Just when you thought you were getting all the basics down, some New York Times article premieres a feature on how many cups of coffee a day you need to avoid Alzheimer's. A Pinterest infographic informs you that the same size drink at Dunkin Donuts does not have the same amount of caffeine energy as the same size drink at Starbucks. The drink, (which is consumed daily by more than 54% of Americans) has been simplified as an unhealthy spending habit downed by the pumpkin-spice flavored cupfuls via Millennials. But actually, there's a whole world of history and knowledge in the bag of brew on your kitchen counter...
1. Coffee isn't a bean. It's a berry.
The fruity pulp of the coffee cherry surrounds the green seed that becomes roasted and sold as the bean you see in stores. It takes roughly 5-6 years after planting for the coffee shrub to actually produce these berries. But, hey- at least you can say your morning cup is really just a cup of fruit juice.
2. Your shot of espresso contains less caffeine than a normal cup of drip coffee.
Throwing back shots of espresso may actually be less efficient than you think. It's all in the volume + brewing method. Coffee Chemistry breaks it down here.
3. There have been prohibitions on coffee.
Multiple, in fact. Throughout early history, the possession of coffee has been straight up punishable in Mecca, Constantinople, Sweden, Prussia, and if you can believe it- Italy. The brew has also come up in multiple religious institutions as to if it should be allowed or not (with some actually calling the drink 'satanic'). Some people just don't want other people to be happy.
4. It is the world's second most traded commodity.
Only after petroleum. And it makes good sense too- petroleum makes cars go. Coffee makes people go.
5. The name "cappuccino" was inspired by monks.
Passing over that one time in history when 16th century clergymen denoted coffee a drink of the devil, one of the most popular artisan preparations of it in later years would be inspired by the robe color (a chocolate brown) of Capuchin monks and nuns: the cappuccino.
6. The first webcam was invented because of coffee.
Ah, the hubris of man and its many, many wild innovations. The first webcam was indeed created to watch the brewing status of a break room coffeepot, by scientists at Cambridge University in 1991. The camera provided a 129x129 pixel grayscale display at a rate of 1 frame per second.
7. Contrary to popular belief, coffee really isn't that dehydrating.
While coffee is teccchnically a diuretic, many people develop a tolerance to its diuretic qualities, if they were ever affected by them at all. More recent studies show that coffee hydrates in a similar fashion to water, which makes sense, given straight coffee is primarily composed of water.
8. The most expensive coffee in the world reels in at $600 a pound.
And it comes from the dung of the Indonesian civet cat. Yes. You read that right. It's cat poop coffee, at its finest. It's called kopi luwak, and is collected from the animal's feces after a meal of coffee berries. The pulp of the berry is removed during digestion, while the seeds (the actual coffee bean) are kept in tact. During this process, a unique fermentation occurs, which gives the coffee its sought-after flavor. After excretion, the discarded beans are collected, washed, dried, and finally roasted. A singular cup of this coffee may run you anywhere from $35 to $100.
9. A cup of coffee contains more antioxidants than a cup of grape juice.
Contrary to what you parents may have rattled off to you as a child to keep you from asking for a sip of their coffee, coffee is actually, well- quite healthy. In a 2005 study, research actually showed that Americans get the vast bulk of their antioxidant need from coffee. Now of course, this doesn't mean you can exclude the necessary benefits found in fruits and veggies from your diet, but, the next time someone harps on you for your third cup of coffee in a day...let them know that you're actually promoting a healthy heart and liver, plus preventing the probability of Parkinson's and type 2 diabetes. (Keep in mind that the sugar-loaded additives in your PSL however...not so much.)
10. Johann Sebastian Bach wrote an entire cantata inspired by coffee addiction.
In other words, my kind of cantata.
