5 Things You Didn't Know About Coffee

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Coffee 

We drink coffee everyday, multiple times a day. We drink it, it tastes great, it gives us that extra boost we need in the morning and throughout the day. We think we know all there is to know about it, right? Well, think again. Here are 5 things you (probably) didn’t know about coffee.

1. Coffee is a fruit. 

Coffee beans are technically seeds. They're the pits of the cherry-like berries found on the flowering shrubs, but we call them "beans" because of the resemblance to legumes.

2. Coffee was discovered by a goat herder.

It was said that coffee was discovered by a goat herder in Ethiopia in the 1500s. He saw his goats eating coffee cherries. Afterwards, the herder observed a change in the goat’s behavior. The goat’s got a bolt of energy and didn’t sleep at night. When the herder realized the correlation, he shared his findings with the local monks, who realized they could stay up all night and pray after consuming a drink from the coffee beans. From there, they spread the word to other Ethiopian monks and it spread across the globe.

3. Decaf doesn’t mean it’s caffeine-free. 

The decaffeination process usually removes 94-98 percent of caffeine.

4. The global coffee industry earns an estimated $60 billion annually.

After oil, coffee is the world's second-most-valuable commodity exported by developing countries.

5. Two of the most expensive coffees come from an animal’s poop. 

Kopi Luwak ($600/pound)  and Black Ivory ($1,500/pound) are the two most expensive coffees in the world. Kopi Luwak is an Indonesian coffee that is roasted after being eaten, digested, and pooped out by a palm civet. Black Ivory is made in Thailand after an elephant has consumed the beans and they’ve been slowly digested and pooped out, producing a uniquely smooth and mellow taste.