1:3 — Microbes, fans, unions

Edition No. 60

1 Fun Thing

Football (not American!) is the world’s most watched sport with an estimated five billion fans around the world, with Latin America, the Middle East and Africa representing the largest fan bases.

3 Coffee Facts

1. The microbe composition on your tongue influences your taste sensitivity and perception. Research from The Coffee Sensorium shows that bacteria from the genus ‘Actinomyces’ have been associated to higher sensitivity to bitter taste. They are also dominant on wine tasters’ tongues, and reduced in smokers.

2. On December 9, 2021, the Elmwood Buffalo branch became the first company-run Starbucks to form a union. As of October 2022, over 250 stores had unionized across the US despite several attempts from senior management to prevent their formation, including illegally firing employees.

3. A 2023 independently conducted study in The BMJ shows that in adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, consumption of coffee, tea, plain water, and low fat milk were inversely associated with mortality. These findings emphasize the potential role of healthy choices of beverages in managing the risk of cardiovascular diseaese in adults with type 2 diabetes.