5 Things You May Not Know About Coffee.

#1 Coffee beans are similar to grapes that produce wine in that they are affected by the temperature, soil conditions, altitude, rainfall, drainage and degree of ripeness when picked.

In just the recent past coffee was relegated to just a conveyance of caffeine.  Today coffee is enjoying its rightful spot as a drink to be a student of.  Like great wines so coffee has flavor nuances that can be traced back to origin.  Just like a pinot noir and a chardonnay are different so are a Sumatran and a Columbian. 

#2 Coffee, as a world commodity, is second only to oil.

That’s right coffee is the number two traded commodity in the world.  Unlike oil though, coffee is a renewable commodity.  Even though coffee is affected by seasonal variances we will always have a coffee crop.

#3 The Arabica is the original coffee plant. It still grows wild in Ethiopia.

There are two varieties of coffee, Arabica and Robusta.  The Arabica bean has a much better taste and it is what most coffee roasters use.  The Robusta on the other hand has fewer flavors but has higher caffeine content then the Arabica bean.  The Robusta is considered a less quality bean than the Arabica

#4 According to a Yale University study on aromas they asked 200 people to identify smells and the smell that topped the list as the most recognizable was coffee.

Oh that smell in the morning. I enjoy grinding up the beans and getting a huge whiff of that smell.  Is there anything better?  Smell plays a huge role in how we perceive coffee.  Coffee was followed by peanut butter, Vicks Vapor Rub, and chocolate.

#5 Bach wrote a coffee cantata in 1732.

That’s right Bach actually wrote a cantata or more accurately a miniature comic opera about coffee called Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht (Be still, stop chattering).  The cantata tells of a young woman who likes her coffee but her father disapproves so much so that he tells her that if she wants to marry she must give up her coffee.  Of course the moral of the story is “drinking coffee is natural.”

So there you have it 5 things you may not have know about coffee.

If you have any others questions about coffee please feel free to comment below and I will do my best to answer them.