Discovered by a goat
It’s said that coffee was discovered in the 9th century by an Ethiopian goat shepherd named Khaldi. The shepherd noticed that his goats started to behave more energetically after they had nibbled the red berries of a tree. The shepherd found this so special that he decided to investigate the berries. The red berries soon became popular with people and you guessed that red berry is now better known as the coffee berry.
Many people think there is more caffeine in an espresso than in a normal cup of coffee, but this may not be true at all. An espresso is a lot stronger in taste, but a regular cup of coffee can sometimes contain twice as much caffeine as an espresso. Are you looking for a cup of coffee with a lot of caffeine? Then cold brew is for you, because it can contain twice as much caffeine as a regular cup of coffee. This is because with cold brew the coffee is brewed with cold water instead of boiling water. As a result, the coffee has a long extraction of up to 24 hours, which means that this coffee variant contains extra caffeine.
Coffee has at times been outlawed in some countries. First, it was banned in Mecca in the country that is now Saudi Arabia. Charles II of England also banned coffee during his reign and a few years later, in 1677, coffee was prohibited in Prussia by Frederick the Great, who claimed that beer was a superior beverage and therefore banned coffee to encourage more beer consumption!
There is a lot of speculation about the physical effects of coffee, whether it is good or bad for you? Numerous scientific studies have been conducted into coffee over the years. And, as a result, it has been proven that there are some health benefits associated with coffee consumption. For more, read this edition of Nestlé Professional’s NutriPro magazine: https://www.nestleprofessional.com/nutrition/nutripro-culture-coffee
Sour, sweet or bitter?
Many people find it difficult to describe the taste of coffee. It is often considered bitter, but did you know that coffee consists of three basic tastes? Coffee is sour, bitter and sweet. When you make coffee, the coffee first tastes sour, then sweet and then bitter. To be precise, when a bean machine takes about 30 seconds to make a cup of coffee, the first 3 to 7 seconds are sour in taste, the next 7 to 14 seconds sweet and then the taste ends as bitter. The longer the coffee has been brewed, the more bitter the taste becomes.
The word "coffee" comes from the Arabic word "qahwah" which actually means wine. Subsequently, the Turkish word for coffee, "kahve", was again derived from the Arabic word and is related to the word "café". In the end, the word "coffee" stems from this original word.
Some additional facts
Did you know that Brazil is the largest coffee producer in the world? And that the most popular bean types are Arabica and Robusta? Or that coffee plants produce coffee beans for around 20 to 25 years? But also that there are more than 60 types of coffee beans? Are you looking for more information about coffee? Or do you want to share more facts with your colleagues?