There’s no question that coffee is a beloved beverage across the globe. A lot of people start and end their day with it. Not only that, many consider a tall cup from popular coffee shops their treat for the day.
It’s important to mention as well that workplaces are often equipped with a vending machine of canned or bottled coffee, or their own coffee makers, because workers turn to coffee as their primary energy source for a busy day.
Indeed, coffee is a daily staple in most parts of the world. It’s no wonder so many young people dream of opening their coffee shop and signing up for barista classes in Dubai. Reports reveal that coffee shops make up a large portion of the 100 food and beverage businesses that open every month on average in the city.
Needless to say, Dubai is home to a large population of coffee lovers. If you are one such individual, listed below are 10 fascinating facts about the bean and the brew.
Fact #1: Nobody instantly loves coffee.
Ask coffee lovers about their first experience with coffee, and for sure, they’ll say it wasn’t a good one. The most common thing said about the first sip of coffee is that it’s bitter and has a burnt taste.
Fact #2: The USA, Germany, and Japan are the world’s top consumers of coffee.
Studies reveal that these three countries consume the most coffee in the world. Aside from that, Japan and Germany are also the top consumers of specific bean varieties. For instance, Japan imports around 80 and 90 percent of Jamaica’s Blue Mountain coffee beans. Meanwhile, Germany is quite partial to Arabica coffee beans.
Fact #3: The first canned coffee originated in Japan.
You can always trust Japanese ingenuity to work toward making things optimally convenient. Therefore, it shouldn’t be a big surprise that they are responsible for the first versions of coffee-to-go in the form of canned coffee.
The first canned coffee came out in 1969, and it was by Ueshima Coffee Company (UCC) based in Kobe, Japan. The following year, the company started making their canned coffee available through vending machines.
Fact #4: It’s better to buy coffee in vacuum-packed bags.
You can buy coffee beans in a bag at the local grocers and even from your favorite coffee shop chains. Many of these come in jute, brown paper, and foil bags. However, coffee experts say that it’s better to purchase coffee beans in vacuum-packed packs because this kind of packaging keeps the beans fresh for a much longer time.
Fact #5: Instant coffee first came out in 1901 at the Pan-American Exposition.
The instant coffee that most households around the world consume every day was first introduced to the public at the turn of the 20th century. Satori Kato of Japan brought his instant coffee to the Pan-American Exposition, where the product was warmly received.
However, the product’s success at the expo did not carry over to the public, and instant coffee didn’t become popular until decades later.
Fact #6: Various concoctions and presentations of coffee came about to make it more approachable as a beverage.
As mentioned earlier, most people’s first experience with coffee is usually not a pleasant one. Therefore, companies and coffee masters explored ways to make the beverage more appealing to everyone, and not just an acquired taste.
The best way of doing that was altering the intensity of coffee’s natural flavor with other ingredients. Milk or cream and sugar were the best neutralizers. And to make drinking coffee suitable all year round, iced coffee was introduced as well. This beverage is perfect for countries where it’s warm for the majority of the year or has intense summers.
Fact #7: Financial experts say that young people’s daily coffee fix is one of the contributors to their economic setbacks.
Young people make up a significant percentage of coffee shops’ sales. Not only do they order every day, but they usually go for the biggest servings.
Thus, when computing to determine the average amount of money that this consumer group allocates for their daily caffeine fix in a year, Brit+Co shares astonishing digits. American millennials spend between $1,410 to $2,008 a year on trips to a coffee shop for their caffeine requirements.
Fact #8: The first “coffee makers” came out in the 1800s.
Drip pots for coffee were already around in France during the 1800s. However, the first electric coffee maker only came out in the 1950s in the US.
But along with these brewers, much attention was given to the filters used. Initially, cloth and metal filters were used. There were unique problems with these options. For instance, cloth was a fantastic strainer but quite a hassle to clean. Meanwhile, metal filters allowed a lot of substances to pass through.
As a result, paper filters were invented to address the issues with the two earlier versions. Paper filters for coffee makers or basic drip coffee-making methods offer impressive sifting, yet they are easy to dispose of.
Fact #9: Siphon brewing does not produce the best-tasting coffee.
Although many coffee connoisseurs will firmly stand by the claim that a siphon brewing method produces the best-tasting coffee, expert coffee makers prefer to remain neutral. This is because good taste is relative.
However, there’s no denying that siphon brewing fares better in terms of preserving original coffee flavor because it doesn’t use boiling water, which kills the flavor. Then again, for a lot of people, drinking coffee with toned-down bitterness is the only way to enjoy the brew.
Fact #10: Today’s coffee makers can give coffee shops a run for their money.
Coffee-making technology has developed in leaps and bounds through the years, to the point that you can now produce coffee shop-quality brews right in your own home or office. These coffee makers take care of everything from grinding the beans to brewing the coffee. What machines can’t deliver for now, however, is the artistic presentation that baristas produce for particular concoctions.
The latest versions of these coffee makers link to smartphones. You can switch your coffee maker on with an app and brew coffee remotely. What’s more, through the coffee maker app, you can access coffee recipes from famous baristas, and the coffee maker will brew coffee following these recipes. And best of all, you can customize these recipes to suit your taste.
There you have them: 10 interesting coffee facts for true coffee lovers. You stand to learn much more if you take a professional coffee making course. The program will cover everything about the beans and brew, so you can further explore coffee’s potential. You’ll become a coffee expert after taking the course and gathering all the necessary knowledge to become a barista, a coffee master taster, or “cafelier,” as preferred by renowned food writer, Al Franco.
AUTHOR BIO
Shanaaz Raja is the Course Director at International Centre for Culinary Arts – ICCA Dubai.