BBC 6 minute English-Coffee addiction

Transcript of the podcast

NB: This is not a word for word transcript

Rob: Mmm! A quick sip of my coffee to get me in the mood for today’s programme! Welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Rob

Finn: And I’m Finn. Rob, you seem to be enjoying that cup of coffee

Rob: Yes, indeed. I love all styles of coffee – that’s coffee made in different ways – you could say I am a coffee addict

Finn: An addict. That’s someone who likes doing a particular activity very much and they can’t stop doing it. And if you have a strong need to keep drinking coffee then we could say you have an addiction

Rob: That’s me! And that’s what we’re talking about today – coffee addiction – and we’ll be talking about the dangers of drinking too much

Finn: Another word for drinking here is consuming. We’ll look at some other coffee-related language in today’s programme, too. But first, Rob, how about a question

Rob: Yes, of course. I have a coffee-related question to ask you. Do you know which country drinks the most coffee per person? Is it

a) Egypt

b) Finland

c) Italy

Finn: I think they’re all coffee-drinking countries but I’ll say b) Finland

Rob: OK. As always, I will let you know the answer at the end of the programme. OK Finn, I haven’t asked you yet if you drink coffee. So do you

Finn: I do Rob, yes, but only in moderation – so that means not too much. I love the taste and the smell especially – we could call that the aroma – but it’s the caffeine contained in the drink that can have a bad effect. If I drink too much it can give me headaches

Rob: Right. Well, for me, it’s the caffeine that keeps me awake. It stimulates my brain – it makes me more alert – that’s why we call caffeine a stimulant. Caffeine can also be found in energy and cola drinks and even in tea

Finn: The New Scientist magazine says caffeine is a ‘psychoactive drug’ and that 90% of people in the United States consume it every day

Rob: Psychoactive drug – so what does that mean

Finn: It’s a drug that affects how a person feels and sometimes how they behave. The drug can be found in food like waffles and chewing gum, surprisingly – not just in drinks

Rob: That’s why scientists who study public health are worried people don’t know how much caffeine they are taking. Finn: Indeed. Too much caffeine can lead to insomnia

Rob: So that’s when you can’t sleep

Finn: And indigestion

Rob: So that’s a pain in your stomach when it can’t process the food that you’ve just eaten

Finn: And finally, high blood pressure

Rob: So blood flowing around your body at a higher pressure than is normal. That’s dangerous. Well, sometimes drinking coffee does stop me sleeping and sometimes I feel very alert and then very lethargic – you know, that’s not having any energy. But I still can’t give up

Finn: And Rob, you’re not alone. We asked people on our BBC Learning English Facebook page how they felt about coffee, and we had a lot of responses

Rob: Yumiko says: “My happiest time is smelling coffee beans just after grinding it. Fresh roasted coffee has a really good fragrance!” Fragrance is a word usually associated with perfume – but I think she just means the good smell

Finn: Samuele says: One cup of good espresso is the daily energy for my body and mind

Rob: And Rasha claims: A cup of coffee every day is useful for our health

Finn: Ahmed loves coffee too, but he says: “Be aware that too much coffee is not good for your health”. So there seem to be some good effects and some bad – or negative – effects of drinking coffee, Rob

Rob: Well, I find that if I try to give up drinking coffee, I’ll also get headaches and feel tired

Finn: And these are what we call withdrawal symptoms – the nasty physical and mental effects of stopping

Rob: Well, I may drink lots of coffee but not as much as people in another country. Finn, earlier I asked you if you knew the people of which country drink the most coffee

Finn: And I said b) Finland

Rob: And guess what – you were right! Yes, the people of Finland consume an incredible 12 kilograms of coffee per person every year. That compares with the average consumption of 1.3 kilograms per person

OK Finn, before we go, there’s just time for you to remind us of some of the words that we heard today

Finn: We heard

addict consuming in moderation aroma caffeine stimulant psychoactive drug insomnia indigestion high blood pressure lethargic withdrawal symptoms

Rob: Thanks, Finn

Finn: Thank you, Rob

Rob: Do join us again for another edition of 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. Bye for now

Finn: Bye