International Coffee Day

Coffee in the morning; coffee and a catch up with old friends; going for coffee with your new hot date – we drink coffee morning, day and night with friends, business associates and lovers. You have only to walk down the nearest high street and note the number of coffee chains to realise the extent of our love affair with our favourite caffeinated beverage.

Learn about International Coffee Day

Whether you favour espresso, americanos, lattes or cappuccinos; iced, decaf, instant or filter – Coffee Day is the day to savour and appreciate your beverage, and maybe even pick one up for free at certain chains in the USA.

We all know that coffee tastes amazing. Plus, many of us are aware of the fact that it can give us a much-needed energy boost. After all, this is why we tend to have a cup of coffee first thing in the morning, right? However, did you know that the benefits of coffee extend a lot further than this?

Coffee can help to burn fat, as it can increase your metabolic rate by as much as 11 percent. Coffee also contains a number of essential nutrients, including niacin, magnesium (vitamin B3), potassium, manganese, pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), and riboflavin (vitamin B2). Coffee has also been shown to enhance physical performance drastically!

If that was not enough, coffee is the greatest antioxidant source in the Western Diet. Coffee can also help you to live longer according to a number of different studies, as well as helping to fight depression and making you feel happier. This is something that has been noted in a study that was published by Havard.

History of International Coffee Day

Coffee Day also marks the long history of the drink: the properties of coffee beans are thought to have first been discovered in Ethiopia. The beans are actually the pits found in the coffee berry or cherry. The story goes that a 9th century goat herder noticed their stimulating effects on his goats and began experimenting.

Coffee drinking was originally popularised in the Arab world from around the 15th century spreading across Asia then to Italy and across Europe and to the Americas – and finally to your coffee cup.

Today, coffee is one of the world’s biggest crops so buying ethically grown coffee is all the more important – be sure to be selective in buying your cup of coffee and supporting ethical trade.

So when you drink your cup of coffee today, inhale its aroma, taste it’s dark and full-bodied flavour, think about its story – but most of all enjoy.

How to celebrate International Coffee Day

Of course, the best way to celebrate International Coffee Day is with a delicious cup of coffee! There are so many different types of coffee. You can take your coffee black, and there are lots of different types of coffee, differing in strength and richness. You can then choose from coffees such as lattes, americanos, cappuccinos, and much more! Why not use today to try a specialty coffee from another country, such as Cypriot coffee? A lot of countries have their own special way of preparing this drink, so it is always fun to try something new.

You could also plan an event in honor of International Coffee Day, ensuring you support the industry by renting a coffee van for the occasion. Coffee van rental has become a really sought after service for those looking to run events, conferences, parties or such like. The reasoning is sound: people absolutely love coffee in our modern society. It has gone from being a delicacy or speciality to an everyday substance, and millions of cups are consumed worldwide each and every hour. But is popularity the only benefit?

Not at all. If you’re running a corporate event, coffee can act as a brilliant icebreaker. It allows people who may not normally approach one another to start up a conversation and get networking while waiting for their coffee to be served. If you’re running a booth or stand at an exhibition, an espresso coffee van or cart will attract a high number of possible clients by its smell alone. Your team can introduce themselves, converse or even pitch ideas to potential investors interested in your product or service over freshly brewed beverages. Some coffee providers can even accommodate custom branding, so that the cart, van, stall, espresso cups, napkins and even cupcakes are emblazoned with your company’s logo or message. As you can see, the uses of coffee and the benefits extend a lot further than people realize, and International Coffee Day presents you with the perfect opportunity to make the most of this!

History of International Coffee Day

According to historical records, Coffee is originally from Ethiopia, and its discovery in Africa comes with an interesting story. Around the 700s AD, a herd of goats started acting strangely, almost as if they were dancing. Their owner, Kaldi, discovered that they were eating a sort of red bean and concluded that was the cause of their behavior. Kaldi decided to share his findings with a monk who required something that could help him to stay awake all night as he prayed; but another story claims that the monk refused and threw the beans into the fire and the pleasing aroma that came from it was just wonderful.

Suddenly, coffee made its way through the north into Yemen in the 15 Century where the beans arrived by the name “Mocha.” Shortly after, they became well known in Egypt, Persia, and Turkey as “wine of Araby” and coffee houses started to open by the name of “Schools of the Wise.”

Next, Arabia became the gatekeeper for coffee, and these beans began a large-scale coffee farming in Southern India. In 1560 coffee made its way through Europe and quickly became popular, until Pope Clement VIII decided that the drink must be satanic. Under inspection, he gave into the glory of the beverage by baptism and declared it a Christian drink. As the 1600s rolled on and coffee houses sprung up all over Europe, the beans followed the wave of colonization and found themselves in America.

Finally, after a long time among humanity in 2014, The “International Coffee Organization” declared October 1, as International Coffee Day, an occasion to celebrate coffee as a beverage and raise awareness for the plight of the coffee growers.

International Coffee Day timeline

2014

In Milan, the “International Coffee Organization” set the holiday on October 1 as part of their 2015 Expo.

2012

The largest cup of coffee

According to the 2012 Guinness World Records, the largest cup of joe consisted of 3,487-gallons.

1932

An Olympic athletes' helper

For the 1932 Olympics, Brazil couldn't afford to send their athletes to Los Angeles, so the government loaded them in a ship full of coffee sold to finance the trip.

1511

Mecca Banned Coffee

The city banned coffee because it was believed to stimulate radical thinking and idleness.

International Coffee Day FAQs

But, doesn't coffee has side effects?

Like everything in life, caffeine has side effects that mostly appear if you have way too much. For example, as a stimulant for the central nervous system, caffeine could produce anxiety, rapid heart rate, and insomnia.

How to get involved?

Well, if you are a coffee lover, like almost everyone, just search out for the activities that can be happening around you! But also try to learn more about coffee awareness and share information about the best procedures and methods on your social media.

Can I get addicted to caffeine?

Well, repeated consumption of caffeine can lead to tolerance, which means you need more doses to get the effects, and then to dependency, which involves needing caffeine to ward off withdrawal effects.

5 FACTS ABOUT COFFEE THAT WE ALL NEED TO KNOW

Long live coffee

According to a "Harvard's Health Publishing" study, coffee drinkers tend to live longer, plus they have a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.

A precious treasure

Coffee is the second largest traded commodity right after crude oil, and the most consumed beverage, after water.

The drink for creative and artistic people

Even Beethoven was a coffee lover! It is well known that he used to count his beans before making the brew, mostly 60 per cup.

Not a bean, a berry!

Coffee beans are called "beans" just because of the resemblance, but they’re actually berries.

Coffee resembles a neurotransmitter

For medicine and psychology, caffeine is a central-nervous-system stimulant, and that is because it has a similar molecular structure to the "adenosine", which allows it to bind to "adenosine receptors" on the brain.

International Coffee Day Activities

Let's get culturized

Coffee has been part of Human Civilizations since ancient times, so it’s the perfect day to get to know more about coffee culture! Read some facts and watch some documentaries — you might be surprised to get to know how important coffee has become to humanity.

Rescue traditions

Did you know there are tons of traditions and rituals that ancient civilizations used to do with coffee? You can use it as a beauty treatment, as an insect repeller, as compost or fertilize, to spice your steaks and flavor your food, and much more.

Be Your Own Barista

The coffee industry is huge and thanks to our love for coffee, there are many different ways to prepare the drink. Turn yourself into a barista and learn how to make that complicated drink that you usually go out to order.

Why We Love International Coffee Day

Every society has its coffee tradition

Coffee has been with humanity since ancient times, and every society has a culture that goes from cultivating it to preparing it, so look out for yours and celebrate.

Creates awareness about the coffee process

One of the main objects of this holiday is to create awareness about the process that implicates coffee's production and to promote healthy and safe methods and procedures, not only for humans but also for the planet.

Better than the alarm!

Caffeine is a stimulant that increases activity in the central nervous system. It can increase energy levels and alertness, plus it improves mental performance.

Also on Tue Oct 1, 2024...