6 Fun Coffee Facts: Understanding a Globally Beloved Beverage

Coffee – it’s one of the most popular beverages in the world.

People from all backgrounds and all walks of life enjoy the caffeine buzz, the warm tingle, and the soothing after taste of a good cup of coffee.

Many people are so interested in this beverage, they want to know facts about coffee.

When making and drinking the beverage isn’t enough, looking up coffee trivia is the next step. This can help a person find out more about their favorite drink whether they sell it for a living or simply keep it as a mainstay in their kitchen cupboards.

From the history of caffeine to the areas where coffee production is popular, there are many different bits of information coffee lovers can gather about their drink of choice.

Here are six fun facts about coffee.

Facts About Coffee’s History, Popularity, and Consumption

1. Coffee Could Date Back to the Ninth Century

The history of coffee is a curious one. Some writings detail the observations of Ethiopian goat herders back in 800 A.D., where they learned about the effects of coffee after observing how it changed animals’ behavior.

According to the legend, the herders noticed how goats appeared to ‘dance’ after consuming coffee berries. A local monk decided to make a drink with the berries, and found it kept him up all night.

Coffee beans are predominantly Arabian. However, Robusta is also a popular variant. It has a taste that is slightly more bitter than the alternative, but there is also a perk for those who like a coffee buzz – this type offers twice as much caffeine.

2. Only One U.S. State Commercially Grows Coffee

What is the only U.S. state that produces coffee? That would be Hawaii, which takes advantage of a warm climate, thanks to its position near the equator.

This climate makes it much easier to grow Kona coffee, which is popular in the state. This brand of coffee is exported throughout the world, and is the only commercial coffee grown in U.S. territory. Thanks to weather that makes harvesting coffee beans easy, Hawaii keeps their coffee exports going strong every year.

While many people enjoy drinking a delicious cup of coffee made from beans or berries in Hawaii or around the world, coffee wasn’t always drinkable.

3. Coffee Started as a Food, Not a Drink

As mentioned, coffee berries and beans have been used by humans for centuries. But these items weren’t always combined with water to create a tasty and energy-boosting drink.

At one time, coffee was served in the form of a ‘snack ball.’ Coffee berries were combined with fat, creating a food with a unique texture that offered similar effects to drinking coffee. This option is still available today, though most people greatly prefer the act of drinking their coffee rather than eating it.

With so many people interested in coffee and coffee trivia, it is easy to see why the commodity has gained such popularity around the world.

4. Coffee is the World’s Second Highest-Traded Commodity

While oil remains the world’s top traded commodity, the item in second place is used to power humans rather than machines.

Coffee takes the silver medal when it comes to global trade, with millions of farmers across over 50 countries working diligently to meet the population’s coffee demand. While coffee is extremely popular, many people classify it incorrectly.

5. Coffee is a Fruit – and it Can Be Expensive!

Coffee beans aren’t technically beans – they’re the pits of a berry. This berry is similar to cherries, and can be found on bushes. This makes coffee a seed, though it’s visual appearance leads most people to simply refer to it as beans.

While there are plenty of brands of coffee out there and many are affordable for the average person, some can come with a high price tag.

The Luwak, a Sumatra wild cat, is unable to digest coffee beans. When they pass said beans after fermenting them in their stomach, the result can go for up to $600 in some cases.

6. Coffee Can Be Dangerous, and Has Been Banned

Coffee has been banned in Mecca, and leaders in both Italy and the Ottoman Empire attempted to ban the beverage as well.

The most recent bans on coffee occurred in Sweden and Prussia in the 1700s, as leaders believed the beverage was dangerous to both health and the economy.

Coffee can be dangerous in the right amounts. It would take about 100 standard cups of coffee to give a person a lethal dose of caffeine – however, that means overdosing on the beverage is a real possibility.

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