5 things you probably didn’t know about coffee

1. Coffee helped Olympic athletes

Brazil couldn’t afford to send its athletes to Los Angeles for the 1932 Olympics, so the government sent them in a ship full of coffee which was sold on the way to finance their trip.

2. Mecca banned coffee

Coffee was banned in Mecca in 1511, quite soon after its first appearance in Ethiopia. It was believed to stimulate radical thinking and idleness.

3. Add cream, keep your coffee warm

Coffee stays warm 20% longer when you add cream. You’ll have to ask a physicist about that one. We reckon it might have something to do with the principle that makes hot water more suitable for making ice cubes than cold water when you’re in a hurry to cool down your fresh beverage.

4. ‘Divorce on account of terrible coffee’

In ancient Arab culture, apparently still applicable in Saudi Arabia, woman can allegedly find legal ‘grounds’ (get it?) for divorce if her husband fails to bring her fresh coffee in the morning.

5. Italian “expresso”

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.