Well we’re in day three of the Coffee Trivia marathon. I’ve explained in detail all of my past addictions, MY history with coffee over the years and finally today I’ll address my current coffee situation.

“I never drink coffee at lunch. I find it keeps me awake for the afternoon.” ~Ronald Reagan

I’m in the throes of a weight-loss program which while needed is nonetheless annoying and difficult. The diet I’ve been restricted to is not easy and leaves me very few food items that are fulfilling and satisfying. I kid people when I tell them my diet consists of radishes, pudding, cashews, cereal, water, and above all coffee.  Coffee is and remains my one luxury item and regardless of what any Doctor tells me it will be the last thing I ever give up.

That being said, I’d like introduce you to my two new best friends. My weight-loss program would never be as successful as it’s been without these devices.

They allow me the luxury of a large number of options in preparing my coffee and it’s helped me work through this ungodly diet.  As you can also see the variety of coffee’s available is incredible and I’m really enjoying tasting as many different types and styles as I can find.

So now I’ll continue my seemingly endless list of coffee trivia.  I hope you’ve learned a little about coffee and it’s tremendous effect on the world’s economy as well as the huge number of employees it supports worldwide. It appears I’m not the only coffee addict on this planet.  I’m just one of many millions who loves the bean.  Enjoy.

“Still One of the Best”

• 65 countries in the world grow coffee. They are all along the equator, within the tropics.
• After they are roasted, and when the coffee beans begin to cool, they release about 700 chemical substances that make up the vaporizing aromas.
• Beethoven who was a coffee lover, was so particular about his coffee that he always counted 60 beans each cup when he prepared his brew.
• Before roasting, some green coffee beans are stored for years, and experts believe that certain beans improve with age, when stored properly.
• Before the first French cafe in the late 1700’s, coffee was sold by street vendors in Europe, in the Arab fashion. The Arabs were the forerunners of the sidewalk espresso carts of today.
• Brazil accounts for almost 1/3 of the world’s coffee production, producing over 3-1/3 billion pounds of coffee each year.
• In 1675 Charles II, King of England issued a proclamation banning Coffee Houses. He said that they were places where people met to plot against him.
• 30% of coffee drinkers in US added a sweetener of some kind to their coffee, compared with 57% in UK.
• October 1st is official “Coffee Day” in Japan.
• Scientists have discovered more than 800 different aromatic compounds in coffee.

“The more complicated the order, the bigger the asshole. If you walk into a Starbucks and order a ‘decaf grandee, half soy, half low-fat, iced vanilla, double-shot, gingerbread cappuccino, extra dry, light ice, with one Sweet-n’-Low and one NutraSweet,’ ooooh, you’re a huge asshole.” ~ George Carlin

• Black coffee with no sugar contains no calories.
• Coffee represents 75% of all the caffeine consumed in the United States.
• Coffee sacks are usually made of hemp and weigh approximately 132 pounds when they are full of green coffee beans. It takes over 600,000 beans to fill a coffee sack.
• Coffee trees are evergreen and grow to heights above 15 feet but are normally pruned to around 8 feet in order to facilitate harvesting.
• Coffee trees are self-pollinating.
• Coffee trees produce highly aromatic, short-lived flowers producing a scent between jasmine and orange. These blossoms produce cranberry-sized coffee cherries. It takes four to five years to yield a commercial harvest.
• 75% of the world’s coffee comes from the Coffea Arabica plant.
• Drinking a single cup of coffee that has been brewing for 20 minutes provides the body with 300 phytochemicals which act as antioxidants and stay in the body for up to a month.
• In days gone by, Turkish bridegroom had to promise that they would always provide their new wives with coffee.
• Worldwide, more 1400 millions cups of coffee are drunk every day.

This will be the final installment of the Coffee Trivia postings.  I have to admit that I’ve collected enough information for a few more but I don’t want to overdue it. Possibly in the near future I’ll put together additional ones but I’ll let enough time pass so as not to bore everyone.

MORE TO COME EVENTUALLY