Ah, coffee. About a third of our species consumes the stuff, sipping 1,400 million cups daily. This caffeine-laden beverage is a liquid chameleon; it can calm or invigorate, be served up hot or cold, taste straight-up bitter or as sweet and filling as dessert. But buyer, beware! The price of your grande latte will likely skyrocket this year after a record drought in Brazil, which produces almost a third of the world's coffee beans.
Last week, the Brazilian ministry of agriculture reported that 2014's total yield was down 7.7% from 2013, with production of high grade arabica slumping 15%. Effects are spilling over into 2015, and - with coffee drinking rising around the world - this decrease in supply means costs will be percolating.
Luckily for consumers, this comes as international oil prices are plummeting. In Jordan, the government lowered February prices for fuel products by nearly 11% - so what you save on heating your home you can spend on fueling your caffeine habit. In Kuwait, where you shell out more for a liter of water than you do for a liter of heavily subsidized petrol; no doubt that low-fat frappuccino will set you back even more.
Did you know that an Arab goat herder first discovered coffee after his livestock began eating the berries? Or that ancient Africans mixed ground coffee beans with animal fat to make a primitive energy bar? Before rising prices makes coffee a thing of your past, let’s explore some interesting facts about the most popular accidental discovery of human civilization.
