1. Coffee was first known in Europe as Arabian Wine.
2. The Arabs are generally believed to be the first to brew coffee.
3. Milk as an additive to coffee became popular in the 1680’s, when a French physician recommended that cafe au lait be used for medicinal purposes.
4. The first Parisian cafe opened in 1689 to serve coffee.
5. Bach wrote a coffee cantata in 1732.
6. In the year 1763, there were over 200 coffee shops in Venice.
7. The heavy tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773, which caused the „Boston Tea Party,” resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. Drinking coffee was an expression of freedom.
8. The founding fathers of the U.S., during the revolution, formed their national strategies in coffeehouses.
9. In early America, coffee was usually taken between meals and after dinner.
10. In the year 1790, there were two firsts in the United States; the first wholesale coffee roasting company, and the first newspaper advertisement featuring coffee.
11. The prototype of the first espresso machine was created in France in 1822.
12. By 1850, the manual coffee grinder found its way to most upper middle class kitchens of the U.S.
13. The Civil War in the United States elevated the popularity of coffee to new heights. Soldiers went to war with coffee beans as a primary ration.
14. In 1900, coffee was often delivered door-to-door in the United States, by horse-pulled wagons.
15. The first commercial espresso machine was manufactured in Italy in 1906.
16. In Italy, coffee and espresso are synonymous.
17. The average age of an Italian barista is 48 years old. A barista is a respected job title in Italy.
18. Italians do not drink espresso during meals. It is considered to be a separate event and is given its own time.
19. In Italy, espresso is considered so essential to daily life that the price is regulated by the government.
20. Italy now has over 200,000 coffee bars, and still growing.