Coffee Facts! Did you know....

Coffee Facts! Did you know…

By Chef Lippe

Legend has it….

Ethiopian shepherds first noticed the effects of caffeine when they saw their goats appearing to become frisky and “dance” after eating coffee berries. This village was known as Kaffa, that is where the name coffee originated.

Originally, coffee was eaten. African tribes mixed coffee berries with fat which formed edible energy balls.

The rise of Islam contributed greatly to the popularity of coffee. The religion prohibited drinking alcohol, but coffee was considered an acceptable drink.

ALL Coffee in the world coffee in the world grows in the BEAN BELT. The “bean belt” is the area between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Hawaii is the only state in the US that grows coffee.

In 1675, the King of England banned coffee houses, claiming they were places where people met to conspire against him.

70% of the world consumes Arabica coffee, which is mild and aromatic. The remaining 30% drinks Robusta, which is more bitter-tasting but has 50% more caffeine than Arabica.

Coffee grows on trees.  The tress can grow to be up to 30 feet tall, but are cultivated to be around 10 feet tall for easy-picking.

The Bean is actually a seed of a bright red berry.

Coffee is the second most traded commodity on earth. Oil is the first. Coffee Berries are picked, dried, and stripped down until all that’s left is a green bean. Once shipped, the beans are roasted at around 500F. After a few minutes, the bean will “pop” and double in size. A few minutes after that, the bean will “pop” once more. The second pop means the bean is done.

George Washington invented instant coffee. Not president George Washington, but a Belgian man living in Guatemala in 1906 with the same name.

Espresso is not a particular type of bean, roast, or blend. Espresso is just a way that coffee is prepared: shooting pressurized, hot water through finely ground coffee. Caffe Latte – little foam, lots of milk, espresso. Mocha -  whipped cream, milk, chocolate syrup, espresso. Cappuccino – tons of foam, milk, espresso. Americano -  lots of water, espresso. The term “Americano” comes from American GIs during WWII. They would order espresso with water to dilute the strong flavor. Furthermore, the term “cup of joe” comes from American servicemen (GI Joes) in WWII being seen as big coffee drinkers. Breve – foam, Half & Half, espresso, Espresso – nothing added!

Caffeine Buzz and how it works: In your brain there is something called adenosine and it only wants to hang out with certain receptors. When these two get together, you get drowsy. When caffeine shows up, it attaches to the receptors so that Adenosine cannot. Your pituitary gland sees this and thinks there’s an emergency, so it tells the adrenal glands to produce adrenaline. In addition, caffeine bumps up your dopamine levels. The result? A CAFFEINE HIGH!

Special thanks to The Oatmeal for these little known facts.

Now that you are thinking I need a good cup of coffee….visit our store and check out all our gourmet coffee! Use the code “blog” to receive free shipping on any order.