Ever had an interest in coffee that wouldn’t go away?
If you’ve ever had to pull an all-nighter, needed an energy boost in the morning, or ever looked for a way to help you focus, coffee has always been the go-to drink. This classic beverage has taken the world by storm thanks to the creative ways people have prepared it. You can have it adjusted to your preferences to be colder, sweeter, or have a stronger effect.
It’s not enough for some people to drink coffee, though. This prompts most to look up interesting facts about coffee to satisfy their curiosities.
Besides their amazing health benefits, here are some fun facts about coffee every coffee enthusiast should know. Read on to become a true fan of coffee.
1. The Origins of Coffee
While it’s not sure what the origins of coffee are, many people believe that a goat herder in Ethiopia discovered coffee. It starts when he sees his goats picking on some red fruits that fell from a tree. It wasn’t long before he saw his goats were more energetic than they often were during their hike.
The goats didn’t even sleep that night and were up with as much energy as they had during the day. The following morning, he shared his findings with other herders and farmers. They gathered the red fruits and brewed a drink with them.
They could spend more time awake for prayer after drinking this brew. This prompted them to share it with the monks in their area. Word spread about this new drink and it soon reached the other civilized settlements in no time.
2. We Didn’t Call It Coffee Before
It wasn’t until the 16th century that the word coffee became a part of the English vocabulary. Settlers only started calling it coffee when they heard Italian traders call it “caffe.” Even they weren’t the first people to call it that.
The Italians learned to call it by that name after hearing the Dutch call it “koffie.” Meanwhile, the Dutch took the name from the Ottoman Turkish variant “kahve.”
It all boils down to where the Ottoman Turkish got it, though. Their word for coffee stemmed from the Arabic variant, “qahwah.”
3. Coffee Beans are Fruits
Because its name has the word “beans” in it, most people think coffee is a legume. Coffee grows from a small tree that looks much like a bush. This classifies them as fruits for all intent and purposes.
The “bean” that most people think is the main product of the plant is the seed of their fruits. Each cherry that the tree produces bears 2-3 seeds as it grows. Farmers harvest the fruit as it ripens, processing them and drying what remains.
4. The Most Famous Coffee Comes from a Cat
While most coffee beans go straight from the tree to processing, there’s a special blend that goes through a special process before it’s ready for consumption. The Kopi Luwak is a famous coffee type that’s also the most expensive in the world.
A kilogram of Kopi Luwak can cost around 600 USD. This is because, when drank, Kopi Luwak is among the smoothest and tastiest blends. This is all thanks to a special cat, the Asian Palm Civet.
The civet travels along the jungle floor looking for things to eat. Its diet consists of small insects and fruits, including the coffee fruits that grow in its area.
It eats, digests, then excretes the fruit. This is what people harvest and turn into Kopi Luwak. When you enjoy a cup of Kopi Luwak, you’re enjoying processed cat poop.
Worry not, though. The digestive enzymes of the Asian Palm Civet are unique. No harmful bacteria are thriving in their excrement because of it.
5. It’s Among the Most Traded Good Worldwide
Coming as a strong second only to petroleum, coffee is among the most traded goods in the world. Europe imports the most coffee than any other continent due to the increasing demand. Europeans love drinking it even more than they love drinking water.
Despite its popularity, though, the prices will never be as low as you would hope them to be. This is because the ideal climate for growing coffee is a warm one. This means that once the winter solstice comes around, it will be harder to grow good quality coffee.
Even with greenhouses, we can’t always have an ideal coffee environment. This is also the reason for coffee prices to soar as of late.
6. Coffee Can Be a Catalyst for Divorce
The most interesting facts about coffee often come from traditions from different cultures. Coffee has been a part of many cultures in the past. Some cultures even consider coffee as a staple of everyday life.
Ancient Arab culture even dictates that a woman can initiate divorce with her husband should he fail to pour a cup of coffee for her in the morning. They considered it an insult as it showed that they didn’t respect their wives enough to pour coffee for them.
7. Caffeine Overdose is Real
Because it’s such a beloved beverage, many people drink as much coffee as they can. You must note that caffeine overdose is real and is lethal in most cases. It can trigger seizures, migraines, and hallucinations.
Keep your caffeine levels safe by drinking only around 400mgs. Any more and you will feel worse side effects until you flush it out your system.
8. Bach Composed a Song Dedicated to Coffee Drinkers
Johann Sebastian Bach was a famous musician known for composing beautiful symphonies. Few people know that he also made one about a coffee-loving woman.
In the song “Coffee Cantata”, a father argues with her daughter about her love for coffee. He says it’s preventing her from finding a proper husband. He gives her an ultimatum, which prompts the daughter to lie to please him.
Once the father goes out to search for a good husband for his daughter, the young lady tells her potential suitors that they must let her drink coffee if they wish to have her hand in marriage.
9. Coffee Helped Brazilian Athletes Attend the Olympics
Brazil almost didn’t make it to the Summer Olympics in 1932. They had an issue with payments not covering all 69 athletes to travel to Los Angeles.
Good thing they were the largest coffee producer during those times, though. They put the players in a ship with over 50,000 sacks of coffee. They dropped off the players in Los Angeles as they sold the beans in different ports.
10. There’s a Camera Watching Over a Coffee Pot in Cambridge
Researchers at the University of Cambridge value their coffee a lot. So much that they installed a camera to watch over a coffee pot in the employee break room. This was so they would know if the coffee pot was empty before they made their way there.
Many times before, they were miserable to find an empty coffee pot. With the camera installed, they could prepare a refill if they saw the pot was empty.
11. Only 2 States Grow Coffee
Because of the conditions needed to grow coffee, only 2 states can produce them. Hawaii and California are the only 2 states in the USA that produce coffee for export. The local harvest can even compete with those from Latin America and Africa.
12. Many Countries Tried Banning Coffee Before
As with most commodities, many countries were wary coffee would affect its citizens. The first was in ancient Mecca, banning coffee for being a threat to the throne. The ruler feared that the drink would encourage people to conspire to dethrone him.
Italians in the 1600s also wanted to ban coffee because the side effects were “satanic.” They failed, though, since the Pope loved drinking coffee.
Drinking coffee was even punishable by death in the Ottoman Empire before. It’s even banned in Sweden on different occasions because of health speculations.
This makes it important for you to get insurance for a coffee shop if you manage one. You never know when anything can compromise people’s love for coffee.
13. Espresso’s Government Regulation
Did you know that the Italian government regulates the espresso in their country? This is because they consider espresso to be a staple in their everyday life.
Their government decided to regulate the product to prevent stocks from running out. This way, everyone is sure to get an espresso at a cheap price to jumpstart their day.
14. Science Behind Coffee
There are some crazy effects that certain decisions have over your cup of coffee. A good example is that pouring cold creamer in your coffee would keep it hotter longer.
This is because adding cream turns coffee from black to a lighter color. It prevents the coffee from diffusing heat faster than normal. It also prevents it from evaporating faster.
This keeps more coffee in your cup, making it take longer to get colder. It’s also a factor in making cold and hot coffee taste different from each other.
15. Bean Roasting Affects Caffeine Content
Most people think that the darker the beans, the more caffeine you’re getting. The truth is contrary to that, as lighter beans have more caffeine in them.
This is because the longer you roast the beans, the less mass they have. More of their flesh gets cooked, leaving less caffeine in the beans. This makes lighter roasts better if you want a good wakeup call in the morning.
Read Up on These Interesting Facts About Coffee Today
These coffee fun facts help you understand the history behind your favorite drink. Learn more about coffee to understand what makes it such an interesting drink today!
Looking for more interesting facts about coffee? Take a look at our other lists to find out more about the famous beverage. You may even learn more about how coffee can benefit you every time you drink it!
