Coffee Facts that Will Amaze You and Love Your Coffee Drink More

Why learn about coffee and the facts about it? Well, the aim here is for you to learn more about the second most traded commodity in the world (that's a fact as of 2008) and I hope that by learning more about your drink, you enjoy it more and this is based on experience, which you will also soon find out.

So what are we waiting for, here are the coffee facts and information for your reading pleasure.

Coffee facts (general / coffee industry / coffee consumption)
1. Coffee is the most popular beverage worldwide with over 400 billion cups consumed each year.
2. Coffee is one of the most tradeable commodity (next to oil).
3. The top five coffee growing countries are (in order): Brazil, Vietnam, Columbia, Indonesia, Ethiopia.
4. The largest coffee-producing nation, Brazil, is responsible for 30 to 40 % of total world output.
5. There are more than 60 coffee varieties but only four are commercially available: Coffee Arabica, Coffee Canephora (Robusta), Coffee Liberica, Coffee Excelsa.
6. 49% of the coffee drinkers believe that coffee is healthy.
7. October 1st is the official "coffee day" in Japan.
8. October is the coffee month in the Philippines.
9. It takes 40 coffee beans to make an espresso.
10. The coffee industry employs more than 25 million people worldwide.
11. The average United States adult drinks 3.4 cups of coffee a day, or about 26 gallons of coffee a year.
12. In Finland, the average adult drinks about 5 cups of coffee per day, which makes them the world's largest coffee consumer.

Coffee facts (Coffee plants - tree)
1. Coffee tree can grow only in tropical countries and is easily damaged by frost. See "Coffee Belt."
2. 75% of the world's coffee comes from the Coffea Arabica plant.
3. Coffee tree needs and average temperature between 17 degrees celcius - 22 degrees celcius.
4. There are approximately 2000 coffee beans per coffee tree.
5. One coffee tree yields less than half a kilo of coffee per year.
6. Coffee beans are not actually beans, but the seeds of the cherry-like fruit.
7. Two coffee beans normally grow within each other. If there is only one seed, it's called "peaberry."
8. Coffee "cherries" that have three beans are said to be a sign of goodluck.
9. A coffee tree lives for between 60 and 70 years.
10. It takes five years for a coffee tree to reach maturity.

Coffee facts (Coffee History)
1. In 1675 Charles II, King of England issued a proclamation banning Coffee Houses. According to him, coffee houses were places where people met to plot against him.
2. A Belgian, named George Washington, living in Guatemala invented the first instant coffee in 1906 and later immigrated to the United States.

Coffee facts (Caffeine in coffee)
1. The caffeine in coffee (espresso) has just one third of the content of ordinary coffee.
2. The amount of caffeine in an average cup of coffee is 100 milligrams, espresso 80 milligrams. The darker the roast the less caffeine in coffee.
3. The calories in coffee (brewed) that is 8 oz. is just 2.
4. A 16-ounce caffe latte espresso made with fat-free milk contains 130 calories and 0 grams of fat. When made with whole milk, it contains 200 calories and 11 grams of fat.