RABBI PLISKIN'S DAILY LIFT

Daily Lift #371 Your Attitude Toward Insults

Some people mistakenly say, "He hurt my feelings," or "He made me feel bad." But in actuality, no one can hurt your feelings or make you feel bad -- unless you allow their words to affect you. Your attitude toward an insult causes you pain, not the insult itself.

The emotional pain of an insult comes from what you add to it.


(Rabbi Pliskin's "Gateway to Happiness," p.294)
Aish.com

Highly Active Compound Found In Coffee May Prevent Colon Cancer

Drinking coffee may help prevent colon cancer, according to a group of researchers in Germany. They identified a potent antioxidant compound in the popular brew that appears in animal studies to boost the activity of phase II enzymes, which are thought to protect against colon cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

The study is scheduled to appear in the Nov. 5 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

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Coffee 'boosts male fertility'

By Ania Lichtarowicz
BBC health reporter in San Antonio, Texas

Drinking coffee makes sperm swim faster and could improve male fertility.

The finding was announced by Brazilian scientists at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine meeting in San Antonio, where the effects of drugs on male fertility are under review.

Coffee can do more than just wake you up - it appears that men might also be giving their sperm a kickstart by drinking just a few cups a day.

This, research by a team from Sao Paulo University suggests, increases sperm motility, which could potentially improve the chances of pregnancy.

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Kraft, activists still differ on coffee standards

COMPANY TEAMS WITH RAINFOREST ALLIANCE, BUT GROUPS SEEK `FAIR-TRADE' COMMITMENT

NORTHFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Kraft Foods is still at odds with some activist groups over its coffee-buying standards, despite a new partnership with the Rainforest Alliance.

The nation's largest food and beverage company announced last week that it had agreed to buy coffee from growers who meet certain social and environmental standards, as certified by the Rainforest Alliance, a conservation group.

But the decision did not mollify groups pushing for large companies to sell coffee certified as ``fair trade,'' which its advocates say has higher social and economic standards for its growers than the standards agreed to by Kraft.

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Starbucks Lands A Credit-Card Whale

Ari Weinberg, Forbes.com

NEW YORK - This morning the CEOs of Starbucks, Bank One and Visa met at a Manhattan Starbucks to celebrate lower transaction costs.

It's not exactly the stuff of headlines. But today's introduction of the Starbucks Duetto Visa, both a credit card and a stored-value card, is the most significant admission by a major retailer that there's money to be made when customers charge a not-so-simple cup of coffee.

The card, targeted to "Starbucks enthusiasts," the top 20% of customers who visit an average of 18 times a month, puts 1% of every Visa purchase onto the customer's Starbucks (nasdaq: SBUX - news - people ) card, a stored-value feature that lets latte-lovers pay for their java without even signing a receipt. Die-hards who charge an automatic reload of their Starbucks card will get a 3% perq.

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COFFEE FEST ANNOUNCES LATTE ART COMPETITION CONTESTANT LINE UP

A battle of epic proportions is taking shape with the final score to be settled at Coffee Fest Seattle, October 24 - 26, 2003, at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. Baristi from across the globe will be competing at Coffee Fest to show the world their best Free-Pour Latte Art.

"This competition is going to be incredible," said David Heilbrunn, Coffee Fest Show Manager. "We have last year's champion, Zack Lakic from Caffe Artigiano, Vancouver B.C., returning to defend his title. In addition, Chen Chin-Pei last year's second place finisher from Taipei, China is making the return trip and a run at the championship."
The fun doesn't stop there though. Sammy Picolo of Caffe Artigiano, who won the title at Coffee Fest Las Vegas earlier this year, will be on hand to compete, as will two competitors from Tokyo Japan. Even Starbucks has entered the fray with a representative vying for the title. In total 20 of the finest barsiti on the planet will be going head to head in Seattle later this month.

"The coffee world is in for an incredible treat at Coffee Fest" says Heilbrunn. "These contestants are with out question the cream of the crop." While top prize is $1,000, this contest has gone beyond the money and has become a competition for bragging rights. Just seeing Caffe Artigiano, Cafe D'Arte, Zoka Coffee Roasters and Starbucks in the same competition is unprecedented. Add Hines Public Market, Bon Appetit and all the others and it is clear that while one Barista will walk away with the top prize, the retail company that they represent will be able to say that they create the world's best Latte.

FRIDAY October 24, 2003
1) Doug Lee, MD & Associates
2) Helen Johnson Lamb - Olympic Coffee & Roasting
3) Sean W. Thomas - Bon Appetit
4) Dario Brancato - Caffe D'Arte
5) Sammy Picolo - Caffe Artigiano
6) Joe Raines - Lava Java
7) Bronwen Serna - Hines Public Market
8) Adam Strozyk - Zoka Coffee Roasters
9) Chin Chen-Pei - Taipei China
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SATURDAY October 25, 2003
1) Zack Lakic - Caffe Artigiano
2) Marcus Morton - Starbucks
3) Joshua Terlow - Bellino Coffee Fest
4) Megumi Sato - Seattle Espresso Systems (Tokyo)
5) Tetsuya Kobayashi - S.E.S. (Tokyo)
6) Jason Cook - Lava Java
7) Blu Hoyt - Lazio's Coffee Bar
8) Chris Davidson - Zoka Coffee Roasters
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There's more to coffee than firing up the brain

By Andy Ho

SCIENCE MONITOR

IF YOU fancy a cappuccino or macchiato with your burger and fries, McDonald's is opening a McCafe next to its outlet in Great World City next week. That the so-called Golden Arches are invading Starbucks territory says how pervasive the gourmet coffee culture here is.

Yet there seems to be a smidgen of guilt that always goes with that cup of silky smooth mocha and it's been that way for a long time.

Originally found on shrubs in the hills of Ethiopia, shepherds noticed their sheep stayed awake all night after eating the cherries.

The bean was taken across the Red Sea to Yemen around AD1400, where people turned it into a pungent fermented beverage called qahwah. Sufi mystics would quaff copious amounts of qahwah prior to their ecstatic exercises. Before each draught, they would shout: 'Ya qawi!' meaning 'O strong one!'

Qawi, some historians believe, is the root word for coffee. In 1542, the Ottoman empire tried unsuccessfully to ban the 'sinful' drink. By the early 1600s, European coffee shops were serving it, not fermented, but as the hot beverage we now know.

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