Education

Top 13 Coffee Facts You Probably Don’t Know About

The world cannot seemingly get enough of coffee. Next to tea, coffee is the first brewed drink that people pour themselves without thinking in the morning.

More or less- coffee helps people start thinking! Most people cannot get through their day without three or four cups of coffee.

Aside from coffee’s primary purpose of giving you a kick-start in the morning, this drink also has an important role in the economy, cuisine, and art world.

You can also read Greenwell Farms blog if you want to learn more about Kona coffee. Despite ranking at the top of most-consumed drinks in the world – there are many amazing facts that people don’t know about coffee.

Here is what you should know about coffee:

1. Monks were the Inspiration for Coffee

Fun fact: Cappuccino was initially inspired by Italian friars/ monks back in the 16th century. This aspect perfectly links to the color of the robes of the monks and the colors of espresso mixed with milky froth.

Espresso contains more coffee per unit volume. Due to its standard size, you get less coffee than what you would get from a standard mug of coffee.

2. Coffee is a Fruit

Now, this might come off as a big shocker to most people. Here is the thing: coffee is a fruit.

Have you ever wondered where the coffee beans come from? Where do they grow? Coffee beans grow on bushes and hail from the berry family. Hence, coffee is a fruit.

In its organic form, coffee grows in red and green beans. Roasting gives coffee a distinct taste and color.

3. Coffee Beans are Actually Seeds

Referring to the previously-mentioned fun fact, coffee beans are actually seeds of berries. Now, the only reason that these are called beans is because of their resemblance to legumes.

4. Money Spent on Coffee

A fun fact is that Finland is the biggest coffee consumer in the globe. That said, when it comes to Americans, they spend thousands of dollars each year on coffee alone. An average American spends between $3 – $5 daily on coffee.

Speaking of coffee – did you know that Starbucks opens one new store daily around the world?

If you are a coffee enthusiast and plan on opening your coffee store one day, then you should know about these best automatic coffee machines.

5. Coffee was discovered in Yemen

There are many discussions about which region was to discover coffee. As classic coffee is, the origin of this popular brew dates back to 15th-century Yemen.

History has the ancient Sufi Muslim monasteries were the first ones to brew the dark beverage in the town of Mocha.

From there onwards, the popularity of this brew spread through the Middle East and Northern Africa.

6. Coffee Takes a Long Time to Leave Your Body

Did you know that it takes a full day to eliminate caffeine from your body?

Half of the consumed caffeine in your body can be cleared from your system within five hours – but its residue will stay in your system for an entire day.

More importantly, the effects of caffeine tend to reach their peak somewhere around half an hour to one hour from consumption.

7. You Shouldn’t Drink Coffee at Night

Even if you plan to pull an all-nighter, you should avoid drinking coffee at night because of its negative effects.

If you consume coffee in the evening, it causes unnatural delays in the brain. The stimulating effect of coffee decreases melatonin production in the brain, interrupting the circadian rhythm.

8. You Can Overdose on Caffeine

Coffee contains caffeine, and you can overdose on it. If you consume up to 100 cups of coffee, you can die.

So, consuming over 70 cups of coffee can actually kill a 70-kg person. Now, this is shocking, isn’t it? This amount of coffee can trigger heart palpitations – worst case scenario, you can suffer from cardiac arrest.

9. Brazil is the Hub of Coffee

Did you know that Brazil produces the most coffee in the world? In fact, Brazil produces more coffee than Vietnam, which comes in second place in the list of the world’s most coffee-producing countries.

For more than 100 years, Brazil has been supplying one-third of global coffee production. As mentioned before, Vietnam follows closely with its production of Robusta coffee.

As mentioned earlier, coffee is not only about food and art but also about the economy – speaking of which, millions of people in the world rely on coffee to make a living. Coffee is the primary source of income for nearly 25million small-scaled coffee producers.

10. Coffee Doesn’t Dehydrate

Here is the thing – unbeknownst to the popular belief that coffee dehydrates the body, the truth is that this is not the case.

You feel more dehydrated after consuming coffee due to its diuretic effect. The caffeine in coffee causes you to use the toilet more frequently. Resultantly, you feel thirsty.

11. The Popularity of Coffee in Britain

However funny it might sound, a tea importer made coffee popular in Britain. Despite the rivalry between tea and coffee, both beverages often go against each other; a tea importer introduced coffee in the British region.

And it was the British East India Company that traded with China and India and brought salt, tea, silk, and other items to the UK.

Soon afterward, the British East India Company started to import coffee, which popularized this energizing drink in the United Kingdom.

12. Coffee Boosts Metabolism

As a coffee consumer, you might have experienced an acceleration in your metabolic rate after consuming coffee. Coffee naturally contains caffeine, a stimulant that temporarily increases your metabolic rate.

Did you know that some fitness lovers consume coffee before a workout session to maximize their fat-burning potential?

So, the next time you get ready to hit the gym, you might want to have a cup of coffee.

13. Coffee Can Boost Your Immune System

Another fun fact about coffee is that it can potentially reduce the risk of illness. It strengthens your immune system.

Studies have indicated that drinking at least two cups of coffee can potentially decrease the risk of alcohol-related cirrhosis.

Speaking of illnesses, coffee can also reduce liver damage. This way, coffee can also reduce the potential damage caused by alcohol.

As you can see, coffee has many great health benefits, however, you should still drink it in moderation. According to this professional dentist in Lake Jackson, coffee can be detrimental to your dental health if consumed too much. It stains your teeth and also erodes the enamel, leaving your teeth susceptible to cavities.