Steven Hale
2 min readMay 5, 2021

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I'm flattered that you're asking me about pure communism. It's a topic I know nothing about, which means I can talk about it fervently and indefinitely.

There is no communism other than pure communism, any more than Bernie Sanders is a socialist. Every form of impure or practical communism are just choices from the larger "All Forms of Government Are Bad" menu. You pick the least bad one and try to implement it and then complain about it when it fails. But pure communism is a great debate topic. All debates become frame as the real vs. the ideal opposition. Plato and Aristotle are probably still arguing it out in the afterlife, with some kind of Zeus Zoom connecting up their different afterworlds.

Instead, let me talk about coffee, which I do know a little about.

First, coffee is a health food. It has several polyphenols (and polyphenols are the current rage), which means coffee is even more fashionable than ever.

"Metabolic syndrome is a strong risk factor for atherosclerosis-associated CVD and T2DM. Obesity due to excess energy intake strongly enhances the metabolic syndrome—concomitant obesity is the major driver of the syndrome. However, coffee polyphenols can reverse the metabolic risk factors of metabolic syndrome. Coffee polyphenols inhibit atherosclerosis-related CVD and T2DM, respectively. Coffee has many health-promoting properties, and chlorogenic acid appears to protect against metabolic syndrome through its antioxidant activity. The antioxidative effects of coffee components may be a basic feature of prevention." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5836016/

Second, how much coffee should you drink? The optimum figure I've seen in an article about promoting longevity is two cups of coffee AND three cups of tea a day (the tea is probably green tea--I prefer black or white tea).

Third, how should you brew the coffee? I hope you're making a proper pour-over and not using one of those French press atrocities. Unfiltered coffee contains substances that are bad for the heart, but filters remove them. And you end up with sludge at the end of a French press, even if you use coarse grind. I always drink the sludge and regret it immediately. Plus you have more control over the pour-over and can obsess about the variables as endlessly as arguing about capitalism. (Che Guevara probably used one of those moka pots, but he was too busy working for the revolution to worry about his health, even though he studied medicine.)

P.S. That merveilleux looks delicious. I'd even drink French press coffee with it.

Skol!

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Steven Hale
Steven Hale

Written by Steven Hale

Music: Discovering the lost and forgotten. Politics: Exposing injustice. Screenwriting: Emotional storytelling.

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