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Espresso! 5 interesting things about coffee!

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Drinking Coffee at boutique cafés and Bike Riding. Both of these activities are experiencing massive growth in Australia and for good reason. They are AWESOME things to do with your time and share with friends.

I do like a good coffee, some harsh riding mates even suggest I only ride for the coffee! It is true, my favourite cafe hits are always at or near the end of a ride with the bunch I’ve been sharing the road with. Chat flows freely, the endorphin flow is heightened after exercise and accelerated with caffeine. All is good with your world at that time.

My exhaustive research however (I’m usually exhausted at the cafe) suggests the mandatory cafe stop is mainly an english speaking world institution. The French rarely stop mid or post ride for an espresso hit, preferring a pre ride kick. The Italians seem pretty keen, but it depends on the time of day. The Scandinavians, Germans and the rest of the Europeans, love their coffees, but not necessarily with their riding.

Am I blowing coffee’s position all out of proportion? I don’t think so. People’s holidays stories are littered with poignant coffee related memories. Preferences of a countries coffee style are debated with passion. No one has ever retold the story of the pleasure sitting in a European cafe over a glass of water. Ever had someone invite you to their favourite cafe for a soft drink? Didn’t think so!

So I thought lets put an interesting little “I’m not sure I knew that” list together about coffee!

  1. It’s thought the coffee bean was first discovered by crazy goats! (co-incidentally, a “Mountain Goat” in cycling parlance is someone who rides up hill well, so there is your historical coffee/riding link) Even crazier than the goats, was the Ethiopian farmer who obviously thought, “good for the goat, good enough for me, lets give that a try!”
  2. Lots of good stories abound for potential health benefits for coffee lovers. Liver health, guards against gout, good for the heart. So these are all really cool reasons that aid in making you be able to ride heaps longer.
  3. A coffee tree can live for 200 years! That is a lot of love right there. There are two strains, Arabica and Robusta and harvesting is usually only once a year.
  4. The cat poo coffee from the Asian Palm Civet used to have the animal poo coffee market cornered. It now has competition in the form of Elephant’s at a reserve in Thailand, the type being called Black Ivory. Hmmm.
  5. Keep the world we love riding on alive! Take the coffee grounds and mix them with the soil. You can produce a healthy fertilizer and/or compost for your home garden that worms love. And, a healthy garden loves worms.

 

So there you have it, 5 little coffee facts you may not have known about….I didn’t. So next time you are sitting at a cafe with friends after a ride, raise a cup to the good Ethiopian Shepard!

Do you have more coffee facts? Please feel free to share them

Posted in Cycling news

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