Coffee has fueled revolutions, insurance empires, and at least one landmark moment in internet history — not bad for a seed we set on fire and soak in water. Cover the answers, commit before each reveal, and keep score. No refills on points.
Botanically speaking, what is a coffee "bean"?
Not a bean at all — it's the seed inside a cherry-like fruit of the coffee plant.
According to the most famous origin legend, who discovered coffee?
An Ethiopian goat herder named Kaldi, whose goats got twitchy after eating the berries. It's a legend — but Ethiopia really is coffee's botanical homeland.
The cappuccino is named after what?
Capuchin friars — the drink's color matched the brown of their hooded robes.
Which country drinks the most coffee per person?
Finland — roughly 26 pounds of beans per person per year, enough that coffee breaks are protected in many labor agreements.
Which country has been the world's largest coffee producer for over 150 years?
Brazil — it still grows roughly a third of the world's coffee.
How did Beethoven reportedly prepare his morning cup?
By counting out exactly 60 beans per cup — according to his biographer, sometimes one at a time.
What did Johann Sebastian Bach compose in coffee's honor?
The Coffee Cantata — a comic piece from the 1730s about a father who can't get his daughter to quit the stuff.
What were England's 17th-century coffeehouses nicknamed?
"Penny universities" — a penny bought admission and all the news, debate, and gossip you could absorb.
Which global insurance institution began in a London coffee house?
Lloyd's of London — it grew out of Edward Lloyd's coffee house, where ship owners and underwriters met in the 1680s.
What happened when King Charles II tried to shut down England's coffeehouses in 1675?
The backlash was so fierce he withdrew the proclamation in days — before it ever took effect.
Is decaf actually caffeine-free?
No — a cup of decaf still carries a few milligrams of caffeine, versus roughly 95 in regular coffee.
Who first mass-produced instant coffee?
A chemist named George Washington — no relation — whose brand hit shelves around 1910 and fueled soldiers' "cup of George" in World War I.
Why was the world's first webcam invented?
To watch a coffee pot — Cambridge researchers pointed a camera at their shared pot in 1991 so nobody would trek down the hall to find it empty.
Coffee is the world's second-most-traded commodity after oil — true or false?
False — it's a remarkably durable myth. Coffee matters enormously to the countries that grow it, but it's nowhere near second in global trade.
The webcam is the keeper: the technology now running every video call on Earth exists because a few scientists refused to walk down a hallway for nothing. Coffee doesn't just power civilization — it apparently invents it out of spite.
