The Flavorbean Coffee Company processes its flavored coffee products without any chemical solvents or carriers. We believe that we have a responsibility — not only to ourselves but also to our environment — to minimize the use of unhealthy chemicals in our culture.
Aside from Flavorbean, many flavored coffees that exist today are made with large amounts of a chemical solvent called propylene glycol. Thanks to decades of experience, Flavorbean has developed a direct flavor-infusion methodology that makes propylene glycol obsolete.
Propylene glycol comes from the same family of glycols that are present in your car's anti-freeze. This chemical is a petroleum-based solvent and is responsible for the shine that you see on flavored coffee beans in stores. We all see this shine and think that it indicates a fresher coffee bean!
Since the experimental days of the 1970s, coffee roasters have applied flavorings to coffee beans using astoundingly high levels (from 3% to 5%) of flavors that contain propylene glycol as their medium. Ingestion of propylene glycol can cause respiratory problems, irregular heartbeat, low blood pressure, and seizures in rare cases. (In one study conducted to detect sensitivity to propylene glycol, skin rashes occurred in 4.5% of 487 patients.)
Today, we know a lot more about the effects of chemicals in our foods. In July of 2006, the European Union ruled that all products manufactured and sold in Europe must have a legal limit of propylene glycol of 0.1% or less. This level is much lower than what is currently allowed in the United States.
The European Union is usually ahead of the U.S. when it comes to food regulation, and when this law is eventually applied in America, all flavored coffees that exist today will be illegal, due to their high propylene glycol usage levels. All except one!
Today it's coffee, but soon our product line will expand to include chemical solvent-free teas and hot chocolates flavored with the purest, most distinctive ingredients available.
There's a big difference between flavored coffee and flavored syrup. Flavored syrups are a combination of sugar and/or high fructose corn syrup and are loaded with preservatives, chemical solvents, artificial colors and synthetic flavors. They are also extremely high in calories, unless you happen to have a diet version, which is then sweetened with sucralose, a chemically-modified, artificial sweetener.
There are plenty of reasons to reduce your consumption of unhealthy chemicals, but when it comes to coffee, we have to admit: the best reason is for taste. Since Flavorbean's antioxidant-rich coffees have no sugars, artificial sweeteners or chemical solvents, your palate is free to soak up the deep, rich essence of coffee infused with actual flavor ingredients. You deserve it!
In addition to being all natural and chemical free we are also:
Recent editorials have proclaimed coffee to be “the latest health drink,” and numerous medical studies have revealed many health benefits associated with coffee:
A Harvard study of 20,000 people showed regular coffee drinkers had 1/3 less asthma symptoms than non-coffee drinkers.
Coffee is full of antioxidants, which may curb inflammation and heart disease. An Iowa Women’s Health Study of 27,000 postmenopausal women found that women who drank 1 to 3 cups of coffee a day were 24% less likely to die of heart disease than women who did not drink coffee. The female coffee drinkers in this study were also 28% less likely to die of other non-cancerous inflammatory diseases.
In a Harvard study of 126,000 subjects, men who drank 6+ cups of coffee every day cut their Type 2 diabetes risk by 50%. Women drinking 6+ cups a day cut their diabetes risk by 30%. The antioxidants in coffee have been shown to increase insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism in lab tests.
According to Kaiser Permanente researchers, heavy alcohol users who drank coffee cut their risk for cirrhosis. Those who drank 4+ cups day cut their risk for cirrhosis of the liver by 80% compared to non-coffee drinkers. Those who drank less than a cup of coffee a day cut their risk for the disease by about 30%. The Journal of the National Cancer Institute reported a Japanese research study showing that daily coffee drinkers were half as likely to develop liver cancer as non-coffee drinkers. The report also showed that the protective effect of coffee was higher in people who increased from 1-2 cups to 3-4 cups a day.
Italian researchers found that the likelihood of developing Parkinson's disease dropped by about 80% in coffee drinkers, while a Harvard study showed that coffee drinkers were only 1/3 less likely to develop the disease.
A research study showed that, compared to non-coffee drinkers, those drinking at least 2 cups of coffee a day reduced their risk for colon cancer by 25% and cut their risk of gallstones in half. A Vanderbilt University study showed that heavy drinkers and smokers who drank lots of coffee showed less heart disease and liver damage.
Italian researchers found that coffee could also help fight cavities. Trigonelline, which gives coffee its aroma, has antibacterial and anti-adhesive properties that help prevent dental cavities from forming.