Most folks who love coffee do so because of its aroma and flavor. And some folks simply drink coffee to wake up or stay awake and do not worry about anything except the stimulating effect of the caffeine. But there are many interesting and important things about coffee that it is useful to know. Here are 6 things you maybe did not know about coffee.
1) Coffee Caffeine Content Varies Widely
The first thing to know about coffee caffeine content is the Robusta coffee beans have a much higher caffeine content than Arabica coffee beans. As a rule Robusta caffeine bean content ranges from 2 to 4.5% while Arabica coffee bean content can be as low as 1.1% and rarely goes above 1.7%. Espresso, being a more concentrated coffee has more caffeine than a standard cup of coffee of the same variety.
2) Coffee Is a Fruit
Coffee Beans are Actually Fruit: Coffee beans come from the inside of a coffee cherry, which is a type of fruit. The coffee “bean” is, in fact, a seed. Thus, if you do not roast green coffee beans they can be planted to grow new coffee plants. However, if you are going go this route, soak your green coffee beans for a day in water, make scratches on the bean surface which will help water get into the seed itself. Plant seeds in mildly acidic soil (5.5 to 6.5 pH) at just a quarter of an inch depth.
3) The Leading Coffee Consumers in the World Are the USA and Finland
The country that consumers the most coffee is the USA where total consumption is about three and a quarter billion pounds a year. However, per person the US is not the world leader in coffee consumption. That title goes to Finland where folks consume about twelve kilograms of coffee per person per year or nearly three times as much per person as folks consume in the USA.
4) You Can Freeze Your Coffee Beans
Although green coffee beans properly stored keep their freshness for up to three years, roasted coffee beans keep their freshness only for six months tops. You can increase how long your roasted coffee stays fresh by freezing coffee beans in an airtight container. However, be careful about removing the container, opening it and exposing the beans to rooms temperature air and then putting back in the freezer because this will cause condensation on remaining beans and limit the effectiveness of freezing!
5) Coffee Is the World’s Biggest Source of Antioxidants
The richest sources of antioxidants in our diet are nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices. However, coffee, which is an excellent source of antioxidants, albeit lagging behind other foods, is consumed across the world in such large quantities that coffee is the world’s biggest source of antioxidants. That fact is important because of the many health benefits of coffee such as reducing the risk of Type II diabetes, various types of cancer, heart disease, and degenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases. All of these benefits stem from the excellent supply of antioxidants that we receive from drinking coffee.
6) Coffee Can Make You Perform Better and Live Longer
Studies in which people are tracked for years and their habits as well as health status kept track of have shown us a wide variety of benefits stemming from drinking coffee. As a rule the more coffee you drink, up to six cups a day, the more benefits you receive. An overall benefit for coffee drinkers appears to be a longer life. What studies have shown is that a any given age coffee drinkers will likely live a bit longer than others in their age group who do not drink coffee. Over a lifetime another substantial benefit of drinking coffee is that it has been shown to improve both athletic and sexual performance!