Coffee is the worlds favorite drink and many people can't even get through the first hour of the day without a cup. With all the new coffee drinks coming out it seems that there's no stopping the trend. Even from the very first day it was discovered, coffee a favorite drink of mankind.

It is thought that the first place coffee was consumed was in Africa where it is said a goatherd saw his goats acting frisky after eating some berries. When he tried the berries himself he noticed he had renewed energy. Needless to say word spread quickly and before you know it they were being cultivated in the Arabian Peninsula. Coffee was introduced in Europe in the 1600's and they started growing coffee in Brazil (where most of it is grown today) in the 1700's. Instant coffee was invented in 1901, decaffeinated in 1903 and freeze dried in 1938. Today, coffee is the second largest commodity after petroleum!

The average person drinks over 10 pounds of it a year and about half of the US population partakes of the beverage - worldwide yearly consumption adds up to over 400 billion cups! Half of the consumption occurs at breakfast and 35% drink it black. Coffee has displaced tea as a favorite beverage - in fact it was quite popular after the Boston Tea Party and considered very patriotic to drink coffee instead of tea!

Almost ¾'s of the worlds coffee comes from Columbia and Brazil where it is mostly hand picked. It is a the seed of a berry and green coffee (unroasted coffee) can last up to 2 years - once you roast it, however, it starts going downhill rapidly so coffee is best when consumed directly after roasting. Contrary to popular belief, refrigeration does not keep it from getting stale and in fact can make it taste strange as the roasted coffee will readily absorb the flavors from other foods. Coffee beans have different flavors and growing conditions affect flavor as well. 100 Arabica bushes will yield about 130 pounds of green coffee beans.

Coffee is good for you! It contains anti oxidants as well as minerals all of which are thought o help in the prevention of some disease. In fact, drinking coffee is thought to decrease the risk of diabetes and Parkinsons disease. It has bacteria fighting elements that can help fight tooth decay and some if its anti oxidants are thought to stimulate enzymes that may protect against colon cancer. It is well known that the caffeine in coffee can help keep you alert and aid in concentration, but it can also help relieve the symptoms of asthma by dilating bronchial tubes and get rid of tension headaches.