COFFEE
Coffee has an interesting historic origin. It is believed that even before humans started cultivating coffee, coffee bearing shrubs were found to be growing in the shady dark African forests, and the chemical produced by the beans were used as a form of natural defence against predators and pests. The beans were found to be so energising that gradually they started being cultivated in different parts of the world. Today coffee is a widely consumed beverage in all parts of the world and in different forms.
Here are some amazing facts about coffee that most people are unaware of.
Coffee in ancient times was hardly consumed the way it is today. The Ethiopian tribal ate balls of crushed coffee beans mixed with fruit and animal fat.
Coffee beans are actually a form of berry which carries two green beans within them. Coffee beans containing one green berry in them are termed as peaberry. They are also referred to as cherries.
The first of the many coffee houses was opened in the year 1652 and named Penny Universities where men gathered to gossip over cups of coffee.
There are over 50 different species of coffee beans. Different kinds of coffee beans are grown in different parts of the world.
In 1791, the first and only major successful slave revolt took place in Haiti where the slaves protested against their harsh living and working conditions on coffee plantations.
Coffee was an essential element to the soldiers of the US Civil War, and it is believed that soldiers used special guns that were designed to hold coffee grinders in their butt stocks.
The first instant coffee which was soluble as is popular today was created by a chemist of Japanese-American origin Satori Kato in Chicago. It was also disputed that the same was invented by English chemist George C Washington in Guatemala as Red-E-Coffee in 1906. Instant coffee was commercially launched in 1909.
The first decaf coffee called the Sanka was created in 1903 from a bunch of destroyed coffee beans by researchers.
It is not the caffeine, but high amounts of antioxidants that create the bitter taste in coffee beans.
Dark roasted coffee beans are believed to have a lesser amount of caffeine than light roasted coffee beans.
Pregnant women should avoid too much of coffee as high caffeine intake can be fatal for the developing foetus.
A hundred cups of coffee in a day can kill you.
Surveys have revealed that New York inhabitants consume about 7 times more coffee than people living in any other US city. Moreover, NY is also home to all major coffee brands and franchises.
Africa, Colombia and Brazil account for more than 40% of the worlds production of coffee while Hawaii is the only state in the US to produce coffee commercially.
Coffee Day is a celebrated holiday in Costa Rica on September 12th while the same is celebrated by the Irish on 19th September and 1st October in Japan.
Today although tea happens to be the most common beverage worldwide, Americans prefer coffee and consume and import coffee more than any other country in the world. Coffee, however, has now been discovered to be the leading cause of many health hazards and people are always advised to drink coffee in moderation.
icture