The most reliable information we have states that the coffee plant was originally from Ethiopia and was discovered in about 500BC. People started to notice effects when consuming the berries. It was taken to Arabia which is where it got its name!



The renaissance saw commercial production of coffee which meant it was worldwide. During the 18th century coffee spread to different countries, particularly Europe, Asia, Americas, the Middle East. It was suddenly a popular drink for every social class.

People started to say that the effects they noticed by drinking coffee were amazing, some of these health benefits were just myth, however others did have some truth in them!

Some scientific studies have noticed that sperm in mammals swim faster and have more energy when they are swimming through a liquid with coffee in it. It is thought that the caffeine in the coffee stimulates them to perform better.

Another Harvard study looked at 100,000 with diabetes and suggested that moderate coffee drinking can reduce the effects of diabetes. Other tests have shown protection against cirrhosis of the liver and even decreasing asthma.

Coffee contains antioxidants which are similar to those found in wine. These are thought to improve the health of your heart. However the problem is that coffee is known to cause some negative effects as well and nobody is sure whether it is beneficial as a whole to drink coffee. Some people have suggested that long term use of coffee can cause to nerve degeneration. If you suddenly stop drinking coffee then your body will crave for caffeine which can result in sleeplessness.

It doesn't really matter whether coffee is good or bad, it's going to stay because it is so popular. This is so certain because of the price. Coffee is the second most expensive commodity, with oil being the first!

Over 400 billion cups of coffee are consumed every year, no matter which country you are in it's extremely popular. It may not be hugely popular, only around 20% of adults drink more than one cup of coffee a day however its sales still total almost $9 billion every year.

If you then go on to consider everything else that a person buys for coffee, including grinders, roasters, brewers, cups and of course the raw beans then it will be a lot more than that.

Coffee is rising in price every year, it is set to have a bright future ahead of it. You can tell just how popular coffee is by the invasion of the coffee shops in all of our high streets! Starbucks have over 10,000 shops!

There are many different ways of drinking coffee, including espresso, straight shots or even double shots. All of these exotic coffees are available from your home coffee machine, whether it's a traditional cofee maker, espresso machine, or a .

You can even make cappuccinos and lattes if you add a few extra ingredients and press a few extra buttons.