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Coffee & Cafe Fun Facts
What's in a Word - Cafe & Coffee
In the United States, a cafe generally refers to a small establishment that serves beverages, baked goods and a limited selection of meals. But technically cafe is from the French word for coffee - which would make "coffee and cafe chronicles" repetitively redundant haha.
The word café is French, which comes from the Italian caffè, which comes from the Turkish kahve, which comes from the Arabic qahwa. (Notice the French has an acute accent symbol and the Italian a grave above the e)
Source: Wictionary
A Tale of Bean Seeds
Once upon a time there was a seed, a seed within a fruit, that came to be known as a bean...
What is referred to as a coffee bean is actually a seed - a seed that looks more like a bean than a seed which is probably why it became labeled as a coffee bean. It is a seed of the fruit called the "coffee cherry" that grows on the coffee tree native to Africa.
Hmm... this brings on an inspiration for a quick quirky poem:
This is the seed
that became known as a bean
that contains the caffeine
to give oh so much energy
Oh haha heehee!
< Further notes on beans and seeds >
A bean is a specific type of seed, associated with the legume plant family, and almost all beans grow in pods. A seed is a more general term for a plant embryo encased in a protective layer with food for the plant to grow. So all beans are seeds but not all seeds are beans. Therefore what is referred to as a coffee bean is merely a seed, not a bean seed.
Another fun fact regarding beans and seeds > a vanilla bean is not a bean, and neither is a cocoa bean!
What is referred to as a vanilla bean is the fruit of a type of orchid, which resembles a slender pod with many small seeds inside.
What is referred to as a cocoa bean is the seed of the Theobroma cacao tree. The fruit of the cacao tree is called a pod, and inside this pod are the seeds, which have come to be called cocoa beans. And further fun fact > the term cacao refers to seeds that are not roasted, and cocoa is made of seeds that are roasted.
Hot Commodity Coffee
Coffee is a hot commodity worldwide (excuse the pun - and yes of course coffee can be iced as well as hot which would make this not so punny), coming in second place, right behind oil.
Source: Luigi Odello, Why We Love Coffee: Fun Facts, History and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drink