Coffee, anyone?

Growing up, I never did drink any coffee (or any of those hot drinks for that matter). I simply cannot “tahan” as a sip will resulted with me throwing up big time. So I only drink air kosong and fruit juices. Until I went to college where somehow, almost everybody drank coffee especially during exam weeks. As I wanted to be part of the “in” caffeine crowd (and I don’t smoke either, also cannot tahan), slowly I attempted to drink coffee. I started off with black coffee first (as coffee with milk still made my stomach queasy), and not long after I became a serious coffee drinker.

Then when I was already working, Delifrance opened in Klang Valley and along with it, I was introduced to Cappucino. And ever since, I became a Cappucino lover as well (but espresso never grow on me). Then when I got married, I found the beautiful woman I’m married to is a Nescafe addict. Wow. For the first few years of our marriage, she needed her Nescafe fix every morning but the wife has somehow managed to shake off the habit as now a sip of Nescafe would send her into severe gastric condition. I guess, it’s good for her!!!

As for me, today I’m a full fledged coffee drinker. I don’t see myself as coffee addict though as I drink only ice coffee in the morning, afternoon and at night. (sounds like in denial right?). But I don’t go for gourmet coffee la (of Starbucks variety)... that’s too damn expensive for me.

Which bring me to this site http://www.squidoo.com/coffeefacts. Yep, that's right. The site features trivia about coffee. Imagine, coffee has influenced me so much so that I even google coffee in my spare time.

Anyway, like me, perhaps you can use these facts to impress your friends and family, probably. But, be prepared for their response being "get a life!"

Some of the interesting facts found in the website are:

* Only 27% of US coffee drinkers add a sweetener to their coffee (remembered once when I was on assignment in Hawaii, a nice American PR lady asked me how do I take my coffee. I answered,” Black, please!”. She then handed me the most bitter coffee I’ve ever tasted - kalau ya pun bubuh la sikit gula).
* The world's largest coffee producer is Brazil with over 3,970 million coffee trees.(okay I learned this like 30 years ago in Ilmu Alam)
* Coffee beans are really berries
* Most coffee is transported by ships. Currently there are approximately 2,200 ships involved in transporting coffee beans each year. (really!???)
* Over 53 countries grow coffee worldwide, but all of them lie along the equator between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. (Malaysia is one of them, right?)
* Cowboys made their coffee by putting ground coffee into a clean sock and immerse it in cold water and heat it over a campfire. When ready, they would pour the coffee into tin cups and drink it. (eeewwww)
* Both the American Revolution and the French Revolution were born in coffee houses. (imagine a local revolution begins from a White Coffee Kopitiam)
* Turkish bridegrooms were once required to make a promise during their wedding ceremonies to always provide their new wives with coffee. If they failed to do so, it was grounds for divorce (pardon the pun).

Now, I’m thirsty oredy. Let’s go and have a cuppa?