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Coffee Day: Five surprising facts

1-10-2022

Translation: machine translated

People have been drinking coffee for over 800 years. For less than ten years, we have been celebrating the "International Coffee Day" on 1 October. I'll give you five facts about the second most important holiday after World Cat Day.

Coffee has only been celebrated on 1 October since 2015. Before that, there were already local holidays in honour of the black drink in various countries. Seven years ago, however, the "International Coffee Organisation" poured pure ~~Wein~~ coffee into all the splinter groups and set the highly official, internationally chartered "Day of Coffee" on 1 October.

If your local roastery hasn't forgotten, they have some goodies or free tastings ready on 1 October. I'll give you five fun facts on the subject to show off at your next party. You'll probably kill the conversation in the best smart-ass manner. I've warned you
.

1. Only Brazil exports more coffee than Switzerland

Brazil is the number one coffee country. Nowhere else do more beans grow, most of which are destined for export and end up in our cups. It is therefore obvious that Brazil is the world's largest exporter of coffee with a trade volume of over 4 billion Swiss francs. Switzerland follows right behind, exporting coffee worth 2.5 billion Swiss francs in 2020. And this despite the fact that we cannot grow any coffee at all because the climate is far too cool. The reason for the huge export volumes is above all the success of Nespresso. The capsules are produced in Switzerland and then exported. Maybe Switzerland will even overtake Brazil soon, thanks to Migros' coffee balls.

Coffee capsule systems

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CoffeeB Globe

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2. Coffee from the EU

No coffee grows in our latitudes. It needs the right climate to do so, and that is found around the equator in the "coffee belt". Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia are the three largest coffee producers. Nevertheless, there are also coffee beans from the EU. Smaller quantities of coffee are produced on plantations on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria and on the Portuguese Azores, but they rarely find their way to the mainland. They tend to pass for curiosities in the coffee world.

3. From Manchester to London by fuel coffee

Coffee fuel also passes for a curiosity. But in 2010, a car actually drove the 340-kilometre route from Manchester to London, powered only by coffee. For the literal coffee trip, coffee grounds were burnt to produce flammable gases. These powered the car. Another idea is to make biodiesel from the coffee grounds. In particular, the waste produced in the manufacture of instant coffee contains up to 30 per cent oils that can be recycled into biodiesel. In 2017, the oil company Shell had London double-decker buses running on coffee diesel for publicity purposes. However, the fuel has not caught on because its production is expensive. The oil from coffee grounds is difficult to extract and purify.

4. Petroleum and then coffee?

The rumour persists that coffee is the most traded product in the world after crude oil. But the fact is: crude oil generated 788 billion dollars in turnover in 2015, while green coffee, at 20 billion, is far behind aluminium, copper and other ores. This means that the claim "coffee is the second most important commodity in the world" is simply wrong. Even if we add the sales of processed coffee, the trade volume is "only" $350 billion.

Rohkaffee in Säcken bei ViCafe in Zürich. Bild: Simon Balissat

5. Coffee revenuers, on the trail of crime

Finally, a short excursion into history, namely to Prussia. In order to raise money and to discourage his subjects from drinking coffee, the Prussian King Frederick II imposed high taxes on the import of coffee from 1780 onwards. Roasting was a state task, coffee could only be bought from the state roaster at an extortionate price. People were supposed to drink beer instead of coffee, so the farmers would also earn money from the malt. Hardly anyone could afford coffee and so the smuggling of green coffee from Hamburg, which was illegally roasted in their own homes, flourished. Of course, the monarch did not like this at all, as a lot of money was being smuggled past the tax authorities. Without further ado, he hired some 400 uniformed war invalids as coffee sniffers to put an end to the frivolous goings-on with their fine noses.

I end this text with a quotation that is so true. I wrote this text with several double espressos in no time at all.

Kaffee ist das schwarze Öl, das allein diese phantastische Arbeitsmaschine immer wieder in Gang bringt.

Honoré de Balzac

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Simon Balissat

Teamleader Editorial

Simon.Balissat@digitecgalaxus.ch

When I flew the family nest over 15 years ago, I suddenly had to cook for myself. But it wasn’t long until this necessity became a virtue. Today, rattling those pots and pans is a fundamental part of my life. I’m a true foodie and devour everything from junk food to star-awarded cuisine. Literally. I eat way too fast.

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Coffee Day: Five surprising facts

1. Only Brazil exports more coffee than Switzerland

2. Coffee from the EU

3. From Manchester to London by fuel coffee

4. Petroleum and then coffee?

5. Coffee revenuers, on the trail of crime

4 comments

4 comments