The word espresso comes from Italian and means “expressed” or “forced out”. Espresso is made by forcing very hot water under high pressure through finely ground, compacted coffee.
Coffee beans grow on a bush. They are actually the pit of a berry, which makes them a fruit. There are two main varieties of beans, green and red.
Beethoven was such an ardent coffee lover that he’d count 60 beans per cup before making his brew.
Arabica coffee was originally cultivated on the Arabian Peninsula, hence the name. Robusta coffee is a more hardy plant but contains double the amount of caffeine.
Legend has it that 9th-century goat herders noticed the effect caffeine had on their goats, who appeared to “dance” after eating the fruit of the Coffea plant. A local monk then made a drink with the produce and found that it kept him awake at night, thus the original cup of coffee was born.
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I love a good cappuccino!