Your every morning ‘wake me up and keep me running’ drink has a fascinating back story and some very unexpected characteristics! Here are a few interesting facts about coffee:
Goats discovered coffee!
It’s only a legend though but a very cool one! Apparently, goats in the IX century were ‘dancing’ and acting crazily after eating the fruit from the Coffea plant. A local monk noticed this and decided to make himself a drink out of the plant. The drink kept him awake all night! And that’s how coffee was born.
You can eat coffee cherries as food
What, what? What ‘coffee cherries’? Well, technically, the coffee bean is a seed from the cherry-like berries found on the flowering shrubs. And while most of the cherry part now goes to waste, people used to mix them with fat to create very fulfilling, energy-rich snack balls. Fermented pulp can also be turned into a wine-like drink.
Brazil grows the most coffee in the world
About one third of the world’s supply, which is twice as much as the runner-up, Vietnam, to be more precise.
The world’s most expensive coffee is actually a poo
The Asian palm civet eats fruits, including coffee cherries, only it’s unable to digest the beans! When the beans, ahem, come out, they produce a smooth, less acidic brew called kopi luwak. But the main thing is, these undigested beans can cost up to 1,200 NZD per kilo!
Coffee drinkers live longer
Research published in Harvard Health Publishing linked moderate consumption with a longer life span and a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and Parkinson’s. The best part? ‘Moderate consumption’ according to this research is around 3-4 cups per day. Coffee break, anyone?
Decaf is not exactly caffeine-free
A regular cup of coffee contains between 95 to 200 milligrams of caffeine, while a decaf one holds only around 12 milligrams – significantly less but still not a zero! Just to compare, a can of cola has about 23 to 35 milligrams of caffeine.
Coffee is a diet drink
One cup of black coffee has only one calorie! It’s all those sweeteners, syrups, milk and cream that actually make it a calorie-loaded bomb. A Venti Starbuck’s portion can easily add 500 calories to your daily intake.
