Sure, you should probably be studying for your finals, but you’re not. You’re reading a random blog about coffee. Don’t feel guilty: sit down and enjoy it, inhaling every word as if the letters on your screen were the sweet aroma of a freshly-made tall cappuccino slowly entering your nostrils. …Well, don’t enjoy it quite that much.

But I do think you’ll find these random tidbits of information rather fascinating and informative. Summer is rapidly approaching, and droves of hometown busybodies are ready to inquire about the joys and failures of your last semester, and what (if anything) you’ve decided to do with the rest of your life. Skillfully redirect the conversation by mentioning that the average coffee tree has a “life expectancy” of up to 70 years. 

Coffee Facts***

The two most commonly grown species of the coffee plant are Coffea canephora and C. Arabica. 

In the 17^th century, coffee became so popular in Europe that some people thought it was a tool of the devil. However, Pope ClementVIII loved it so much after tasting it that he baptized coffee, which made it a Christian drink.    

Coffee is the second most traded product in the world- after petroleum. 

Dorothy Jones, the first American coffee trader, was granted a license to sell coffee in 1670. 

Some 18^th century Germans thought that coffee could make women sterile, so women were encouraged to drink beer instead. 

Coffee grows in almost 80 countries. 

Quakers, also known as stinkers or floaters, are unripe or blighted coffee beans. They’re picked when the cherry is still green. 

Coffee beans are really berries. Each berry contains two beans (pips). 

In Greece and Turkey, the oldest person is almost always served their coffee first. 

Brazil released coffee-scented postage stamps in 2001. The smell is supposed to last 3-5 years. 

October 1^st is “Coffee Day” in Japan.

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a cantata about coffee between 1732 and 1734.

***Disclaimer: I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided, so please don’t use it in the essay on your European History final. Stick to the material actually covered in class. (For your convenience, I have included links to the pages where I found this fascinating, arbitrary information. If the facts are incorrect, it’s their fault.)