Mmm... Brilliantly Beany....

Ooh, coffee... Part of cafe culture and every one of us will have probably had at least some variety of the beany stuff at least once in our lives.

There is something completely wonderful about coffee, isn't there? You can have it many different varieties, cold or hot, creamy, sugary, strong, milky, whipped to perfection, with sprinkles or cocoa, in a small, medium or large mug... well, let's just say you can have it just about any way you like it.

But let's not forget that there can be serious issues to our favourite caffeinated drink. Some coffee manufacturers are becoming fair-trade and therefore offering good deals to the people who work on plantations. We should probably try and buy fair-trade coffee whenever we can, as it tastes just as good but is also offering a fair and respectable deal to the people who grow and pick the beans for us.

On a lighter note, it has been found that coffee contains a good amount of antioxidants, which are substances rich in vital vitamins. It actually contains more antioxidants than say, tea or red wine, which in the past have also been proven to have high levels of the substances. So, why should we be bothered about this? Well, antioxidants help battle signs of ageing by keeping levels of oxidants, or "free radicals", in our body down. So while some people in the past have thought that drinking coffee can be bad for our skin, it has now been scientifically proven that the opposite is actually true! Well, in moderation....

All hail the mighty coffee bean!