Coffee is what gets most of us out of bed every morning. After all, the beautiful scent of a fresh pot of coffee is intoxicating. The first sip is enough to jolt our taste buds and awaken our senses. Imagining a life without coffee is simply depressing.
As popular as coffee is today, did you know that in the past, some civilizations banned civilians from drinking coffee? In 1511, the governor of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, thought that coffee was causing people to get together and brainstorm ways in which they could overthrow him. That caused him to ban the use of coffee, but thankfully, this law was overturned sometime later.
Many of us have grown up hearing the term “coffee.” Either you always saw your parents chugging down a shot of coffee before dropping you at school or heard someone at a place like PUCCI Cafe ordering a low-fat coffee in a tall glass.
However, the word “coffee” found its way into the English language in the 16th century. Before this period, it was referred to by a number of names. The word coffee comes from the Italian word “caffe,” which comes from the Dutch word “koffie,” which is derived from the Ottoman Turkish word “kahve,” which was taken from the Arabic word “qahwah.”
You probably picture a fine brown grounded powder when you think about coffee. If you are fancy and make your own coffee, you probably resonate with brown coffee beans.
The truth is that coffee does not grow on trees or inside the ground. Instead, it actually starts as a fruit. Little red berries, known as coffee cherries, are grown on a plant. These cherries contain roasted and ground seeds, so they become coffee beans.
Coffee has a crazy origin story that is fun to hear. According to stories, coffee was discovered in 850 A.D. by Kaldi, an Ethiopian herdsman. According to the legend of Kaldi, his goats ate some red fruit from a bush, after which they started acting crazy. Kaldi tried to control his goats, but when he failed to do so, he took a close look at the red fruit. He tried the berries, but they did not do much to him, so he took them to an Islamic monk.
The monk was unsure what these red berries were, so he threw them into the fire. This caused a scrumptious smell to waft in the air, causing people to put out the fire and take out the beans. People experimented with these beans and soon learned to ground them and dissolve them in steaming water to make a delicious cup of coffee.
Of course, this is an entertaining story, but we don’t know how true it is.
During the late 15th century, coffee became extremely popular and was made in every single household. Coffee shops were popping up in every corner of Constantinople, which is today known as Istanbul.
This drink became such a big part of Turkish culture that a law was passed. This law gave women permission to divorce their husbands if they could not make a cup of good coffee for their wives.
Many believe that the darker the bean, the better the coffee will be and the higher the caffeine content it will have. However, this is not true.
The truth is that if you want more caffeine, you will be happier with a lighter bean. Hence, allow a light roast to wake you up early in the morning, and if you are consuming coffee at night, opt for a dark roast. The most amount of caffeine can be found in cold brews rather than drip or iced coffee, so if you are having a particularly groggy morning, you know what to do.
As much as everyone loves coffee, it should be considered that overdosing on coffee is rare but definitely possible. Most coffee deaths in the past have been experimental and were caused by taking over-the-counter caffeine medications rather than the beverage itself.
However, we recommend not exceeding 400 milligrams of caffeine daily to ensure safety. This means that you should aim to have approximately four 8-ounce cups of coffee during your entire day. Too much coffee can cause muscle tremors, dysphoria, nausea, migraines, and a high heart rate.
If you consume too much coffee, you could experience hallucinations and seizures.
It has been reported that the writer Voltaire, actually named Francois- Marie Arouet, used to drink 40 to 50 cups of coffee every single day. Even though experts recommend drinking so much coffee today, Voltaire lived a long and healthy life and died when he was 83.
Similarly, research shows that Theodore Roosevelt, the former U.S. president, drank a gallon of coffee daily. He died when he was 60 years old because of a blood clot that found its way into his lungs through his leg. We can’t be sure what caused this blood clot, but some people have blamed his terrible coffee habits for his death.
In 1932, Brazil did not have enough money to send its 69 athletes to the Summer Olympics being held in Los Angeles. However, they were determined to find a loophole, so they sold 50,000 sacks of coffee to several ports on their way to Los Angeles.
It is not surprising that for the past 150 years, Brazil has remained the world’s biggest coffee producer as it has managed to make more and more people fall in love with the beverage.
by Maria A Davidson
Facts About Coffee
1. The drink dates back to 800’s A.D.
2. Coffee beans are technically seeds.
3. And you can eat coffee cherries as a food.
4. There are two main types: Arabica and Robusta.
5. Brazil grows the most coffee in the world.
6. Only two U.S. states produce coffee.
7. Espresso means “pressed out” in Italian.
8. The world’s most expensive coffee can cost more than $600 a pound.
9. Multiple people have tried to ban coffee.
10. You can overdose on coffee.
11. Finland is home to the biggest coffee lovers.
12. Coffee drinkers tend to live longer.
13. The largest cup of coffee ever filled a 9-foot tall cup.
14. The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America.
15. Decaf does not mean caffeine-free.
16. The word “coffee” comes from the Arabic word for “wine.”
17. One cup of black coffee only has one calorie.
18. Teddy Roosevelt reportedly coined Maxwell House’s slogan.
19. The grounds can beautify your skin.