10 Things I Just Learned About Coffee
1. Oneespressohas 2 calories.
2. The word ‘coffee’ is pronounced almost the same in every language around the world.
3. After water, coffee is the second most widely-consumed beverage in the world. (Tea is a close third.)
4. When you drink coffee, your brain shrinks a little, which is why some advise drinking coffee if you have a headache.
5. When making anespresso, 65% of the caffeine is extracted from the beans, whereas the French-press method of making coffee extracts 98% of the caffeine.
6. There are two hundred flavors components present in raw (green) coffee beans, but roasted beans have over two thousand present.
7. The first steam-pressuredespressomachine was invented by a Frenchman in 1901.
8. In Italy, 80% of the coffee consumed isespressowhile the other 20% are milk-based coffee drinks likecappucino.
Outside of Italy, those numbers are reversed.
9. Theespresso-pod of coffee was invented in 1973 by Illy coffee.
10. 52% of all coffee imported into Italy comes through Trieste, whose harbor is almost entirely dedicated to coffee importation.
Speaking of coffee, I just returned from a visit toIllywhere I was their guest at theirUniversità del Caffèwhere I learned the art of makingespresso. I had hands-on lessons from their expertbarista,Michele Pauleticand delved into the craft of extracting the perfect little cup of true Italianespresso. Excuse the little bit of hyperbole, but it was truly a life-changing experience. And although I merely scratched the surface of understanding this complex drink, I have a much better understanding of what coffee is and how to get the best cup possible.
As soon as I come down from the buzz I got from all that coffee (one day I counted I had 9 cups ofespresso), I’ll be focusing more on what I saw and learned…and I invite you to come along in the next few installments here, from my trip to Trieste.