Cafe Britt vs Bean Box

Why do people love coffee?

Are you one of the millions of Americans who start your day with a cup of coffee? This delicious beverage has been enjoyed around the globe for thousands of years. In fact, the history of coffee dates back to ancient Ethiopia. There, a goat herder observed his goats' sleeplessness at night after they ate the fruit from a specific tree. This ultimately led to the discovery that the fruit, which was coffee beans, provided a long-lasting energy boost to humans as well as animals. As word spread through the Arabian Peninsula and far beyond about the energy boost the beans provided, the popularity of coffee soared. The beverage was part of a morning ritual in many homes by the 15th century, and it was even enjoyed in public coffee houses hundreds of years ago.

While the popularity of foods and beverages waxes and wanes, coffee has proven that it has true staying power in cultures around the world. What has contributed to the continued popularity of coffee? This beverage has several notable traits that combine to make it unlike any other.

A Boost of Energy

Do you reach for a cup of coffee first thing in the morning to get your juices flowing? The average cup of coffee has far more caffeine than a cup of tea, so it is the perfect pick-me-up that enables you to hit the ground running. As a natural stimulant, the caffeine in a cup of coffee can give you a much-needed boost of energy. This may be why many people reach for their coffeepot first thing in the morning. They may also enjoy a copy of coffee immediately after lunch to have energy for the rest of their workday.

Notably, the caffeine in coffee does more than help you to feel more energetic. It can improve focus and alertness so that coffee drinkers can perform better at work and in other areas of life. The caffeine in a cup of coffee also plays a role in overall mental function, memory, mood and even metabolism. Because of the wide range of effects, many people simply have become accustomed to performing at a certain level and to deriving some of their daily energy from their morning or midday cup of coffee.

Caffeine can be addictive, but it is completely safe for most people to drink. If you enjoy the effects that coffee has on your energy level, mood and more on a daily basis, you may have developed an addiction to it. However, because of how positive the effects of coffee are on many aspects of your health and life, this is an addiction that you can feel great about satisfying on a daily basis.

A Daily Ritual

Humans are generally creatures of habit. We find comfort in routine. For many people who drink coffee, preparing coffee each morning is part of a daily ritual. This extends to smelling the coffee beans or grounds before the coffee starts to brew, listening to the familiar sounds from your coffeemaker and preparing the perfect cup with all of your favorite accompaniments. Well before the coffee hits your lips, you may derive pleasure from the ritual.

Of course, the practice of drinking coffee is also a part of many people's routines. Do you enjoy your steaming cup of coffee while you navigate through traffic on the way to work, while you are reading the morning paper or while you are browsing through emails and gearing up for a busy day at the office? If you are like many people, drinking coffee is as much a part of your daily routine as brushing your teeth, making the bed and putting your shoes on.

The ritual of drinking coffee may extend to the late afternoon and evening for some people. Because of the caffeine in coffee, some people avoid drinking it later in the day. However, the availability of decaffeinated coffee means that people can enjoy the many benefits of coffee at any hour of the day without concern.

Delicious Flavors

While some people prefer their coffee strong and black, there are many ways to dress up your favorite drink. Coffee beans are grown in areas around the world. Everything from where they are grown to how they are roasted, ground up and brewed will affect their flavor. On top of that, there are numerous types of coffee drinks that you can enjoy. Some people simply enjoy adding milk, cream or sugar to black coffee. Others love lattes, mochas, espressos and other beverages that are specially prepared. While warm or hot coffee is common, iced coffee is increasingly popular as well.

Some coffee beans are flavored, but there are other ways to add flavor to the beverage. For example, some coffeehouses add flavored syrups to warm or iced coffee upon request. There are also a seemingly endless number of flavored creamers that you can enjoy at home or at a coffee house. Some flavors are seasonal, such as peppermint cream or pumpkin spice. Others are popular year-round, such as Irish cream and hazelnut. With so many different ways to enjoy coffee, most people may easily have at least a few favorites that enjoy treating themselves to regularly.

A Social Community

Coffee has become such an important aspect of millions of people's daily lives that it has been adopted as part of the culture in many countries. This may have started hundreds of years ago at the first public coffeehouses, but it continues in a wide range of social environments today. For example, you and your coworkers may regularly meet up in the break room to enjoy a cup of java and good conversation. For some people, grabbing a cup of coffee is the perfect first date. It is casual, enjoyable and promotes a get-to-know-you conversation. Coffee is also enjoyed among friends, neighbors, and business partners at local coffee joints.

Of course, you do not need to step out of the house to enjoy the social aspect of coffee. Families may enjoy chatting over their morning coffee before they start their day. Dinner with extended family members may not be complete without coffee and dessert. The drink can be enjoyed over a deep conversation between great friends or over casual, light-hearted banter, so it is the perfect drink for camaraderie.

Health Benefits

While some of the benefits or attributes of coffee have been well-known for hundreds of years, the health benefits of coffee have only been discovered relatively recently. Coffee beans are loaded with potassium, magnesium, riboflavin and antioxidants. While some foods and beverages lose the potency of their nutritional benefits during the cooking or preparation process, this is not the case with coffee. A cup of coffee is packed with these same nutrients. Together, the benefits can do everything from promoting cardiovascular health and reducing depression to staving off a wide range of serious diseases. These include liver disease and cancer, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, diabetes and more. While many people may drink coffee for the pick-me-up it delivers and because they love the taste, the health benefits make this a beverage that you can feel good about enjoying on a daily basis.

While coffee is not universally enjoyed by all, it has been wildly popular in the U.S. and far beyond for centuries. Because of its extensive range of benefits and the wide range of prep methods available, it likely will continue to be both a quiet aspect of daily rituals and an important aspect of broader social interactions for many centuries to come.