1. Coffee beans aren’t really beans
Despite their appearance coffee ‘beans’ actually originate from the pit, (or seed) of a small bright red fruit called a coffee cherry.
2. A goat herder was the first to discover coffee
Or more accurately his goats were. Dating back to the 1500s, an Ethiopian herder noticed his goats acting strangely after they ate coffee cherries. They not only gained more energy but were also unable to sleep at night. Upon sharing this discovery with the local monks, the first drinks produced from the coffee bean were made.
3. Coffee helps you live longer
Sitting up top as one of the healthiest drinks in the world, coffee is filled with antioxidants to help you feel and look great. Whilst the benefits may vary depending on the amount of sugar, syrup, or milk that you add, there’s no denying that coffee can help towards a happier, longer life.
4. Before it became a drink, coffee used to be chewed
Yes, you read that right. By grinding the coffee cherries and adding in animal fat, some of the first African tribes were able to make coffee energy balls to chew and eat rather than drink.
5. Despite popular belief Decaf is not ‘Caffeine Free’
Although there is significantly less caffeine present in a cup of decaf, studies show that in the average 8-ounce cup, there are still about 2 – 12 milligrams present.
6. On average the world consumes two billion cups of coffee daily
With one billion coffee drinkers worldwide, it comes as no surprise that it is considered one of top dogs in the drinks industry. Most popular in the United States, Sweden, Argentina, Germany, and Brazil, the average coffee lover drinks up to 3.1 cups of coffee daily.
7. No more coffee!
Not once, or twice, but five times throughout the years people have tried to put a ban on the world’s favourite drink. With 16th century Italy calling for it to be labelled as satanic and 17th century Prussia complaining about its interference on the country’s beer consumption. Coffee has often been seen as the bad guy but thankfully each time these bans have been overruled.
8. The first webcam ever created was made to watch coffee
For all the tech fans out there, you can thank coffee and the researchers at the University of Cambridge for this handy piece of equipment. Deciding to work smarter and not harder the webcam was used to check if the coffee pot in the break room was full, saving themselves some unnecessary steps and disappointment.
9. ES-presso vs EX-presso
For those of you who say ‘EX-presso’ I’m here to tell you that while you’re not right you’re also not necessarily wrong either. The proper term ‘ES-presso’ originally means to be ‘expressed’ or ‘pressed out,’ so although you’re correctly saying what the process is, it may still get you some funny looks.
10. The history of the word ‘coffee’
Originating from the Arabic work ‘qahwah’ (a type of wine). It wasn’t until after the Ottoman Turks term ‘Kahve’ and the Dutch term ‘Koffie’ that the 1582 English name ‘Coffee’ was derived.
