You enjoy it every morning and sometimes throughout the day, but do you really know coffee. Most people are familiar with the usual coffee facts – how it is grown, coffee’s different variants and intensities and that you can choose between beans, instant or capsules, but the fact is, there is so much more to know about coffee than you realise.
“Even though coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world, only the bare minimum is known,” comments Thokozane Radebe, brand manager for Douwe Egberts. “In fact, there are cheeky and somewhat bizarre facts about this delicious drink that might surprise.”
Radebe uncovers the following coffee facts:
1. Legend has it that coffee was first discovered by an Ethiopian goat herder. He noticed that the goats would become jittery and more alert after eating from the coffee tree. Soon, this information spread throughout the village, and it became something that everyone was enjoying – but not in the way you think…
2. Coffee was originally chewed, not brewed. Ethiopians would crush the coffee cherries, mix them with animal fat, and then roll them into small balls for an energy boost.
3. The first American instant coffee was created in 1851. During the Civil war experimental
“cakes”
of instant coffee were shared in rations to soldiers. Today, instant coffee can be found on your supermarket shelves (thankfully not in “cakes”) and through the years the manufacturing process has been tested and refined to create better-quality coffee. Douwe Egberts prides itself on having some of the best aromatic and tasting instant coffees available. This is ensured by using a blend of only the best beans and implementing a unique roasting and grinding process in its production. You are always ensured a cup with a rich and well-balanced flavour profile.
4. Espresso means pressed out in Italian, and even though it has more caffeine per volume than coffee, you would have to drink three espressos to equal the amount of caffeine in a regular cup of coffee.
5. Research has found that stress can be reduced by just smelling coffee. The aroma of the coffee can alter the activity of certain genes in the brain and even reduce the effects of sleep deprivation.
6. The world’s largest cup of coffee was brewed in South Korea in 2014. It measured over 370 gallons and was made with 5000 pounds of coffee grounds.
7. The caffeine in coffee is a natural insecticide that repels bugs and helps to protect the coffee plant.
8. The first webcam was invented in 1991 to keep an eye on a coffee pot at the University of Cambridge to see when it was empty and needed to be refilled.
9. Bees LOVE coffee. The sweet nectar-like flowers that the coffee tree grows attracts bees who help with the pollination of the tree. The flowers also contain caffeinated nectar which makes the bees more alert. Bees with caffeine in their system have been found to be more efficient in gathering pollen and transporting it back to their hive.
10. Coffee has been outlawed many times. In the 1500s Mecca outlawed this drink because it was believed to encourage radical thinking, with Italy later that century also banning it. In the 1700s, the Swedish government banned coffee for its “ties” to rebellious sentiment. During this same century, the king of Prussia established a state monopoly over coffee imports and declared that while members of the aristocracy could enjoy coffee, it would have detrimental impacts for
“commoners”
He believed that the drinking of coffee lowered the consumption of alcoholic drinks among his people.
So, the next time the conversation is stilted on a date or at a get-together, why not pour a round of your favourite Douwe Egberts and surprise your guest/s with some coffee facts guaranteed to get the conversation flowing.
For more information on Douwe Egberts please see the below:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DouweEgbertsSA
Instagram: www.instagram.com/douweegbertssa/
Website: www.douwe-egberts.co.za/
Comments