12 amazing facts that you didn’t know about Coffee

An alarm clock might get us out of the bed but it is coffee that really wakes us up. No matter which part of the world you belong to, chances are quite high that you begin your day with a cup of coffee. Despite coffee being a part of our everyday life, the only fact that most of us know about our coffee is that it is an amazing beverage.

Following are 12 delightful facts about coffee which will surprise coffee lovers and coffee roasters London and around the world:

You Can Thank Goats for the Brown Beverage

According to legend, Kaldi, a goat herder in Ethiopia, noticed that each time his goats munched on bright red berries which grew on an unusual tree, they would become energised and euphoric. Now, what would any goat herder in the place of Kaldi do? Obviously, he would try some of the berries himself and so did Kaldi. And before he knew it, he was dancing along with his herd.

It was Chewed and not Sipped

What comes to our mind when we hear the word coffee? A drink, right? But coffee has not always been a liquid treat. According to several historians, the African tribes which were the first to discover coffee had a completely different way of consuming it. They would grind the berries together, add some animal fat into it and roll the mixture, giving these edible caffeinated treats the shape of tiny balls. The beans were not turned into a drink, or a special type of wine as they liked to call it, until at least 1000 AD.

It Didn’t Become Famous Overnight

The governments of the 18th century were not particularly fond of coffee beans. In fact, they even tried to stamp it out because they believed it stimulated radical thinking and drinkers. In the year 1746, things were taken to another extreme when Sweden not only banned coffee but also coffee paraphernalia.

Beer Had Replaced Coffee at the Breakfast Table

Almost thirty years after Sweden banned coffee paraphernalia, Prussian officials were concerned about the growing consumption of coffee and were worried that it may interfere with citizens’ beer drinking habits. In the year 1777, Frederick the Great of Prussia encouraged his citizens to ditch coffee at the breakfast table and drink beer instead.

Instant Coffee Dates Back Nearly 250 Years

It was in the year 1771 that instant coffee made its first appearance in England, which proves that convenience has always been a priority for coffee drinkers. It took many years for the process to evolve and the first mass production of instant coffee was undertaken and patented in the USA in 1910. The process kept evolving and freeze-dried coffee finally made its debut in the 1960s.

Americans Are Not Much into Coffee

There may be many coffee shops in the USA, possibly one on every corner and another on the other side of the street. But when countries were ranked on the basis of how much coffee is consumed by their population, America was placed at number 25 which certainly means that Americans are not really much into coffee by international standards.

Finland Beats them All

If the USA’s rank is 25, you may be wondering which country is the king of coffee consumption. Surprisingly, Finland is the world’s most caffeinated country! Finnish drinkers are known to consume nearly three times the amount of coffee that is consumed by Americans each year. Other contenders to the top spot include Norway, Iceland, Denmark and the Netherlands.

The Hippest Cats Drink It

A cat named Creme Puff holds the record for the oldest cat that ever lived at 38 years and 3 days. The reason for her long life, you might ask? Well, her breakfast consisted of eggs, bacon, broccoli and coffee! Before you rule it out as a coincidence, allow us to present another testimony to this fact. Before Creme Puff earned the title of the oldest cat ever, the cat who was beaten by Creme Puff was 34 year old Grandpa Rex Allen. Grandpa Rex Allen was fed the exact same diet because he too had the same owner.

It Could Be Used As Fuel

Coffee is a beverage which fuels the personal motors of millions across the world. Would it come as a surprise to you, if we were to tell you that at some point in the future, it could fuel motor cars too? The efforts of researchers to convert coffee into biodiesel have met with great success. And the best part of this research is that used coffee grounds work just as well.

The Term Coffee Break Originated from a Small Town

Stoughton in Wisconsin claims that it is the place where the coffee break originated. A Coffee Break Festival is held every year in the town to celebrate the origin of this break which went on to become a part of almost every workers’ daily life across the world and one which they eagerly look forward to in between work. According to local folklore, the Norwegian immigrants, who were coffee aficionados, were the ones who first came up with the concept of coffee break in the late 19th century.

Coffee Has Been Part of Fashion Too

Union blockades of the South, during the American Civil War, conspired to keep the Confederacy in an under-caffeinated state. Several efforts were made by the Confederate troops to create substitutes of coffee using dandelions and chicory, but they couldn’t really fool the taste buds of the people. Coffee became such a prized possession that southern jewellers replaced gemstones in their creations with individual coffee beans.

Mocha Isn’t Just a Fun Word

Asking for Mocha at the wrong counter could fetch you a ticket to a port city in Yemen. Nearly all of the world’s coffee, until the 17th century, was produced in the Middle East. Due to its ideal shipping location, Mocha, a port city in Yemen, quickly became the best coffee marketplace in the world. So now you know where the name mocha comes from.

Are you gasping for a coffee now, having read that? Why not go ahead and pour yourself a cup, and think of all the new facts you now know about this amazing drink.