Its Friday so here are some Fun Facts!
Just a few coffee tid-bits nothing too deep:
- Arabs were the first to cultivate coffee and the first to make a beverage from the roasted beans around 1300 AD.
Coffee was originally used by monks and “prescribed” medicinally.
- Today coffee is grown in more than 70 countries – all in subtropical regions – and more people drink coffee than any other beverage except water and perhaps tea.
- The United States consumes more coffee – 300 million cups a day – than any other country as a whole, but other countries drink more per capita. The average citizens of Finland drinks about 2.64 cups of coffee a day, higher than any other nation.
- Workers who drank coffee rather than napping were more alert and performed better on the job, studies show.
I don’t know how accurate this is, but considering I can’t nap, I’m going to choose to believe it. 😀
- Most research shows that drinking coffee has a variety of health benefits and may be good for heart health.
- It takes about 5000 pounds of coffee cherries to produce 1,000 pounds of green coffee beans; the beans lose another 20 percent of their weight in the roasting.
- Coffee is a relative of the gardenia plant family and is thought to be indigenous to the African region which is now the country of Ethiopia.
The flower is also beautiful and smell similar to Jasmine!
- Coffee beans have up to 800 flavor characteristics that our senses can detect. Red wine, by comparison, only has 400. Most coffee connoisseurs prefer mild roasts because the longer a coffee bean is roasted, more characteristics are burned off.
- Espresso Coffee has just one third of the caffeine content of ordinary coffee.
This is why I always use medium roasted coffee for my lattes and cappuccinos. Okay the flavor is actually why, but hey, good to know right! - The process of roasting causes coffee beans to begin to release carbon dioxide. When you pour hot water over freshly roasted and ground coffee, as in a French press, you will get a foamy head like that from a dark beer.
- A coffee tree lives for between 60 and 70 years.
Long live the coffee bean!!!
The Coffee plant is one INCREDIBLE edible,
fragrantly delicious creation!
Legend:
There are ancient accounts that attribute the discovery of coffee to Sheikh Omar. According to the ancient chronicle (preserved in the Abd-Al-Kadir manuscript), Omar, who was known for his ability to cure the sick through prayer, was once exiled from Mocha, Yemen to a desert cave near Ousab. Starving, Omar chewed berries from nearby shrubbery, but found them to be bitter. He tried roasting the seeds to improve the flavor, but they became hard. He then tried boiling them to soften the seed, which resulted in a fragrant brown liquid. Upon drinking the liquid Omar was revitalized and sustained for days. As stories of this “miracle drug” reached Mocha, Omar was asked to return and was made a saint. From Ethiopia, the coffee plant was introduced into the Arab World through Egypt and Yemen.
Do you know any fun coffee facts?
The taste of coffee is comforting and grounding.
I am fascinated with all the wonderful different ways to enjoy the incredible edible coffee bean.
What do you enjoy most about coffee? 
These coffee’s are rare and unique and come from all over the world. There is an interesting variety of flavors to keep any coffee connoisseur interested. However not all of these are readily available, some are bought by auction, some are sold in small batches to select people, and some are only sold in far off places.
Los Planes Coffee (Citala, El Salvador) $40/lb
Hawaiian Kona Coffee $45-$65/lb
Flavor Notes: Toasted hazelnuts, berry, and cocoa with low acidity and medium body
Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee $50/lb
Flavor Notes: Tangerine, Cranberry & Dark Chocolate
St. Helena Island Coffee Company $89/lb
Black Ivory Coffee (Thailand)
The earliest origins of coffee are from Ethiopia. There is not an exact history about how people started roasting and drinking “coffee” only legends and myths. However, it was originally viewed as a food. The Ethiopians chewed the plant for it’s obvious stimulant properties, and also ate the fruit raw (the pulp is sweet and caffeinated.)
The earliest use of coffee as a hot beverage entailed roasting the entire hull over an open fire and then mixing with boiling water for 30 minutes until a yellowish liquid came through.
The drink stayed a green drink until aprx. the 13 century when they began to first dry the beans. With more experimentation, the process was adapted further, and the practice of roasting formed.
Once coffee became the dried, roasted, and brewed drink we know it as today, it was mainly used for “medicinal” purposes and in religious practices. However, once it became increasingly popular, and a demand grew, the original coffee houses started opening.
Persian cities became known for having stylish and elaborate coffee houses. They were reputed for serving coffee quickly and efficiently. They became famous social spots, where people gathered not just for coffee but also music, talking, and even dancing.
Gradually the coffee house trend made its way to Turkey. The Turkish however drank just as much coffee in home as at coffee houses. This increased popularity and demand. By the 1600’s news spread and export and trade began throughout the Middle East; supplying Venetians and Europeans with beans.
Through the efforts of the British East India Company, coffee became popular in England as well. Oxford’s Queen’s Lane Coffee House, established in 1654, is still in existence today. Coffee was introduced in France in 1657, and in Austria and Poland after the 1683 Battle of Vienna, when coffee was captured from supplies of the defeated Turks.
Why do I love coffee..? Let me count the ways.
Cafe Book Bean 