27 quirky coffee facts you never knew

Freshly brewed facts

Do you know which country drinks the most coffee? Or what the unexpected health benefits of drinking a cup a day are? Here we reveal surprising facts about one of the world’s oldest and most popular drinks including how much you should consume and how to roast your own beans at home.

Coffee is a fruit

When you think of coffee, you probably picture fine, ground brown powder (or brown beans if you’re fancy and grind your own), but it starts life as a fruit. The coffee plant grows little red berries called coffee cherries. The seeds inside are what get roasted and ground, and are what we call beans.

Brazil is the largest producer in the world

Wondering where your coffee has come from? Most likely Brazil. The South American country is the world's largest producer in the world, churning out 51 million 60kg (132lbs) bags between 2017 and 2018. To put that into perspective, 1kg (2lbs) of beans makes around 120 double espressos.

It’s best grown at high altitudes

The higher up that coffee is grown, the better. A cool, wet climate means the cherries ripen gradually and develop complex flavours. At 5,000ft (1,500m) above sea level, the height of Ethiopian coffee plants, you can expect floral, stone fruit and spicy flavours. At 4,000ft (1,200m), like Brazilian coffee, the beans develop nutty and chocolate notes. Those grown at 3,000ft (900m) tend to be earthy and dull.

Production takes a long time

From plant to your cup is a long process. Coffee producers can expect to wait two and a half years for their coffee bushes to grow cherries. They also need meticulous care, spending the first six months in shaded nurseries. The final but most laborious step is harvesting – the cherries are often handpicked as the trees grow on steep slopes.

There are two main types: arabica and robusta

There are thousands of species of coffee plant, but the two you’re most likely to hear of are arabica and robusta, as these are used commercially. Arabica is sweeter with higher acidity, plus complex aromas and flavours. Robusta is smaller, has higher caffeine content and an intense, full-bodied taste. Packages of ground coffee beans usually contain a blend of the two.

Beans are brown because they’re roasted

Raw coffee looks completely different to roasted coffee – when the beans are picked they’re green. During roasting the starches are broken down into sugars which caramelise, giving the beans a brown colour. It's similar to what happens when you toast bread (this chemical reaction is called the maillard reaction). Also, a fragrant oil called caffeol develops.

You can roast coffee at home

Beans are best a week after roasting, but the bags you buy in the store may have been there for months. So no matter how seriously you take brewing, you can still have a bad cup. That’s why coffee aficionados buy raw beans to roast themselves. All you’ll need is a cast iron skillet or a popcorn popper.

The coffee plant also makes tea

Yes you read that correctly. Cascara or coffee cherry tea is an infusion made with the dried skin of coffee cherries. The caffeine content is low and the taste is comparable with a fruit infusion rather than herbal or leaf tea.

It has a long history

The exact point coffee was discovered is uncertain, as it was so many years ago. But the favoured story dates all the way back to AD 850. An Ethiopian goat herder noticed his animals become energetic after feeding on the ripe berries of an arabica bush. Kaldi the goat herder then sampled the berries and noticed the caffeine effect for himself.

Coffee originates from Ethiopia

Whether the story of Kaldi the goat herder is fact or fiction, Ethiopia is widely considered the birthplace of coffee. In the region of Kaffa, approximately 286 miles (460km) southwest of the capital Addis Ababa, coffee trees grow spontaneously without human intervention. The mountainous forest landscape contains close to 5,000 wild varieties of the plant.

It played a big part in religious ceremonies

The first place outside Africa that coffee spread was Yemen, where it was drunk by the Sufis during religious practices in the Middle Ages. From the process of roasting the beans to drinking the beverage so they could stay up late, it was an integral part of worship.

It was known as the wine of Arabia

With the Turkish conquest of the Arabia Peninsula in the 16th century, coffee consumption spread throughout the Ottoman Empire. Muslims in these regions didn't drink alcohol and coffee was a great replacement. It was called kahve which means “wine of Arabia”.

The first coffee houses were the places to be

Coffee was unique to other drinks because it was drunk in public coffee houses in cities across the Middle East and Africa. People came here for entertainment, to socialise and find out the breaking news of the day. By 1675, these café-like spots sprung up in England and were called names such as Turk’s Head, The Jerusalem Coffee House and The Sultaness.

Drinking coffee was once punishable by death

Contrary to other countries, the Ottoman Sultan Murad IV disliked coffee houses as he thought people were plotting against him there. In 1633, he made the consumption of coffee punishable by death in Istanbul. He wasn’t the first or last leader to disapprove either. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, many European and Middle Eastern rulers tried to ban the beverage.

Coffee became popular in the US after the Boston Tea Party

Prior to the events of the Boston Tea Party, the majority of American colonialists were tea drinkers (as it was the choice drink in Britain). However, in 1773 after tea taxes were increased and hundreds of imported chests were thrown into the sea in protest, it was seen as patriotic to drink coffee.

Cappuccino got its name from the Capuchin friars

Capuchin friars weren't big coffee drinkers, but the brown colour of coffee with milk reminded 19th-century Viennese coffee makers of their robes. It was here that kapuziner, coffee with milk, was first made. The modern cappuccino with a foamy lid came later and was an Italian creation.

Our coffee lingo comes from Italy

Ever wondered why all our coffee words – espresso, doppio, cappuccino, caffè latte and macchiato – are Italian? It's because the espresso machine was invented here in the late 19th century. Espresso is a short, concentrated drink made by passing hot, high pressure water through finely ground coffee – and forms the basis for most drinks you'll find on a café menu today.

The phrase “cup of Joe” comes from the US navy

A more American-sounding phrase, “a cup of Joe” is said to have come from the US navy. One story goes that Admiral Josephus Daniels banned alcohol on board boats during the First World War and the next best drink was coffee. However, the claim is debated as the phrase doesn't appear in writing until the 1930s. Others say “Joe” is a simplified version of “jamoke” – a nickname born out of a portmanteau of Java and mocha (both names of coffee beans).

Instant coffee is 250 years-old

While instant coffee may seem a modern convenience, it first emerged in the UK back in 1771. Production methods have evolved since then, with one of the first popular commercial instant coffees, Washington’s Coffee, launching in the US in the early 1900s and Nescafé spray-dried coffee arriving in 1938. Freeze-dried coffee, that you'll most commonly find on shelves today, has been around since the 1960s.

Coffee is the third most-consumed drink in the world

More than two billion cups are drunk everyday and as it becomes more popular in traditional tea-drinking countries such as China, particularly with young people, the number could grow even higher. In fact, a new Starbucks opens in China every 15 hours.

Finland drinks the most coffee

Surprisingly, the country that drinks the most coffee isn’t its birthplace Ethiopia or Brazil where it’s widely grown. It's not even the US or Italy, the home of the espresso. Finland is the country that drinks the most, with 12.5kg (28lbs) per person consumed every year.

In Italy cappuccinos are for the morning only

The country that gave us the lingo has a whole host of rules for how you’re meant to drink it. Milky cappuccinos are for the morning and rarely ordered after 10am. The sizes are standard, there’s no grande and venti. There’s definitely no coffee milkshakes and skinny vanilla lattes. On your way to work? Forget a takeaway cup – make a quick pit stop at your local coffee spot and drink standing up at the bar.

Climate change is threatening the coffee industry

While the world’s thirst for the caffeinated beverage grows, so does a threat to the industry: climate change. Rising global temperatures and irregular weather spell disaster for heat and rain-sensitive arabica plants. Brazil is predicted to lose 25% of its suitable land for growing coffee by 2050 which would put many farmers out of work.

Coffee makes you run faster

Looking to improve your personal best? There’s a reason Mo Farah drinks coffee before a race. There’s a huge amount of research that backs up the positive effects of caffeine on exercising, including that it can help you run faster. In a study that compared regular coffee drinkers and decaf coffee drinkers, the athletes who consumed normal coffee ran 4.2 seconds faster across a 4,921ft (1,500m) distance.

High coffee intake is associated with reduced risk of heart failure

As well as boosting your short-term energy, there are long-term benefits for coffee drinkers. A new study has linked high coffee intake with reduced risk of heart failure. However, further studies are needed to understand what processes may cause this to happen.

Turkish coffee isn’t only in Turkey

A thick, rich drink made with finely ground coffee that isn’t filtered out, Turkish-style coffee is consumed further afield than Istanbul. You’ll also find it in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Jordan, where it’s prepared the same way and served with a glass of water. In Greece, the same preparation is called Greek coffee.

You shouldn’t have more than four cups a day

If we drink too much, it can have a negative effect on us as well. You’re probably familiar with the jitteriness, anxiety, heart pounding and sleep trouble that comes with too many cups. Four is the recommended maximum, although how coffee affects you depends on other factors too, such as how many other caffeinated products you consume, the levels you’re used to and your body type.

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