Fun facts about Coffee

Have a coffee break and enjoy some fun coffee facts from around the world! Some are quite bizarre!

• The first coffee beans are thought to have been brought to Europe by the Arabs.
• Coffee is the second most traded commodity on the planet, after oil.
• Coffee was banned in Mecca because it was thought to be a Muslim heresy.
• Coffee beans are roasted at different temperatures, depending on their desired flavor profile.
• The word “coffee” comes from Arabic word qahwah, which means “wine of coffee.”
• It is said that coffee was discovered in Ethiopia, but some say it was actually discovered in Yemen. Coffee beans were found in a pot that was used for cooking wine and they were roasted over a fire.
• In 1714, King Louis XIV of France gave coffee his royal seal of approval when he took his own private coffee maker with him to war.
• The first espresso machine was invented by Angelo Moriondo
• The largest producer of coffee beans is Brazil
• The first mention of coffee dates back to the 15th century when a goatherd named Kaldi noticed his goats becoming more energetic after eating berries from a certain tree. He tried it himself and found that it made him feel energized and alert for hours.
• The first coffee shop opened in 1652 in Istanbul, Turkey, which was then known as Constantinople. It was called Kahve-i-Nisyan or Coffee House of Nisyano.
• Americans consume an average of 3 cups of coffee per day.
• The caffeine found in coffee can help to improve mood and mental alertness, and it can also reduce fatigue and drowsiness.
• Coffee plants are grown in over 50 countries and grow on every continent except Antarctica. There are over 2 million coffee shops worldwide, with Japan having the most at about 10,000.
• Coffee was originally eaten, not drunk. African tribes mixed coffee berries with animal fat, forming energy-rich snack balls.
• In 1675, King Charles II of England banned coffee shops, calling them “places where the disaffected met to plot against him.”
• In 18th century Germany, a women’s petition against coffee claimed that it made their husbands impotent.
• The average American worker spends $20 per week on coffee, which adds up to over $1,000 per year.
• In some countries, such as Ethiopia, it is customary to serve coffee with salt instead of sugar