20 Interesting Facts about Coffee
1. The largest coffee consuming countries are the United States, France and Germany, which together give 65 percent of the world’s total consumption. Here you can find a list of top 10 coffee consuming nations, based on per capita consumption.
2. Every year, the world consumes 500 billion cups of coffee. This means 1.37 billion cups per day, which is 57 million cups per hour, 956 thousand cups every minute and 16 thousand cups per second.
3. Most cups of coffee per capita is consumed in the Nordic countries, Norway is the leader, then comes Finland, Sweden and Denmark.
4. Coffee is the second leading product in world trade after oil.
5. Freshly harvested raw coffee has a green colour, it gains it’s brown colour and distinctive flavour with roasting. Then comes the grinding of the roasted coffee beans. The coarser the coffee grounds is, the longer it should be brewed, because thus the aromas dissolve more hardly. This is a general rule.
6. The world’s most dynamic sector of catering are coffee shops. Every year, their number increase with 7 percent worldwide. The main engine of growth are Asia’s emerging markets, where the population has traditionally favoured tea, but the trend today seems to change.
7. The name “coffee” has Arabic origins and the original meaning was “wine of the bean”.
8. Coffee contains more than 700 flavors, and it is rich in caffeine. Today, decaffeinated coffees are also available for those who do not want to give up coffee, but do not want to consume caffeine.
9. Not only the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, but also the French Revolution and the American civil revolution started off in a coffee house.
10. The coffee shrub’s crop is a red colored, edible fruit, which is similar to cherries. We may find the coffee bean on the inside.
11. Hungarian-born Francesco Illy (Illy Ferenc) invented the vacuum storage (airtight packaging) which preserves the fragrance and the flavor of freshly roasted coffee.
12. The marriage was invalidated in Turkey, if the husband has not assured sufficient quantity and quality of coffee for his wife.
13. The birth of instant coffee was induced by the coffee overproduction in the 1930’s when the Brazilian government has asked Nestlé to utilize the amount of coffee resulting from the surplus production with such a technology that lets the coffee be maintained for a long time, while preserving it’s quality. The instant coffee granulate is 100 percent coffee, just the water has been extracted. Thus began the story of Nescafé, the world’s first instant coffee.
14. In Greece and Turkey -according to tradition-, always the eldest gets coffee for the first time.
15. The coffee grinder was invented by an English locksmith, the first coffee machine was designed by a Frenchman, but the quantity production began in Italy.
16. In 1785, a Coffee Revolution launched in Prussia, because according to the law, only nobles, priests and high-ranking officers may have consumed coffee.
17. An initiative was launched in Japan in the eighties about the celebration of coffee and coffee culture. Since 2009, the world-day is officially held on 29th September each year.
18. The Italians drink espresso with sugar, the Germans and the Swiss blend coffee with hot chocolate, Mexicans sprinkle cinnamon on the coffee, Belgians put chocolate pieces into it. The Moroccans drink it with pepper, while on the the Middle East, locals consume the black drink with cardamom and other spices. Austrians prefer whipped cream. Egyptians drink a clear and strong coffee, milk and sugar is unimaginable for them.
19. The coffee cultivation provides a livelihood for approx. 25 million people around the world. However, there are fewer and fewer quality plantations; Nestlé is committed to find a solution for ensuring the future of coffee growing, and, above all, sustainable development.
20. Instant coffee is the easiest to prepare, we only have to sprinkle the coffee granulate in a cup and pour some warm water or milk on it.
