Coffee

Coffee is a hot drink made from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant. People around the world drink it for its strong flavor and for the boost of energy it gives. Coffee plants grow in warm places near the equator, in countries like Brazil, Ethiopia, Colombia, and Vietnam. Brazil grows more coffee than any other country.

The coffee plant is a small evergreen tree. It grows bright red fruits called coffee cherries. Inside each cherry are usually two seeds. People call those seeds "coffee beans," but they are not real beans. To make the drink, farmers pick the cherries, take out the seeds, dry them, and roast them. Roasting turns the green seeds dark brown and brings out their smell and flavor. After roasting, the beans are ground up and mixed with hot water.

Coffee contains a chemical called caffeine. Caffeine is a mild drug that makes people feel awake and alert. That is the main reason adults drink coffee in the morning. Caffeine can also speed up your heart and make it hard to sleep, which is why most doctors say kids should skip it. Tea, chocolate, and many sodas have caffeine too, but coffee usually has more.

The story of coffee starts in Ethiopia, in eastern Africa. A famous legend says a goat herder named Kaldi noticed that his goats danced around after eating red berries from a certain bush. He tried the berries himself and felt the same lift. Most historians think the legend is not really true, but they agree that coffee was first used in Ethiopia, probably more than a thousand years ago. From there it spread to the Arabian Peninsula, where the first coffee shops opened in cities like Mecca and Cairo in the 1500s.

Coffee shops became important meeting places. People gathered to talk about news, politics, and ideas over a cup. In the 1600s, coffee reached Europe, and the same thing happened there. London alone had thousands of coffeehouses. Some rulers tried to ban coffee because they worried that customers were plotting against them.

Today people drink about two billion cups of coffee every day. Some like it black. Others add milk, sugar, cream, or syrup. There are hot versions, iced versions, and fancy drinks topped with foam. From a small red fruit on a tree in Africa, coffee has grown into one of the most popular drinks on the planet.