10 fun and interesting facts about coffee that will be sure to make you um and arr.. and giggle!
Fact 1 - Shepherds discovered coffee in Ethiopia circa 800 A.D.
Legend has it that 9th-century goat herders noticed the effect caffeine had on their goats, who appeared to "dance" after eating coffee berries, so a local monk then made a drink with coffee berries and found that it kept him awake at night, thus the original cup of coffee was born.
Fact 2 - Coffee is the second most traded commodity on earth
According to the Global Exchange, there are approximately 25 MILLION farmers in over 50 countries involved in producing coffee.
Fact 3 - In Italian espresso means "when something is forced out"
This refers to the way espresso is made by forcing boiling water through the pressed coffee grounds and so, although espresso has more caffeine per volume than coffee because it's consumed in smaller quantities, it has about a third of the amount of caffeine as a regular cup of coffee.
Fact 4 - Coffee was the first food to be freeze-dried
The process of freeze drying — when fresh foods are placed in a dryer where temperatures drop to negative 40 degrees F — first started during World War II to preserve foods.
Fact 5 - There are two types of coffee beans: Arabica and Robusta
Seventy per cent of coffee beans are Arabica. Although less popular, Robusta is slightly more bitter and has twice as much caffeine.
Fact 6 - The majority of coffee is produced in Brazil
Brazil produces 40% of the world's coffee, which is twice as much as 2nd and 3rd placeholders, Colombia and Vietnam.
Fact 7 - Hawaii is the only state in the U.S. that commercially grows coffee
Kona coffee is the United States' gift to the coffee world. Because coffee grows best in climates along the equator, Hawaii's weather is optimal for harvesting coffee beans.
Fact 8 - Coffee was originally food
Coffee berries were mixed with fat to create an energy-rich snack ball. It was also consumed as wine when made from the pulp of coffee berries.
Fact 9 - Coffee is a fruit.. it is!
Coffee beans as we know them are the pits of a berry that are grown on bushes which makes them seeds, but it's called a bean because of its resemblance to actual beans, but they are in fact seeds.
Last Fact! - The world's most expensive coffee is $600 a pound
A slightly gross one but this particular coffee called Kopi luwak comes from the faeces of the Luwak Sumatran wildcat. The animal is unable to digest coffee beans so, in the process of digesting the beans (or seeds!), they are fermented in the stomach, and when the beans are excreted, they produce a smooth chocolaty coffee!
And it comes from the faeces of a Sumatran wildcat... Yes, that's poo! - The animal — called a Luwak — is unable to digest coffee beans. In the process of digesting the beans, they are fermented in the stomach. When the beans are excreted, they produce a smooth, chocolaty coffee.
Data Source: Good House Keeping