without that cup in the morning. Even though there are new additions and
varieties nothing stops this trend. It has been since the day of its discovery.
The first place coffee was consumed was in Africa. It is said a goatherd saw his
goats eating some berries and acting quite funny. He tried out some berries
himself and found it quite refreshing.The word spread quickly and soon this
berry was being cultivated in the Arabian Peninsula. Today' largest producer of
coffee, Brazil started growing coffee in the 1700's whereas it was introduced in
Europe in 1600's. In 1901 instant coffee was invented, decaffeinated in 1903 and
freeze dried in 1938. Today coffee is the largest commodity second only to
petroleum.It might sound surprising but statistics say an average person
consumes over 10 pounds of coffee in a year and about half of the US population
partakes the beverage - worldwide yearly consumption adds up to over 400 billion
cups! Most of the consumption is during breakfast and 35% prefer to have black
coffee. Tea used to the favourite beverage but coffee seems to have displaced it
- especially after the Boston Tea Party and considered very patriotic to drink
coffee instead of tea!Columbia and Brazil accounts for the production of ¾'s of
the world coffee and it is mostly hand picked there. It is a seed of the berry
and the unroasted coffee can last up to 2 years. Coffee is best when consumed
directly after roasting as the flavour decreases once you roast it. Refrigeration
does not help in keeping them fresh as most people believe and it might even
taste strange as the roasted coffee will readily absorb the flavours from other
foods. The coffee beans have different varieties and flavours and the growing
conditions affect the flavour of the coffee. To yield about 130 pounds of green
coffee beans you need to cultivate 100 Arabica bushes. Coffee is of great use
for us - It contains anti oxidants as well as minerals all which help in the
prevention of some disease or the other. The risk of diabetes and Parkinson's
disease is thought to have decreased by drinking coffee. . It has bacteria
fighting elements that can help fight tooth decay. Some if its anti oxidants
stimulate enzymes that may protect against colon cancer. All of us know that
caffeine in coffee can help us keep alert and help in concentrating better. It
also relieves symptoms of asthma by dilating bronchial tubes and gets rid of
tension headaches.