Coffee is a brewed beverage prepared from the roasted seeds of several species of an evergreen shrub of the genus Coffea. The two most common sources of coffee beans are the highly regarded Coffea arabica, and the “robusta” form of the hardier Coffea canephora. The latter is resistant to the coffee leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix), but has a more bitter taste. Coffee plants are cultivated in more than 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa.
Coffee is slightly acidic (pH 5.0–5.1) and can have a stimulating effect on humans because of its caffeine content. It is one of the most popular drinks in the world. It can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways. The effect of coffee on human health has been a subject of many studies; however, results have varied in terms of coffee’s relative benefit. The majority of recent research suggests that moderate coffee consumption is benign or mildly beneficial in healthy adults. However, coffee can worsen the symptoms of conditions such as anxiety, largely due to the caffeine and diterpenes it contains.
Coffee cultivation first took place in southern Arabia; the earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking appears in the middle of the 15th century in the Sufishrines of Yemen. In East Africa and Yemen, coffee was used in native religious ceremonies. As these ceremonies conflicted with the beliefs of the Christian church, the Ethiopian Church banned the secular consumption of coffee until the reign of Emperor Menelik II.
An important export commodity, coffee was the top agricultural export for twelve countries in 2004, and it was the world’s seventh-largest legal agricultural export by value in 2005. Green (unroasted) coffee is one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee)
10FACT No 10
There was outrage when the ‘Hot Coffee’ mini-game was discovered in GTA: San Andreas. It allowed players to control their character during sex, after being asked in for coffee.
09FACT No 9
The Carpuccino, a coffee-fueled car, traveled 337km via process called gasification. The journey used 70 kilos of ground coffee, which is the equivalent of 11.760 espressos.
08FACT No 8
After oil, coffee is the most tradable commodity in the world, worth over 100 billion worldwide putting it ahead of gold and natural gas. 500 bullion cups are drunk per year.
07FACT No 7
Johann Sebastian Bach wrote an opera about a woman’s addiction to coffee. Beethoven would count out exactly 60 beans when making his cup of coffee.
06FACT No 6
16th Century Muslim rulers banned coffee because of its stimulating effect while Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep the coffee pot filled.
05FACT No 5
The first webcam was after scientists at Cambridge University set up a camera monitoring the communal coffee pot. The site went on to attract 2.4 million visitors and the pot sold for 3.350 pounds.
04FACT No 4
Starbucks is named after Captain Ahab’s first mate in Moby Dick. Starbucks uses 93 million gallons of milk per year – enough to fill Olympic-sized swimming pools.
03FACT No 3
90% of the world’s coffee production takes place in developing countries such as Brazil. The top 12 consumers are industrialized countries. Finland consumes most per capita, with 28.5lbs per person.
02FACT No 2
A Starbucks barista donated a kidney to a longtime customer. Discovering over small talk that the customer needed the organ, the barista had herself tested and was an exact match.
01FACT No 1
Kopi Luwak coffee is the most expensive in the world, selling for up to 115 dollar a cup. The beans are picked from civet droppings, as they only eat the ripest coffee cherries.
Loading...