9. Coffee is actually a fruit.
A Few Facts About Coffee
A few facts about coffee…coffee was first consumed in Africa, where coffee berries were mixed with fat to make energy balls. Did you know that King Charles II of England banned coffee shops in 1675?
All coffee grows in the Bean Belt. The Bean Belt is located between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, basically around the equator line.
King Charles II of England banned coffee shops in 1675.
He was paranoid that people met there to conspire against him.
A man named George Washington invented instant coffee.
Not the president. It was a Guatemalan man in 1906.
Coffee grows on trees.
Coffee trees naturally grow to 30+ feet tall! Farmers keep them around 10 feet for easy cultivation.
From www.lannacoffee.org, the nonprofit coffee roasting company website that offers coffee delivered to your home every month to club members.
Want to know more about this second-most-traded commodity in the world?
Great article from Good Housekeeping magazine
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. 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.
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. The number one commodity? Oil.
3. In Italian espresso means “when something is forced out.”
This refers to the way espresso is made — forcing boiling water through pressed coffee grounds. And, although espresso has more caffeine per volume than coffee, because it’s consumed in smaller quantities, it actually has about a third of the amount of caffeine as a regular cup of coffee.
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.
5. There are two types of coffee beans: Arabica and Robusta.
Seventy percent of coffee beans are Arabica. Although less popular, Robusta is slightly more bitter and has twice as much caffeine.
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 place holders, Colombia and Vietnam.
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.
8. Coffee was originally a food.
Coffee berries were mixed with fat to create an energy-rich snack ball. It was also consumed as a wine when made from the pulp of coffee berries.
Coffee beans as we know them are actually the pits of a cherry-like berry that are grown on bushes. Even though coffee is actually a seed, it’s called a bean because of its resemblance to actual beans.
10. The world’s most expensive coffee is $600 a pound.
And it comes from the feces of a Sumatran wild cat. 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.
