[dropcap]A[/dropcap]s one of the most popular drinks of our time, coffee is definitely something that we as a nation are quite obsessed with. It keeps us feeling alert, has many health benefits and of course it tastes and smells great. There are many coffee trends 2021 that you could explore. Below are ten fun facts that you might not know about coffee:
It’s Best Not to Drink It First Thing in the Morning
As most of us reach for our first cup of coffee as soon as we get up, this one is a bit of a shocker. Although drinking coffee first thing in the morning won’t do you any harm, you actually should wait a while.
Why? Because when you first wake up, your body produces a surge of cortisol to make you feel awake and the effects of the caffeine are wasted.
Caffeine Giving You Energy Was Discovered by Goats
It is believed by many that the Ethiopian legend of Kaldi, a goat herder, is how the stimulant properties of caffeine were first discovered.
Kaldi found his goats particularly energetic after eating the fruit from a certain plant. He tried it himself with similar results. The fruit? Coffee beans!
Coffee is Packed with Health Benefits
Until quite recently, it was often believed that coffee, especially the caffeine, was bad for us. Recent studies have shown that actually, coffee has a huge range of health benefits if drank in moderation.
The Coffee Belt is a Real Thing
Have you ever heard the term “the coffee belt”? It’s the term used to describe the region in which coffee beans are grown, and it’s thought that every single coffee bean harvested in the world is grown in this one region.
The Fruit of the Coffee Plant is Actually Red
Many people believe the fruit of the coffee plant to be green due to the colour of the unroasted coffee bean. The coffee bean we see is actually the seed of the plant which is contained inside a berry (known as a coffee cherry) which turns bright red when it is ripe and ready to be harvested.
The Most Expensive Coffees in The World Start out as Animal Dung
The two most expensive coffees in the world – Black Ivory coffee and Kopi Luwak coffee – start out by being digested by elephants and civet cats respectively. The partly digested beans are then removed from the droppings and made into coffee.
The Webcam was Invented Because of Coffee
In Cambridge University in 1991, a group of scientists set up a basic but workable live stream camera that they could view on their computers. They set the camera up to show them the communal coffee pot. They would check to make sure the pot wasn’t empty before going for a refill.
Coffee Houses Were Once Banned in England
In 1675, King Charles II banned coffee houses as he believed that people met in there to conspire against him! Imagine that happening now? At least we have good at home coffee making machines. Those poor people would have been reduced to some awful coffee!
Coffee was the First Consumable to be Freeze Dried
The first coffee was freeze dried for preservation during World War II which started a chain reaction of this method of freezing across all kinds of consumables.
Adding Cream Keeps Coffee Warmer for Longer
Adding something cold like cream to your coffee should, in theory, make it cool faster. It doesn’t. It actually cools 20% slower with cream than a standard black coffee would.
Additional Resource: Different types of coffee
