Coffee Facts Every Coffee Drinker Should Know

We LOVE craft coffee and are fortunate to have excellent coffee roasters, brewers, and shops in Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins.

Here are some fun talking points our Coffee Tour guests discuss while on tour with us.

  • Coffee is the number two traded commodity on the New York Stock Exchange under oil.
  • Coffee grows in between the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer, the tropical belt.
  • The “bean” is not actually a bean, but a seed.
  • The seed is found inside the coffee cherry.
  • The coffee cherry grows on short shrubs or small trees, and should be picked when ripe.
  • The cherries are then either washed off to allow the seeds to dry, or are dried on the seed and removed later. These produce two different styles of coffee: Washed and Unwashed
  • Washed coffee typically has a less fruity flavor.
  • Unwashed beans absorb some of the bright fruity notes from the cherries.
  • Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee.
  • Legend says goats eating coffee cherries had extra energy, which led people to be interested in the cherries.
  • There are more flavors that can be distinguished in coffee than in wine.
  • We’re currently experiencing what’s been termed the third wave of coffee.
  • Cacao pods grow in the same regions as coffee, but at lower altitudes.
  • The cacao “bean” is also not a bean, but a seed.
  • Both coffee and chocolate are fermented foods.