Coffee is such an integral part of the modern world that it’s hard to imagine a time when no one drank it. However, the bold, tasty, energizing beverage is a relatively recent addition to civilization. Sources differ on when it was precisely discovered, but by the 15th century, the first definitive account of the use of coffee comes from Yemeni Ahmed al-Ghaffar. After that, the coffee bean slowly but surely made its way through the Middle East into Europe, and, even though it has been around for so long, there are many surprising facts about coffee.
Used in everything from fueling a late-night study to serious religious rituals, coffee contains a stimulant called caffeine that has become a mainstay of modern culture. When it hit Europe in the 16th century, it became a phenomenon. Some even credit the catalyzation of the Enlightenment Era to newfound coffee shops springing up around Europe, giving thinkers a buzz and providing a space for revolutionary conversation. No matter how you roast it, coffee is a unique item with even more unique aspects. In this article, we will explore 10 surprising facts about coffee.
To compile a list of 10 surprising facts about coffee, 24/7 Tempo consulted various entertainment and industry websites, including Good Housekeeping, Coffee1, and Common Room Roasters. Next, we selected a range of surprising aspects of coffee and its derivative tree. Then, we confirmed certain aspects of the information using sites like World Atlas and Cancer.org. (For more liquid libations, discover the most iconic drink from each state everyone should try.)
Coffee is a fruit
Don’t be fooled by the term “coffee beans.” One surprising fact about coffee is that it comes from the pit of a red fruit called the coffee cherry. Though coffee technically comes from the pip (the shell of a fruit seed), coffee beans are so named because they resemble true beans like green beans.
What’s more, coffee doesn’t come from a plant. Instead, the Coffea genus of shrubs or small trees provides the coffee bean. Thanks to its little fruit pip, this subset of shrubs and small trees is one of the most valuable and widely traded commodity products on Earth, acting as a primary export for countries in the Caribbean, Africa, and Central and South America.
An Ethiopian farmer discovered coffee
An Ethiopian farmer allegedly discovered coffee. According to legend, a farmer and herdsman named Kaldi discovered the coffee tree’s magical effects. Kaldi noticed his herd of goats constantly coalescing around a certain tree. Upon grazing the tree, the goats became energized.
The story, however, was not known until it was included in one of the first coffee treatises, the 17th-century “De Saluberrima potione Cahue seu Cafe nuncupata Discursus.” While it’s probably a safe bet to say the story is apocryphal, there are other legends about the discovery of coffee. Others say it was Yemeni Sheikh Omar who discovered coffee. According to this story, Omar was exiled from Mokha and, while starving, discovered the coffee berries and ate them to survive.
Coffee has a more complicated flavor profile than wine
Step aside, sommeliers, because another surprising fact about coffee is just how complex its flavors are. According to some estimates, coffee has at least 1,500 unique aromatic characteristics. Compared to wine, which features only 200 aromatic characteristics, coffee provides a far more complex flavor profile for your palette.
Indeed, the Specialty Coffee Association of America created a flavor wheel to help coffeemakers judge the often subtle variations in taste. These include flavors like apricot and chocolate, as well as stranger ones like straw or concrete. Moreover, professional coffee judges have a very different technique than wine sommeliers. Instead of delicately sniffing and sipping the beverage, coffee judges slurp coffee aggressively. This helps account for the wide range of flavors felt in different parts of the mouth.
Brazil produces the most coffee
Thanks to its unique climate and soil conditions, Brazil is the perfect place to grow coffee trees on a large scale, and indeed, it does, as the country produces one-third of all coffee on Earth.
In 2016 alone, Brazil produced an impressive 2,592,000 metric tons of coffee beans. This is business as usual for Brazil, however, as the country is credited with being the highest producer of coffee for nearly two centuries. What’s more, the second-highest producer of coffee is Vietnam, which produces a little over half of Brazil. For such a small country, Vietnam still produced 1,650,000 metric tons of coffee beans in 2016.
Coffee uses four types of beans
Different coffee beans can produce tasty beverages. The most commonly used is Arabica, characterized by a slight acidity and a full-bodied flavor with hints of sweetness and flowers. The second most popular bean is Robusta, which features a higher caffeine content as well as an intense, bitter flavor. Robusta beans are more disease-resistant, making them easier to grow.
The other two types of coffee beans used are Liberica and Excelsa. Liberica beans are rare and characterized by their strong, smoky flavor. Excelsa beans grow in the same places as Liberica, namely Southeast Asia and Africa, but feature a more sweet and fruity flavor. There are, however, countless subvarieties of these four main beans from each coffee-producing country.
A lighter roast has more caffeine
One of the most surprising facts about coffee is the difference in caffeine levels depending on the roast. Indeed, lightly roasted beans have considerably more caffeine than their darker-roasted counterparts. Since caffeine is a natural feature of coffee beans, beans roasted for a shorter interval of time retain more caffeine.
That’s compared to dark roast beans, which surprisingly have far less caffeine. Since dark roasts require a longer roasting process, less caffeine is left over once the process is done. This results in a far less energizing coffee bean but a more boldly flavored and aromatic cup of java.
The most expensive coffee is $600 a pound
Coffee ranges in price from incredibly cheap to worth its weight in gold, and surprisingly, the most expensive coffee in the world costs $600 per pound. The expensive variant, named Kopi Luwak, comes from Indonesia. What’s more surprising, however, is what makes this coffee so special.
In Indonesia, a cat-like animal called the “native Asian palm civet” eats coffee beans before excreting them. After that, farmers collect the animal droppings and clean them (thankfully) before roasting them. This produces a coffee unlike any other, with a smooth, full-body flavor and intense aroma. Plus, the palm civet is picky about the beans it eats, so Kopi Luwak is also produced with higher quality beans on average.
(To find a place that might sell Kopi Luwak beans, discover the 15 most popular independent coffee shops in America.)
Only two states produce coffee
Another surprising fact about coffee is just how little the agriculture powerhouse United States produces. Since coffee grows best near the equator, most of the country is unable to provide the proper climate and soil conditions for coffee trees to flourish.
Hawaii is the leading American coffee producer, thanks to its proximity to the equator and subsequent growing conditions. There, they produce the Kona Typica variety of coffee beans. It’s known for its balanced and slightly floral flavor, which tends toward a nutty cocoa taste when dark roasted. Hawaii has in-country competition, however, as California recently began growing and selling small batches of premium coffee beans.
The modern espresso machine was invented in 1938
While espresso is a common method of coffee consumption and a symbol of the Italian love for quick coffee, its origins are relatively recent. The first coffee machine was created by a French inventor named Louis Bernard Rabaut in 1822. The groundwork of the espresso-based phenomenon of modern coffee shops, however, is credited to Achille Gaggia in 1938.
A coffee shop owner and inventor, Gaggia sought to create an automated way of making espresso, something that was hitherto made by hand. To accomplish this, Gaggia experimented with different techniques before finding success with a piston-powered espresso machine. Using levers to manually press hot water through ground coffee beans, the espresso machine was born, paving the way for places like Starbucks.
Coffee prolongs longevity
Coffee may be a tasty, enlivening beverage, but it also has numerous health benefits. Indeed, one of the most surprising facts about coffee is that it may help you live longer or, at the very least, keep your mind crisp until a later age. According to various studies, regular coffee consumption can prevent the development of Alzheimer’s disease by reducing the amount of beta-amyloid in the brain.
What’s more, the owners of the longest-living cat on record credited her longevity to coffee. Topping out at an incredible 38 years, the Guinness World Record holder named Crème Puff started every day with a meal of coffee, eggs, bacon, and broccoli. Even if you’re not a cat, coffee has also been shown to reduce inflammation and lower your risk of cancer. (If you’re looking for greasier food trivia, discover fast food facts everyone should know.)