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Coffee beans are technically seeds.
They're the pits of the cherry-like berries found on the flowering shrubs, but we call them "beans" because of the resemblance to legumes.
** you can eat coffee cherries as a food.**
Early on, people mixed coffee berries with fat to create an energy-rich snack ball, according to PBS. They would also ferment the pulp to make a wine-like drink (yum!?)
There are two main types: Arabica and Robusta.
Growers predominantly plant the Arabica species. Although less popular, Robusta tastes slightly more bitter and contains more caffeine.
Brazil grows the most coffee in the world.
Today, Brazil produces about third of the world's supply, according to the International Coffee Organization, about twice as much as the second place holder, Vietnam.
Only two U.S. states produce coffee.
Kona coffee is the United States' gift to the coffee world. Because coffee traditionally grows best in climates along the equator, Hawaii's weather is optimal for harvesting beans. California also recently got into the coffee game with dozens of farms now churning out pricey premium bags.
Espresso means "pressed out" in Italian
This refers to the way espresso is made — forcing boiling water through pressed coffee grounds. And although espresso has more caffeine per volume than coffee, it would take three shots to equal the amount in a regular cup of joe.
The world's most expensive coffee can cost more than $600 a pound
One of the most coveted varieties comes from the feces of an Asian palm civet. The cat-like creature eats fruit including coffee cherries, but is unable to digest the beans. The excreted seeds produce a smooth, less acidic brew called kopi luwak, but the means of production has drawn criticism from animal welfare activists.
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Multiple people have tried to ban coffee.
Back in 1511, leaders in Mecca believed it stimulated radical thinking and outlawed the drink. Some 16th-century Italian clergymen also tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be "satanic." However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.