​5 Fascinating and Strange Facts about Coffee

While making my first cup of coffee for the morning, I decided to Google “coffee facts” to treat myself to some morning enlightenment.

There were a lot of stories out there, but a few facts really caught my eye. Here are five coffee facts that you probably didn’t know but might find interesting.

Brazil is the top coffee exporter in the world. In 2014, the country exported about 45.3 million bags of coffee. Each bag is 60 kilograms, or about 132 pounds. Do the math, and that comes out to roughly 6 billion pounds. That’s a lot of coffee. (H/T International Coffee Organization)

But they don’t even crack the top 30 in consumption per capita. The Dutch are the biggest consumers, with the average person drinking 2.414 cups per day. That’s nearly three times as much as Americans (0.931 cups) and five times as much as Brazilians (0.484 cups). Too bad I don't count as my own country; I could totally top those figures. (H/T The Atlantic & Euromonitor)

Coffee is the world's second-most valuable traded commodity, behind only petroleum. So not only is it delicious, it’s also a big player in the global economy. Global consumption of coffee has expanded to 12 billion pounds per year, which looks something like 1.6 billion cups of coffee every day. It is estimated that nearly 11 million hectares of the world's farmland are dedicated to coffee cultivation. I knew my taste buds were on to something! (H/T Global Exchange)

Coffee shops were almost banned in England. In 1675, King Charles attempted to ban coffee houses because he claimed that they catered to dissidents who might threaten to bring down the British Empire. He drafted an ordinance that would have prevented the sale of coffee, tea, chocolate and sherbet in a public place, but English citizens refused to accept the bill. The public threatened to revolt if the king persisted, and he quickly withdrew the ordinance after 11 days. I would say it’s a pretty serious offense to come between the people and their coffee. It’s a good thing this is only history! (H/T The Old Foodie)

Coffee packs a stronger punch than energy drinks. A single-serve brewed cup of coffee generally has 95-200 milligrams of caffeine. Red Bull? Only 75-80 milligrams. And soda or pop certainly won’t do the trick — a can of Diet Coke has a mere 23-47 milligrams. If you’re going for energy, coffee wins. Add great taste to boot, and it’s a package deal. BRB; gotta refill. (H/T Mayo Clinic)