Did you know that coffee is the second largest trade commodity in the world after petroleum? We have compiled some fun facts to let you know more about that elixir you brew each morning!

• It takes five years for a coffee tree to reach maturity. The average yield from one tree is the equivalent of one roasted pound of coffee.
• Although coffee was introduced in Europe as early as 1608 as a beverage for the rich, the first public coffee house in Europe opened in Venice in 1683.
• The expression "a cup of Joe" to denote coffee was first coined during WWII, when American servicemen (G.I. Joe) were identified as big coffee drinkers.
• Brazil is the largest coffee producing nation and is responsible for 30 to 40% of total world production.
• Coffee cherries usually contain two "beans", except for the single bean peaberry. Cherries with three beans are deemed to be a sign of good luck.
• Over 53 countries grow coffee and all of them lie along the equator between the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn.
• An acre of coffee trees can produce up to 10,000 pounds of coffee cherries. That amounts to approximately 2,000 pounds of beans after hulling or milling.
• With the exception of Hawaii and Puerto Rico, no coffee is grown in the United States or its territories.
• Each year some 7 million tons of green beans are produced world wide, most of which is hand picked.
• 27% of U.S. coffee drinkers and 43% of German drinkers add a sweetener to their coffee.
• The popular trend towards flavored coffees originated in the United States during the 1970s.
• Coffee was introduced to Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks. The world’s first coffee shop, Kiv Han, opened there in 1475. Turkish law made it legal for a woman to divorce her husband if he failed to provide her with her daily quota of coffee.
• In 1912 the New York Stock Exchange banned Robusta beans, calling it “a practically worthless bean.”