Coffee Facts That You Didn’t Know About – Adding More to Your Morning Cuppa

It was no explorer or great Pandith who discovered coffee. It was, in fact, a simple Ethiopian goatherd who discovered the beans. Kaldi as he was said to be named, noticed the rather skittish behaviour of his goats, once they had eaten the beans. Thus, Kaldi decided to experiment and discovered coffee! Of course, you could argue that it was the goats who first enjoyed the great pick-me-up properties of coffee. And indeed, coffee has come a long way since its humble beginnings. Today, even tea-drinking nations like Sri Lanka are seeing an increase in coffee drinkers. And coffee suppliers in Sri Lanka are growing as well. Today, the island boasts several local coffee suppliers as well as well-established international coffee traders like Fits Retail, bringing the world's best coffee in terms of quality and flavour to the sunny island.

Mocha is the name of a city in Yemen. It was a port city where the first batch of coffee was shipped out to the rest of the world. According to legend, the coffee beans produced in Yemen had a distinct chocolatey flavour to them. And to this day, chocolatey coffee drinks are called 'mocha'.

Of all the different varieties of coffee grown across the world, the two most popular varieties are Robusta and Arabica. 98% of green coffee produced across the world are made from the above two varieties of coffee. These are cultivated at elevations of 2,200 metres and handpicked. Arabica is the most sought for its superior flavour; this distinction is attributed to the higher elevations offering cooler climates, which in turn allows the coffee bean to mature at a slower pace, thus, enhancing its aroma, flavour, and that mild acidic flair. For instance, some of the finest brands like Dallmayr Coffee, Sri Lanka is privileged to savour is manufactured from Arabica beans, which are sourced from the finest coffee-producing nations such as Ethiopia.

A pound of coffee is said to need about 2,500 gallons of water for it to be processed. It is quite a lot but well worth the trouble to produce the world's favourite drink.

While we savour the flavours of the finest coffee varieties, it has been found that the Ethiopian forests harbour many other varieties of coffee, which the world is yet to savour.

Did you know that a coffee plant can survive for over 200 years? Coffee sprouts look like little bean plants until they grow into larger bushes and hang around for over two centuries.

This is because coffee is mostly harvested once a year, although some varieties do have two harvests a year. Thus, coffee roasters will buy an entire year's supply of the coffee bean and preserve it via special methods. Harvested beans are shipped out immediately without any delays, although they may remain in warehouses for longer periods.