Are you a coffee lover looking to learn a little bit more about your favorite beverage? Say no more.
Here are 10 interesting facts about coffee:
1. Coffee originated in Ethiopia
Where it still grows in the wild to this day, as well as commercially. There is even an old folk tale about the origins of coffee: “When Waqaa, the god of all things, came down to earth and witnessed the death of men, he wept. His tears wet the earth; and from that spot, a coffee bush grew”.
2. Coffee used to be illegal
Back when coffee was still in its infancy, in the Ottoman Empire, coffee was that new thing that people were excited about. The Sultan (king) of the time wasn’t too thrilled about it. A devout Muslim, he believed coffee to be a bad influence.
…And so he punished it by death. People would be beheaded for drinking coffee. The Sultan was so serious about it that he did some of the beheadings, too.
3. Excrement coffee?!
Yes, you read that right. In Indonesia, a wild animal wanders into the coffee farms and munches on the fruit containing the coffee beans. Inside his intestines, it undergoes a fermentation process that greatly enhances the flavor of the coffee.
Then, when he poops, the beans are recollected, washed, and prepared. It’s called Kopi Luwak, it’s a delicacy, and one of the most expensive coffees in the world. Would you try it?
4. Beethoven loved coffee
And he was very specific about it. He theorized that the perfect cup of coffee must be made from 60 coffee beans; no more, no less.
Other famous artists from centuries ago were also fervent advocates of coffee, like writer Honoré de Balzac, who it was rumored drank 12 cups of coffee a day.
5. Bad coffee means divorce
In Arab culture, where coffee first found a home, coffee still has a big importance. There are countries where a husband not being able to provide good coffee is legal grounds for a divorce. They oughta make that a law in America, too!
6. Coffee is full of antioxidants
Antioxidants keep your body young and help ward off diseases like cancer. Coffee, it turns out, is the most important source of antioxidants in the Western diet. A coffee a day keeps the doctor away!
7. The most popular beverage in the world
Even North Korea has a Starbucks knock-off. In fact, the only beverage more popular than coffee is… water.
8. Italian “Expresso”
The term espresso comes from the Italian language, meaning “expressed” or “forced out”. Espresso is made by forcing very hot water under high pressure through finely ground, compacted coffee. This process concentrates the strength, hence the small quantities of espresso.
9. Even more attempts to make it illegal
This time in Sweden, where King Gustav III argues that coffee was bad for your health and wanted to outlaw it. So he conducted an experiment: two prisoners would drink one liter of coffee and one liter of tea each, and they would compare the results.
The prisoner that drank coffee eventually outlived the King. And that was that.
10. Coffee was discovered by goats
Goat farming was and still is a common occupation in Ethiopia. One day, the story goes, a farmer took his goats out to pasture in an unexplored area. He noticed his goats munching on fruit from the coffee bush, unfamiliar to him.
Within a few minutes, the goats were energetic, playing, and jumping about. He connected the dots and tried the fruit for himself: the first coffee buzz in history. And so coffee was discovered.
Even more interesting: upon sharing this discovery with the local priest, the priest argued it was the devil’s fruit, and cast it into the fire. The beans started to roast, filling the room with that smell that we all know and love. And so coffee was discovered, this time for good.
We hope you’ll try out some of the brand new coffee launched by Proper Patriot, and let us know what you think!
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Photo credit: Getty/AlexRaths
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