There's an Awful Lot of Coffee in Brazil Quiz

Answer: Ethiopia

The coffee plant is a native of Ethiopia. The legend surrounding it says that an Ethiopian sheep/goat herder, named Kaldi, noticed that his animals became hyperactive after eating the 'red cherries' that grew in a particular area. He tried a few himself, and it had the same effect.

The story goes on to say that a passing monk scolded him for eating 'the devil's fruit', but they soon found out that the berries helped them to stay awake for prayers.

Answer: Arabs

Coffee spread to the Arab world via Yemeni traders. It was very quickly planted in large numbers and the first coffee plantations appeared around 1000AD. The peoples of the Arab world are recorded as boiling the beans to produce a drink which was called qahwa.

This may be a truncated form of qahhwat al-bun, which has been translated as 'wine of the bean'. The word qahwa has also been translated as 'that which prevents sleep'. It is believed that from this word came the Turkish kahve, which gave the Italians the word caffè, which gave rise to coffee.

Answer: False

The first ever coffee shop is recorded as being opened in Constantinople. It was called Kiva Han, and opened in 1475. A Turkish law from that time made it legal for a woman to divorce her husband if he failed to provide her with daily quota of coffee.

Answer: John Smith

Captain John Smith is reported as introducing coffee to the New World as early as 1607. This is the same John Smith that helped found the colony of Virginia. Some Canadian historians dispute this fact and claim that coffee first arrived on the continent in Canada which had been colonized before America.

Answer: True

Edward Lloyd opened a coffee house in Tower Street, London, in 1688. It was frequented by merchants and maritime insurance agents. In late 1691 the shop was moved to Lombard Street. Even after Lloyd's death in 1713, the meetings continued until, in 1774, The Society of Lloyd's moved to The Royal Exchange.

Answer: Guiana

In 1727 Lieutenant Colonel Francisco de Melo Palheta was dispatched by the Brazilian ruler to settle a border dispute between the French and the Dutch. Not only did he resolve the problem, he also formed a relationship with the wife of the French Governor.

As a leaving present she gave him a bunch of flowers that contained fertile coffee plant seedlings. As with most history, there is a second version that says he was sent to 'steal' some coffee plants.

Answer: Satori Kato

Satori Kato was a Japanese-American chemist. There are conflicting accounts as to when he first produced 'soluble' instant coffee. It was, however, first exhibited at a Pan American World Fair. In 1906, an American inventor named George Washington, created the first mass produced version of instant coffee.

Answer: Brazil

Brazil is still one of the largest producers of coffee beans. As of early 2008, Brazil still grows 25% of the world's production. The majority of Brazilian coffee beans are of the Arabica variety, rather than the Robusta. Robusta beans are grown at a lower altitude and have a higher caffeine content. Arabica beans, which are considered to be superior, have a lower caffeine content, but tend to be more acidic.

Answer: Kopi Luwak

Kopi Luwak is a coffee that is made from Indonesian beans that have passed through the digestive system of the Palm Civet. The animal, apparently, eats the outer coating of the bean, and then excretes the inner part undamaged. Something happens to the bean as it passes through the digestive system of the animal that gives the bean a particular flavour.
Kopi is the local Indonesian word for coffee, and Luwak is the local name for the Palm civet.

Answer: Robusta

Robusta beans tend to thrive at the lower altitudes. They have a higher caffeine content but a lower acidity. Despite this, they only account for around 30% of world production. Arabica beans, as the name suggests, are descended from the original plants of Ethiopia and the Arabian peninsular.

They have a lower caffeine content and are the beans that are preferred for the better types of fresh ground coffee. Because the Arabica lacks the 'body' of the Robusta, some producers add a small percentage to the final mix.