Some Dark, Some Light and Sweet: Fun Facts on Coffee History

This morning as we sipped our coffees, the Doyouremember.com team began to discuss the history of coffee, and how it came to be as popular and so universally renown.

From there, in our caffeinated pursuits, we decided to create a list of fun facts about the rich and creamy world of coffee.

Below are just some facts about coffee history that you have never known about the caffeinated beverage that we all know so well:

• In Turkey, during a wedding, it was required that the groom would have to make a vow to always make sure to provide their wives with coffee. If they didn’t live up to this vow it was considered grounds for divorce. The potential bride is also required to serve coffee to her parents and to her fiancè, as he comes to ask for her hand in marriage; although, she actually has no choice in the outcome of the request-It is up to the taste of the coffee! Her response is, according to tradition within the sweetness or lack thereof of the coffee. Sweet coffee apparently means she is okay with the arrangement while if the coffee is too salty, she is not.

• Although most believe that espresso has about ten times more caffeine than coffee, it in fact has one-third the caffeine of a cup of coffee, simply because of differences in serving size!

• In 1674 a team of angered women in a London formed a group called WPAC (Women’s Petition Against Coffee). These women didn’t approve amount of time their husbands spent in coffee houses rather than being at home.

• Beethoven used to count the number of coffee beans it took to make his coffee. In case you’re wondering, he insisted upon 60 beans per cup.

• The origin of tips, as in what customers give in restaurants for good service, comes from the ye olde coffeehouses of London where there were brass boxes designed with a “$” sign on the front in order to ensure courtesy. This encouraged customers to pay for terrific service. The rest is history.

Here are some other fun facts about coffee history!

• In December of 2001, Brazil produced a postal stamp that smelled like coffee. The stamp was originally designed to promote their coffee and the smell of the stamp is supposed to linger for up to 5 years!

While on the topic of stamps, check out our article on The Ritual Of S&H Green Stamps!

• This one is kind of a life hack: When you sprinkle coffee grounds onto the ground around plants, the garden will cease snails and slugs from getting to/eating the plants.

• Coffee is the second most widely used commodity in the world next to oil, which is first.

• For the beauty fanatics out there, The Japanese believe that if one bathes in coffee grounds sprinkled with the pulp of pineapple, the person will be able to reduce wrinkles and further beautify the skin.

Do you know of any other fun facts about coffee? Post them in the comments below!

RELATED LINKS:

• Ode to Dunkin Donuts
• Welcome to Rue La Rue The Golden Girls Cafe