Some Truly Amazing Facts About Coffee

Coffee has a rich history and some really interesting facts that make it one of your favorite topics of discussion during your leisure times and times that require you to take a few minutes of break from your stressful schedule and engage in something relaxing. Did you know that the Ethiopians discovered coffee in the 9^th century? The effect of coffee berries was first observed in Ethiopian goats that appeared to be hyper-energetic after they consumed coffee berries. Later, a local monk created a drink with coffee berries and found that the drink kept him awake throughout the night. This was how coffee, in its original form, was invented.

The Global Exchange claims that coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world after oil. It is rather amazing to note that around 25 million farmers are involved in producing coffee in over 50 countries. Coffee beans come in two varieties- Robusta and Arabica. Around seventy percent of the coffee beans fall in the Arabica category and the less-popular and the more-bitter Robusta beans contain a greater percentage of caffeine compared to its Arabica counterpart. Brazil accounts for 40 percent of the world’s coffee with Columbia and Vietnam being the second and the third position holders, respectively.

Did you know that the world’s priciest coffee comes from the feces of a Sumatran wild animal called civet? It may seem to be quite disgusting, but it’s true. Civets’ digestive systems do not have the ability to digest coffee beans and the beans get fermented in the civets’ stomach. The fermented beans obtained from the animals’ excreta produce finer, smoother, and chocolaty coffee that comes at a price of $600 a pound.

George Washington invented instant coffee. Before you jump to any conclusion, let us make it clear. It was chemist George Washington who created Red E-coffee while experimenting with dried coffee. Coffee was introduced in the New York City during the mid-1600s, but it actually earned popularity after the Boston Tea Party in 1773. Today, around 80 percent of adults in the U.S. consume caffeine on a daily basis with 200 milligrams or two five-ounce cups of coffee being the average daily intake. U.S. has the largest consumer market for coffee with 146 billion cups of coffee being consumed annually and an average worker spending $1,100 annually. In 2010, the largest iced coffee, measuring 1500 gallons without the ice, was brewed in Las Vegas.

Finally, the term ‘coffee’ originally meant wine. Named originally as Qahwah in Yemen and kahveh in Turkey, coffee derived its present-day English version from its Dutch version ‘koffie’.