Skip sleeping in and cozy up to your favorite coffee house this Sunday to celebrate Coffee Day!
While you’re savoring a medium half-caf no-foam non-fat vanilla soy latte (or go full octane with a straight-up espresso!) we thought you’d enjoy these fun facts about our beloved, can’t-do-without-it beverage:
- Ethiopian shepherds first noticed the effects of caffeine when they saw their goats appearing to become frisky and “dance” after eating coffee berries.
- Coffee beans are actually the pit of a bright red berry, which makes them a fruit.
- Originally, coffee was eaten by African tribes who mixed coffee berries with fat to form edible energy balls.
- In the ancient Arab culture there was only one way a woman could legally divorce: If her husband didn’t provide enough coffee!
- In 1675, the King of England banned coffee houses, claiming they were places where people met to conspire against him.
- All coffee in the world is grown in the “bean belt”, which is the area between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Hawaii is the only state in the U.S. that grows coffee.
- Coffee is the second most traded commodity on earth. Oil is the first.
- George Washington invented instant coffee! (Gotcha! Not THAT George Washington. Just checking to see if your caffeine is kicking in and you’re still reading.) A Belgian man living in Guatemala by the name of George Washington invented it in 1906.
- New Yorkers drink 7 times more coffee than any other cities in the U.S.
- A French doctor in the 1600s suggested Café Au Laits for patients, inspiring people to begin adding milk to coffee.
So go meet up with a friend to enjoy some caffeinated conversation!
