23 interesting facts about coffee
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2 billion cups of coffee are consumed every day worldwide.​
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German composer Bach actually wrote an opera about coffee.
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Humans started consuming coffee as food, not as a drink.
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Coffee ‘beans’ are not actually beans at all – they are a type of fruit.
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There is evidence to suggest that humans realized how effective coffee was thanks to hyperactive goats.
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Coffee is the second most traded product in the world (after oil).
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New Yorkers drink 7 times more coffee than people in other cities.
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Coffee trees can grow up to 30 feet tall.
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There are 25 million coffee producers in the world.
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65% of coffee consumption takes place during ‘breakfast hours’.
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Coffee is the second most popular drink in the world (after water).
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Brazil is the top country for coffee production (40% of the world’s coffee is grown here).
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Coffee was the first food to be freeze-dried.
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The most expensive coffee in the world is $500 per pound… and comes from dung.
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Coffee was banned in Sweden in 1746 (it’s OK now).
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Arabica and Robusta are the two principle species of coffee harvested today. Approximately 70% of the world’s production is the Arabica bean.
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Robusta contains twice as much caffeine as Arabica.
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The Specialty Coffee Association of America estimated that there are 10,000 cafes and 2,500 specialty stores selling coffee.
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Dorothy Jones of Boston won the first licence to sell coffee in the US, back in 1670.
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An espresso actually contains a third of the caffeine in a regular coffee.
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Irish Coffee was invented to warm up American plane passengers leaving Ireland.
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French philosopher Voltaire is said to have enjoyed up to 50 coffees a day.
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A coffee pot was the subject of the first webcam, invented at The University of Cambridge to let people know if the coffee pot was full or not.
Bonus fact: You can now brew professional quality espresso at home, with the Flair Espresso Maker – available on Kickstarter!
