63 Heavenly Coffee Facts Revealed On The Beloved Beverage

The tantalizing aroma of freshly brewed coffee feels soothing and invigorating at the same time.

Coffee is the second most popular drink around the globe, after water. Whether you're catching up with your friends or you're taking a short break from your work desk, coffee is a good companion.

Originally, the word coffee came from the Arabic word for wine. Qahwah, that became kahveh in Turkish and then koffie in Dutch, is where the English word coffee came about.

Europeans are known for their coffee love. This is evident from the fact that Europe imports more coffee than the USA. The people from New York alone drink seven times more coffee than other cities in the USA. This black beverage is consumed in such great quantities; it is the world's second-largest traded commodity, after crude oil.

These days, your favorite drink has plenty of variations. It ranges from the basic shot of espresso or adding hot water to it for Caffè Americano, the Caffè latte with steamed milk over a shot of espresso, or a cappuccino with milk froth and steamed milk over a shot of espresso.

Enhancing your drink with ice, sugar, or cream is an option. Not to forget the many flavored syrups like caramel, vanilla, chocolate, and hazelnut to take it to the next level.

An expert tip to keep your coffee hot for as long as possible is to add some cream to your drink. The coffee stays warm for 20% longer this way.

Classification Of Coffee Plant

It was a goat herder, Kaldi, who discovered coffee in Ethiopia in the 1500s when he chanced upon his goats munching on coffee cherries, and appeared to have crazy energy after that.

Coffee bean grows on a flowering bush-like plant, Coffea. It counts as a fruit since it's actually the pit of coffee berries, with each one having two or three seeds. Once the coffee berries ripen, they're picked, processed, and dried.

Each cherry has two or three seeds that are known as coffee beans. While the fruit itself isn't pulpy, it is edible, with a taste as sweet as honey. The taste does depend on the growing area, climate, and other factors.

Interestingly, there are over 120 species of Coffea grown from seed. The two main varieties of coffee beans are green and red. The red beans have a pleasant smell and are less acidic. These are used for lighter coffees.

Almost all of the world's coffee consumption is supplied by two types of coffee plants, Coffea Arabica and Coffea Canephora Robusta.

There are two other species that are of limited commercial significance as a source of coffee. The large-seeded Coffea Liberica is more flavorful than Robusta but is limited in cultivation, owing to its susceptibility to plant diseases.

The other species, Coffea Eugenoids, is cultivated on a smaller scale for speciality wild coffee with lower caffeine content.

The first species of caffeine free beans (seeds), Coffea Charrieriana or Charrier coffee was discovered in Central Africa. This reduced the need for chemical decaffeination processes that decrease a coffee's flavor.

While Hawaii is the only American state that grows coffee, farms growing coffee bushes did start out in California recently. High altitudes with tropical climates and rich soil are the perfect combination for cultivating coffee plants.

Brazil tops the coffee production chart. About a third of the world's supply is produced by Brazil. This is twice as much as the second place holder, Vietnam.

Coffee Making Process

Coffee beans travel a long way from seed to cup.

The seeds of the coffee plants are the coffee beans, that are dried, roasted, and ground, to ultimately brew coffee. The unprocessed seeds are planted to grow into coffee plants.

The coffee cherry turns a bright, deep red when it's ripe and ready to be harvested. These are either strip-picked (all cherries stripped off the branch at once) or selectively picked.

Processing the cherries begins soon after to prevent fruit spoilage. The two ways to process are the dry method and the wet method.

For beans that have been processed by the wet method, the pulped and fermented beans are dried to 11% moisture for proper storage. This is done by placing them inside a parchment envelope, to be sun-dried or machine-dried.

Parchment coffee undergoes hulling, polishing, grading, and sorting before being exported.

The milled beans are called green coffee and are loaded onto ships in jute or sisal bags and are loaded in shipping containers or plastic-lined containers.

Cupping refers to repeated testing of coffee for quality and taste. It takes place in a specially designed room.

The green coffee beans are roasted, and this gives the beans the brown color that we see commonly. The technique and duration of roasting coffee beans induce the distinctive flavor and color of the beans.

The sugar in the coffee beans turns them brown as they roast. The longer that coffee beans are roasted, the healthier they are. While darker beans are bolder, the lighter roasts are more strongly flavored.

The roasted beans are ground to a coarse or fine consistency. This is done to get the most flavor in a cup of coffee. The last step is brewing the coffee and pouring it into your cup to sip on.

Decaf coffee comes from a chemical process where the caffeine is taken out of the beans. This caffeine is often sold to Coca-Cola.

Types Of Coffee

While coffee giants like Starbucks, offer several varieties of this popular drink, the actual types of the beverage are far lesser.

There are only two main types of coffee - Arabica coffee and Robusta coffee. Arabica coffee, preferred for black coffee, was originally cultivated on the Peninsula that gave it the name. With a sweeter taste, this is more difficult to cultivate and accounts for 60-80% of the world's coffee production.

The other type-Robusta coffee-is a more hardy plant but contains more caffeine. It is seen as the lower quality coffee species, with a neutral to harsh taste. This accounts for just 20-40% of production and is used in drinks derived from espresso, along with instant coffee mixes.

Black coffee, also called cafe noir, is the simplest type. Ground coffee beans are steeped in hot water and served warm. With no milk or sugar added, the quality of this coffee is maintained.

A well-known type of coffee is espresso, which is Italian for expressed or forced out. Espresso is made by forcing out very hot water under high pressure through finely ground, compacted coffee.

Americano has a flavor similar to black coffee. It contains an espresso shot diluted with hot water.

Decaf coffee, while not completely caffeine free, is a popular alternative for those looking to cut their caffeine intake. Decaffeinated coffee is usually about 97% caffeine free.

If you'd like to whip up a fast cup of joe, instant coffee comes to the rescue. This is made by dehydrating coffee and is sold as a powder or freeze-dried granules. Instant coffee is faster to make than a regular cup of coffee.

One of the most popular drinks-latte-is made with an espresso shot, combined with steamed milk, and merely a touch of foam. You could get this as is or with any added flavor such as vanilla or pumpkin spice.

A latte with more foam than steamed milk makes a cappuccino. With a dash of cocoa powder or cinnamon, it's a drink to relish. If you want double the energy, doppio is the drink for you, that is a double shot of espresso.

Yet another drink derived from espresso, is macchiato topped with a hint of foam. If you're looking for something between a cappuccino and a doppio, this would be your drink.

Any chocolate lover will be instantly enamored with a mocha. This is a foamy espresso-based drink combined with steamed milk.

When you mix coffee and ice cream, you end up with affogato. A shot or two of espresso and an ice cream scoop makes affogato even more delectable over a brownie.

For the minimalist, cafe au lait is a flavorful splash of warm milk in your cup of coffee.

What's interesting and gross at the same time is that the world's most expensive coffee is cat poop coffee. Kopi Luwak has its origin in Indonesia, where it's made from the beans that are partially digested by the Asian Palm Civet that eats the coffee cherries.

Simply put, Kopi Luwak-the most expensive coffee-is made from cat poop and sells for $600 for 1 lb (0.45 kg).

Similar to Kopi Luwak is yet another expensive coffee - Black Ivory coffee, costing almost $500 for 1 lb (0.45 kg). The coffee cherries eaten by the Thai elephants are partly-digested and defecated, which is then used to make this coffee.

Fairtrade coffee costs more for its premium quality. Farmers do spend an extra 25% of their time producing Fairtrade premium coffee. For its better quality and taste, it holds about 28 awards.

Nutritional Facts About Coffee

Considering that Americans spend about $1,092 on coffee every year, it's only fair to know the nutritional facts and health benefits of this black brew.

There aren't really any significant amounts of macronutrients, fat, carbohydrate, and protein in black coffee. The calorie count is about 1-2 kcal per 3.4 fl oz (100ml). Obviously, if you're going to add milk, cream, sugar, or other sweeteners to taste, the nutritional value of your beverage is going to be affected, with an increase in calorie content.

Black coffee does contain a number of micronutrients, particularly potassium, magnesium, and niacin. Sodium is present in trace amounts.

The varieties of compounds that are present in coffee are caffeine, antioxidants, and diterpenes. A typical cup of coffee provides about 0.002-0.003 oz (75-100 mg) caffeine.

Caffeine, which is a stimulant, temporarily increases metabolism. It isn't uncommon for fitness trainers to advise their clients to drink coffee prior to a workout to maximize fat-burning ability.

The several health benefits of caffeine include improved attention, alertness, and physical performance. However, in some individuals, an adverse effect could be disturbed sleep patterns. Consumption of coffee has shown an increase in blood antioxidant levels.

Half of the consumed caffeine can be cleared from your system within five hours. The caffeine reaches its peak effect about 30-60 minutes after consumption.

The diterpenes, cafestol, and kahweol, are both naturally present in the oil contained in coffee. High consumption of these compounds can raise serum levels and LDL (bad) cholesterol.

Contrary to belief, coffee isn't dehydrating. Black coffee contains in excess of 95% water. Although, caffeine is a mild diuretic and it's going to get your kidneys to flush out extra sodium and water from the body through urine.

Unless you drink about 30 cups in a concise timeframe, you can't overdose on coffee. Moderate caffeine consumption sums up to five cups of caffeinated coffee per day.

Research has shown that people who consume this beverage moderately (around three to four cups a day), tend to live longer, with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, type two diabetes, and Parkinson's.

A regular cup of coffee has far more caffeine than an average shot of espresso with 0.03 to 0.18 grains (2 to 12 mg) of caffeine.

Earlier, east African tribes would mix coffee cherries with fat to create an energy-rich food.

Coffee has become a beauty ingredient as well. Coffee grounds are good exfoliators that lift off dead skin cells, making your skin feel smooth and look brighter. It is also considered to improve blood circulation in the skin.

Did You Know...

Beethoven was such an avid coffee lover that he'd count 60 beans per cup before making his brew.

Coffee was banned in Mecca in 1511, soon after its discovery in Ethiopia. People were of the opinion that coffee stimulated radical thinking and idleness.

As bad as the assumption of radical thinking, in 1746, Sweden went all out to ban both coffee and coffee paraphernalia (cups and saucers).

For the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, Brazil couldn't afford to send its athletes to compete. The government hid them on a ship loaded with coffee sold during the journey to finance their trip.

The Guinness World record holder for the oldest cat ever is the 38-year-old Creme Puff who would drink coffee every morning throughout her life.

Scientists are working on turning the oil from waste ground coffee into biodiesel, to be able to fuel your cars someday in the future.

Starbucks started off by only selling roasted whole coffee beans. Today, they have over 87,000 different drink combinations.

Not wanting to find a pot with no coffee in it, people working at the University of Cambridge invented the first ever webcam for the sole purpose of checking the coffee pot's status.

Among the several coffee roasting companies, the Big Four stand out with a purchase of close to 50% of the worldwide coffee production. These are Kraft, P and G, Sara Lee, and Nestle.

The largest coffee cup ever made had a massive 768,901.7 oz (22,739.14 l) coffee and has made its way into the Guinness Book of World Records. This cup was created in Colombia and took fifty people working over a month.