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We're proud to announce that we have recently sponsored a local football team known as Ketton Ladies Football Club.

Ketton Ladies Football Club is a part of Ketton Football Club which consists of 2 male teams, a ladies’ team and a new junior under 11 team. They play and train at Pit Lane in Ketton; matches start at 2pm on Sundays and the ladies have a training session every week on Thursday evenings between 7 and 8. The training takes place on a floodlit area at the edge of the Pit Lane facility.

The ladies play in the S-Tech Cambridgeshire Womens Premier League. The team has gradually improved over the last 3 years culminating with winning the Division 1 North title last season and only losing one league game. They are hoping this improvement will continue and have added new signings to the existing squad over the summer. Currently the squad consists of between 20 – 25 committed ladies ranging in age from 16 through to 40s. The ladies are supported by a manager and assistant manager who also coach them during the training sessions.

In the last year the team have made affiliations with a ladies’ football club in Sweden and also took part in an international 7 a side tournament in Barcelona. They have travelled to Sweden in each of the last 2 years to play the team in a pre-season friendly. They are also looking to take part in the Barcelona tournament in 2020 as well.
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Over the past couple of years finding a sponsor had been very difficult they say. They had approached several businesses in the Stamford area without success. They were very fortunate to find not one but two sponsors last season who have sponsored their kit and tracksuits. The tracksuits in particular are very beneficial to the team as they have always wanted to look more professional when they arrive at matches and training sessions. This was very evident when they made the trip to the Barcelona tournament as it gave the players an identity and belonging. It also made the team stand out and they were asked many questions about the tournament and where they were from.

The tracksuits have raised questions about the sponsor such as who they are and what they do. This provides exposure, positive advertisement and promotion. Without the support of sponsors such as Masteroast, the team would not be in as strong a position to attract new players. ​

Gallstones are awful for anyone who has had the misfortune of suffering from them. If the latest research from the Journal of Internal Medicine is to believed then anyone who drinks up to 6 cups or more of caffeinated coffee a day is up to 23% less likely to suffer this affliction. Just one cup of coffee a day is enough to reduce this by 3%. Going on the stats, if you've suffered from Gallstones in the coffee industry you have either been very unfortunate or have not been drinking enough coffee, this can be the only explanation!

The study was conducted with a sample size of 100,000 people - caffeine triggers the contraction of the gallbladder which in turn prevents the build up of gallstones, future trials will explore this mechanism further.   

Masteroast recommend that you enjoy your coffee responsibly and as part of a balanced diet.

Coffee fans can have up to 25 cups a day without worrying about their heart a study suggests.

If you're accustomed to drinking coffee on a regular basis then this latest study published by Queen Mary University of London suggests that you could have up to 25 cups of coffee a day without any negative effects to your arteries.The study started off by dividing 8,412 people into three groups - those who seldom drank coffee, those who drank between one and three cups a day and the third group who would regularly drink more than three. 

The third group consumed coffee at an average of 5 a day though some of them would put away 24 cups! The research found that you were no more likely to have artery trouble drinking 25 cups a day than you would drinking only one.

"Despite the huge popularity of coffee worldwide, different reports could put people off from enjoying it," said Dr Kenneth Fung.
"Whilst we can't prove a causal link in this study, our research indicates coffee isn't as bad for the arteries as previous studies would suggest. Although our study included individuals who drink up to 25 cups a day, the average intake amongst the highest coffee consumption group was five"

Dr Kenneth Fung said he's also likely to study this group again in future work so we can help advise on safer limits. 

Previous studies on the effects of coffee on arteries have suggested that the extra strain caused by the caffeine in the coffee would put pressure on the heart and increase the chances of a heart attack or stroke. Professor Metin Avkiran associate medical director at the British heart foundation, stated that the study "rules out one of the potential detrimental effects of coffee on our arteries".

All participants that had taken part in this study underwent MRI Heart scans and infrared pulse wave tests, factors such as age, weight and lifestyle (smoking etc) were also taken into consideration. 

The health benefits and risks of coffee has varied over time, though no evidence has been found to show coffee as being harmful our best advice at Masteroast is to enjoy coffee to a level that you are comfortable with as part of a balanced diet. 

Coffee is actually a good idea; as if it's even a question, in moderation like anything. The question here though. is decaf coffee a healthy alternative to the much loved caffeinated coffee that the world wakes up to everyday? 

Healthy alternatives are popping up left, right and centre over recent years, with adaptations of much loved food and drinks from vegan friendly options to decaffeinated reduced sugar everything. Gyms are also popping up all over the country with grand ideas on keeping the body in shape and the mind sharp, we are indeed in the middle of a body first renaissance. Our coffee consumption has even been affected by an uptake in decaf coffee over the last 12 months, this has been noticed at our roastery which has been confirmed by consumer research analyst 'Mintel'.  

​Research over the last 10 years has suggested that moderate consumption of caffeinated coffee is safe and that it likely has many benefits. Studies have shown that between 2-3 cups a day may be the sweet spot and adults can consume up to 400mg per day which is the equivalent of 4 mugs. This is not to be consumed in one go but to be spread out over the day. The reason for the gaps is to allow for the caffeine to filter through the body. It takes an adult approximately 4 hours to reduce the caffeine in their system by 50%.

Coffee, both caffeinated and decaffeinated contains chlorogenic acid, an antioxidant which has been shown to slow the body's absorption of glucose which has been shown to correlate to why many coffee drinkers have a decreased chance of becoming type 2 diabetic. These very same antioxidants have been attributed to the reduced risk of cancer, notably is the reduction of menopausal breast cancer. This reduced cancer risk is all thanks to the chlorogenic acid found in coffee which is also found in fruit and vegetables.

Caffeine does have some draw backs which makes the decaf alternative more appealing, you get all of the benefits without the negatives commonly associated with caffeine. Caffeine in large quantities can be damaging to your mood, your sleep and over long periods of time it can even affect your overall health. It's also best to consume a little less caffeine when you're young as your tolerance for caffeine increases with age and weight.

To finish on a positive note, caffeine is safe in moderation just like most food and drink is safe when portioned. Coffee has a whole host of benefits that are great for the body and the best bit is that all that good stays even when the caffeine is removed. Don't want the caffeine boost, drink decaf!