In 1627, the famous English philosopher Francis Bacon wrote down in his book Sylva Sylvarum: "They have in Turkey, a drink called coffa, made of a berry of the same name, as black as soot, and of a strong scent, but not aromatically; which they take, beaten into powder, in water as hot as they can drink it: and they take it, and sit at it in their coffa-houses, which are like our taverns. This drink comforts the brain, and heart, and helps digestion."
The most expensive coffee in the world is called Kopi Luwak. Each bean of this peculiar coffee undergoes a specific and rather bizarre production process. A common palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus), commonly referred to as the Toddy Cat, is a small cat-like animal living in Asia. Little Toddy consumes coffee berries which pass through its digestive tract along with insects, small mammals, reptiles and bird eggs and come out practically intact. Who and when came to the idea to take the coffee processed in such manner, roast it and brew it, is still not disclosed but we know that it started off in the Indonesian archipelago and spread to other parts of the world. This coffee is mostly sold in Japan and in the USA at a price from 300 to 1400 dollars per kilogram. Annual production is limited to about 450 kg.
Although Turkish women were banned from entering taverns back in the 15th and 16th century, they largely enjoyed the charms of the black drink. Belief in the aphrodisiac power of coffee was so strong that each Turkish woman had legal right to ask for divorce if her husband failed to provide her with sufficient daily quota of coffee. It is believed that Anglo-Saxon term "grounds for divorce" ('grounds' meaning bean or basis) has its origins from this clause of ancient Turkish law.
In 1964, an American named Todd Simpson patented the first cold-process coffee maker. Very popular nowadays, the Toddy maker produces coffee significantly less acidic than other types of coffee 66% acid from black beans are neutralised.
From 1960 to 1980, when cafes in America gained immense social significance, many Christian churches and religious individuals used them for spreading the Christian word. These were cafes with specific names where, accompanied by spiritual music, Bible lectures were held.
Inspired by the growing enthusiasm for coffee, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) wrote a cantata dedicated to coffee in 1734 (Kaffee-Kantate or Coffee Cantata). There is also a libretto for this composition, telling the story of the neglected women whose husbands spend all the time in taverns.
Among the famous coffee-lovers was also Voltaire, a great French philosopher and author, who reportedly drank 50 cups of coffee a day. In response to malicious observation that coffee is poison, Voltaire replied that it certainly is poison but in his case fortunately a slow one.
It is estimated that French author Honore De Balzac was writing his Human Comedy on about 50,000 cups of coffee.
"A mathematician is a machine for turning coffee into theorems." This was once said by the famous mathematician Alfred Rnyi talking to his colleague Paul Erds.
Director David Lynch sells coffee on his web site. It is organic coffee, grown without using pesticides or herbicides.
When coffee was introduced to Europe, the inhabitants of the Old Continent called it the "Arabic wine".
In many parts of Africa, fresh coffee beans are chewed dipped in water and spices, instead of candy.
The extended espresso is an American invention. The purpose of extending the espresso shot was to attain coffee that would resemble traditional black coffee in intensity and size more than a regular espresso shot.
The British exclusively drink instant coffee. Total amount of all other types of coffee they consume is ten times smaller than the amount of instant coffee consumed.
In spite of their long tea drinking tradition, the Japanese are third largest consumers of coffee.
More than 400 billions cups of coffee are consumed throughout the planet every day.
Before he became an avid coffee-drinker, Prussian king Frederick II was a bitter opponent of this drink. He was sceptic regarding the influence of coffee on the ability of soldiers to defend their country. For this reason, he founded a special order consisting of soldiers who were paid to sniff out all coffee smugglers.
The first public promotion of coffee originates from the beginning of the 18th century. The owner of a Venetian coffee shop used to hand out leaflets in the street.
The word 'cappuccino' derives from an Italian name for hoods worn by the Capuchin order of friars. The colour of the coffee resembled the colour of the robe of a Capuchin friar.
It is said that some time during the Civil War the Americans ran out of coffee. Instead of coffee, the soldiers brewed a beverage from corn and roasted potatoes using the same method.
Until Pope Clement VIII (end of 16th century), who dared to taste coffee and admit he likes it, Vatican denounced coffee as a bitter Satanic invention. When Vatican officials asked him to impose a ban on coffee, Pope Clement stood before the gathered crowd and said: "This Satan's drink is so delicious¦We should fool Satan by baptizing it." During his reign, the ban on coffee was finally removed.
All the way to the 10th century, coffee was consumed as food. The Ethiopians made nutritious balls from coffee and animal fat and ate them during long journeys. Reed more in www.our-coffee.co.uk