Perk Up Your Afternoon

Coffee Basics

Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted coffee beans, the seeds of berries from certain Coffea species. It is darkly colored, bitter, slightly acidic and has a stimulating effect in humans, primarily due to its caffeine content.

Coffee plants are now cultivated in over 70 countries and is one of the most popular drinks in the world. It can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways (e.g., espresso, French press, caffè latte). It is usually served hot, although iced coffee is a popular alternative.

Dates back to 800 A.D.

Legend has it that 9th-century goat herders noticed the effect caffeine had on their goats, who appeared to "dance" after eating the fruit of the Coffea plant. A local monk then made a drink with the produce and found that it kept him awake at night, thus the original cup of coffee was born.

Technically seeds

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.

Banned in the past

Back in 1511, leaders in Mecca believed it stimulated radical thinking and outlawed the drink. Some 16th-century Italian clergymen also tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be "satanic." However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.