11 Facts you should know about Coffee
1️⃣ Coffee was discovered by a goat herder
It is said in the 1500s an Ethiopian Goat Herder discovered that his goat gained a high amount of energy and become sleepless after eating coffee cherries. The Goat Herder shared his finding with the local monks, leading to more exploration of the cherries. As a result of their findings, they could stay up all night and pray. Coming to this realization, the local monks spread the word to the other monks. The rest is history!
2️⃣ Where does the word “coffee” come from?
The word “coffee” comes from the Arabic word Qaheah for “wine.”
Qahwah later became kahveh in Turkish, and then koffie in Dutch, which is where we get the English word coffee.
3️⃣ Coffee is a fruit
The coffee bean is a fruit…we know, jaws dropping, right???
Coffee beans grow on a bush. They are actually the pit of a berry, which makes them a fruit. There are two main varieties of beans — green and red. Red beans have a nicer smell and are less acidic. Red beans are used to produce lighter coffees. The longer that coffee beans have been roasted – the healthier they are. Decaffeinated coffee comes from a chemical process where the caffeine is taken out of the beans. The caffeine is then often sold to Coca-Cola. You can also decaffeinate by natural methods.
4️⃣ There are two types of coffee
There are two type of coffee: Arabica and Robusta. The Arabica Coffee was originally cultivated on the Arabian Peninsula, hence the name Arabica Coffee. And the second type, Robusta Coffee, a hardier plant, contains double the amount of caffeine.
5️⃣ Second in the world
Coffee is the world’s second largest traded commodity, worth over $100 billion. After Crude Oil. Yes, that is not a typo! Coffee is consumed in great quantities, making it the most beloved beverage (except) water.
6️⃣ Hawaii is the only American state that grows coffee
Good coffee-growing conditions require high altitudes, tropical climates, and rich soil. Currently, there’s only one state that meets those criteria — Hawaii. Hawaii has been producing coffee even before it was a state. Only recently, though, farms in California started growing coffee bushes!
7️⃣ The most expensive coffee is made by cat poop
Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world. Kopi Luwak is made from beans partially digested by the cat-like Civet from Indonesia. In other words, it comes from cat poop. Although Kopi Luwak is a form of processing rather than a variety of coffee, it has been called one of the most expensive coffees in the world, with retail prices reaching from $100 USD per kilogram for farm-collected beans and $1,300 USD per kilogram for wild-collected beans.
8️⃣ Coffee helped Olympic athletes
Brazil couldn’t afford to send its athletes to Los Angeles for the 1932 Olympics. So, the government loaded them in a ship full of coffee which was sold on the way to finance their trip.
9️⃣ Divorce because of terrible coffee
In ancient Arab culture, a woman could only divorce her husband if he didn’t like her coffee.
1️⃣0️⃣ Brazil grows the most coffee in the world
Today, Brazil produces about a third of the world’s supply, according to the International Coffee Organization. Brazil’s production is about twice as much as the second place holder, Vietnam.
1️⃣1️⃣ In 1788, Haiti supplied half of the world’s coffee
As a former French colony, coffee was first cultivated in Haiti (then Saint-Domingue) from 1734, and by 1788 it supplied half of the world’s coffee!
If you’re looking for your “forever” coffee, COPO offers delicious, premium-grade, organic arabica coffee. Smooth… Yet Robust. Our promise is to make sure that Haiti continues to be a top producer of premium coffee. COPO coffee is creating a sustainable income for our network of Haitian farmers, thereby creating a fair-trade bridge between them and the rest of the world. Our steadfast vision is to make Haiti the world’s #1 choice for premium coffee.