Coffee: A Little Appreciation for the Common Beverage with an Uncommon Past
Legend says that coffee was discovered when a 9th century Ethiopian goat herder noticed how crazy the beans were making his goats, but this attestation is probably not true
Another story says that a starving man came upon the beans and, finding them hard to chew, boiled them and was then sustained for days, thus finding a “miracle drug” and making him a saint when he returned home
The Middle East tried to keep coffee beans from being exported, the only way coffee made it to Europe and other countries was through smuggling
Coffee was at first met negatively by the pope, being said to be a satanic drink, but after trying it, he gave coffee his papal approval
Coffee was brought to the new world but did not gain popularity in preference for beer until the Boston Tea Party when coffee became the substitute for tea
The Portuguese wanted to share in the coffee trade but not able to obtain it, sent Francisco de Melo Palheta to seduce a foreign governor’s wife into giving him the seeds, thus coffee came to Brazil
Another traveler brought another coffee seedling to the New World but while en route the ship started rationing water, causing him to share his ration with the seedling, along with surviving terrible weather, a saboteur who tried to destroy the plant, and a pirate attack, the seedling survived to spawn 18 million coffee trees
New Yorkers drink almost 7 times more coffee than other cities in the US
It was banned in the 15-1600s for being considered an intoxicating drink, and at high doses, coffee can make you see things
The lethal dose of caffeine is 100 cups of coffee
Milk started being added to coffee on suggestion of a French doctor in the 1600s
Its said French philosopher Voltaire drank 50 cups of coffee a day
Espresso is regulated by the Italian government because it is considered an essential part of their daily life
In the 1400s a Turkish woman could divorce her husband if he didn’t provide her with enough coffee
Coffee beans are actually the pit of a bright red berry, making them a fruit
Johan Sebastian Bach wrote an opera about a woman who was addicted to coffee
There is a way to brew coffee with marijuana in it, producing a dreamy kind of coffee buzz
In Italy the average Barista is 48 years old and it is a respected profession
The original word for coffee was “qahhwat al-bun”, meaning “wine of the bean”
The first webcam was invented at Cambridge University to tell people if the coffee pot was full or not
Japan has a spa that lets you bathe in coffee, tea, or wine
Teddy Roosevelt drank a gallon of coffee a day
In 1675 the King of England banned coffee houses because he thought people met there to conspire against him
Coffee is the second most traded commodity on earth, after oil
The average US worker spends $1,092 on coffee each year
Starbucks is named after Captain Ahab’s first mate, but the founders had considered naming it Pequod’s after the captain’s ship
In 1764 the “Women’s Petition Against Coffee” said it was turning British men into lifeless corpses and proposed a ban for those under 60
22 Facts About Coffee by Buzzfeed
The History of Coffee by Eagle Coffee
The History of Coffee by the Nation Coffee Association
15 Things Worth Knowing About Coffee by The Oatmeal
10 Coffee Facts by Mental Floss
izzy806
kaledo-art
theartofmadeline
jacobvanloon
