 minutes.

6. Mix in the brown sugar and instant espresso. Completely cover and boil for an additional 2 minutes.

7. Pour everything in a blender and blend until smooth. Stream in extra apple cider vinegar if necessary

Looking for Love? Try Looking In Your Cup

Francesa Guthrie ‘23

They say we all want the same thing in life.

After being a barista for two years, I’d say that beyond the pursuit of love, we’re also all looking for a little bit of caffeine. Let me explain.

I work at an organic café in my New Jersey hometown. As an “organic” institution, the cafe probably attracts more wheatgrass types than most, but we cater to folks of all breeds.

There’s something remarkable about a café, from the ever-present hum of an espresso machine to the steady beat of an acoustic playlist on loop. For me, coming to the café is more than an opportunity to kill a few hours in exchange for minimum wage. It’s an opportunity to indulge in my favorite pas time: people watching. Every day, I get to observe dozens of regular people in their rawest (pre-caf feinated) forms. I adore my job, because it lets me turn my passion for people watching into a game. I like to predict the kind of milk a customer will order in their drink, before they even step up to the counter. Once the customer and I have exchanged our greetings, I’ve usually got enough information to hedge my bets on their milk order. After two years of practice, about 80% of my guesses are right.

My psychic sense has enabled me to create a mental catalogue of milk profiles; that is, a list of all the types of people I associate with different types of milk. At our café, we offer four: whole (cow’s milk), oat, almond, and coconut. So, in the spirit of all of the trashy matchmaking shows I’ve been watching this quarantine season, I decided to combine my two passions -- coffee and people watching -- into a compatibility chart of three different couples who, based on milk, would probably decide to put a ring on it after the first date.

(Disclosure: All of the profiles I am about to divulge are in jest and completely unscientific. They are supported by no real degree nor authority, except two years working as a very ammateur barista who reads her own horoscope too much.)

Oat and Oat

Oat: The oat milk drinker falls into a very specific niche of late millennial and early Gen-Z. Intrigued by its growing prestige amongst people under 35, the oat milk drinker is gratified by the environ mental promises of swapping dairy for oat milk, and they are quick to rattle these promises off to you when you ask “why oat?” As my coworker puts it, “ordering oat milk is a choice.” Indeed, oat milk drinkers are thoughtful, right-brained individuals who spend a lot of time on Twitter or Pinterest, and who typically have a great sense of fashion.

Bottom Line: Someone who drinks oat milk doesn’t date out of their own breed. If you’re an oat milk drinker, you’ll find maximum intellectual stimulation, caste compatibility, and compassion in another of your kind. The oat milk duo would probably enjoy a date in a park, sitting cross-legged on a bohemian picnic tapestry. A ukelele would probably make an appearance at this date, and the two would bond over their shared hobby of political activism.

Almond and Anyone

Almond: Almond milk is the O-negative of non-dairy options. It’s a complete wildcard. The al mond-milk drinker ranges from the serial Lululemoner to the innocent lactose-intolerant. I guess almond milk when a customer doesn’t clearly fall into any one category. If you’re reading this and you opt for almond, you’re mysterious. You probably like that about yourself.

Bottom Line: Anyone would be lucky to receive love from an almond-milk drinker. And, someone who drinks almond milk deserves love from any kind of other-milk drinker. Or even a non-milk drinker. After all, black-coffee drinkers—the ones with man-buns who resent the obligation to wear shoes in public—deserve love, too!

Coconut and Whole

Coconut: If you’re ordering coconut, you are a café -- and possibly a coffee -- virgin. You proba bly ordered coconut milk because the barista asked you what kind of milk you wanted, to which you curiously responded, “What kind of milk do you have?” And you, overwhelmed by the plethora of alternate milks you’ve just heard of for the first time ever, decided to go with the one that sounded the most exotic. You are a charmingly curious soul who loves to try new things, and you are also a pure ambivert.

Whole: In my biased opinion, the whole-milk drinker is the best customer of all. If you choose whole milk, you’re a person with former-small-town-class-president vibes. You’re a natural leader, affable and charismatic without a trace of narcissism. Whole-milk drinkers tip generously, make eye contact, and actually give an earnest answer when the barista asks her routine, “How are you doing today?”

Bottom Line: Curiosity complements stability in a coconut-whole duo. The adventurous, and sometimes naive, spirit of the coconut-milk drinker benefits from the classic, grounded confidence that the whole-milk drinker has to offer, and vice-versa. The whole-milk drinker can learn a lot from a relationship with the coconut-milk drinker because the latter is zany and always pushing their partner to travel out of their comfort zone.

I believe that coffee is inextricably intertwined with human’s universal pursuit of love. Save your self some heartbreak by asking, on your next first date, what kind of milk your partner takes in their coffee. And if they tell you they prefer tea, you’ll know it just wasn’t meant to be.

Holden Dahlerbruch (Co-President & Founder)

Megan Houchin (Co-President)

Lily Volper (Head of Communications) Jackson Ronald (Print and Distribution) Malcolm Cox (Advertising and Marketing)

Jacob Newmark (Writing Head)

Alison Manca

Madison Wong

Francesca Guthrie

Jonah D’Alessandro (Events Coordinator)

Kaitlyn Szalay (Fundraising Coordinator)

Ashley Degen

Paige Buller (First Year Representative)

Jake Freedman (First Year Representative) Andrew Holden (Treasurer)

Meghan Schroeder (Writing Head)

Victoria Rose

Katie Darvin

Isabelle Charles

Writers Editors Photography

Olivia Ting (Editing Head)

Eleanor Matthews (Editing Head)

Christine Char

Avantika Kothari

Sam Renard

Alexa Brown

Ned Carlson (Photography Head)

Matilda Biscaldi

Rebecca Lev

Sam Farbman

Megan Houchin

Print LayoutGraphic Design

Vanessa Tascon Meneses (Graphics Head)

Valeria Velasquez

Duru Ugurlu

Julia Petrocelli

Mary-Joy Sidhom (Print Layout Head)

Silvia Wang

Kristin Chai

Dhalia Hermosillo

Lily Volper

Madison Red

Cynthia Jelke