Top 10 facts about coffee

How much do you know about coffee?

• The majority of coffee is produced in Brazil

Brazil produces 40% of the world’s coffee, which is twice as much as Colombia and Vietnam which are 2nd and 3rd in producing coffee.

• Coffee was originally a food

Coffee berries were mixed with fat to create an energy-rich snack ball. It was also consumed as a wine when made from the pulp of coffee berries.

• Coffee was the first food to be freeze-dried.

The process of freeze drying – when fresh foods are placed in a dryer where temperatures drop to negative 40 degrees F first started during World War 2 to preserve foods.

• Coffee is actually a fruit

Coffee beans as we know them are actually the pits of a cherry-like berry that are grown on bushes. Even though coffee is actually a seed, it’s called a bean because of its resemblance to actual beans.

• You can overdose of coffee

Yes, that’s right! However, an adult would have to drink over 100 cups to consume the lethal dose of caffeine!

• When you add milk to your coffee, it weakens the effects of caffeine.

Our bodies absorb coffee much slower when it has added fat milk content, which decreases the stimulants.

• Dark roast coffees have less caffeine than lighter roasts.

Even though the flavour is often stronger, roasting actually burns off some of the caffeine.

• The original definition of coffee means “wine”

Coffee’s original name, qahwah, came from the Yemen term for wine. In Turkey it was called Kahveh, until the Dutch referred to it as Koffie and that’s where we get the English – coffee.

• The largest cup of coffee ever brewed was in July 2014 in South Korea.

It was over 3,700 gallons. The largest iced coffee was brewed in Las Vegas in 2010, and was 1,500 gallons – ice not included.

• Decaf does not mean caffeine-free

An eight ounce brewed cup of decaf coffee actually has 2-12 milligrams of caffeine. In comparison, a regular cup of coffee has anywhere from 95-200 milligrams.