咖啡擷趣

Oil is valuable. In fact， it is so valuable that its often called black gold. However， oil isnt the only liquid to hold this title. Coming in as the second most valuable trade item in the world， coffee has enormous economic， social， and even political power. Researchers claim that over 2 billion cups of coffee are consumed every single day. Here are some interesting facts about coffee.

石油很寶貴。事實上，正因其寶貴，常被稱為“黑色的金子”。不過，石油并非唯一享此美譽的液體。作為交易額位居世界第二的商品，咖啡有著巨大的經濟、社會甚至是政治影響力。研究人員指出，每天都會有20多億杯咖啡被喝掉。這里是關于咖啡的一些趣事。

1. Coffee is actually a fruit.

咖啡實際上是一種果實。

Coffee is actually a fruit like a cherry. Its seed is often called coffee beans because of its resemblance to actual beans. Because it is a fruit it could be processed differently for getting different types of flavors. Depending on the variety， the roast and the brewing method， coffee can be brewed to taste like white grape， lemon zest， plum juice， strawberry jam， etc.

咖啡實際上是一種果實，類似櫻桃。咖啡種子的外形像真正的豆類，所以常被稱作咖啡豆。因其為果實，因此可采用不同方式的加工，制作出各種口味。咖啡依其品種、烘焙和煮制方式，能煮泡出如白葡萄、檸檬皮、李子汁、草莓醬等諸多味道。

2. The name came from Arabic word “qahwah”.

其名稱源自阿拉伯語qahwah。

The term coffee came from the Dutch word “koffie” which was originally borrowed from Ottoman Turkish language word “kahve”. It is interesting that “kahve” was originally borrowed from Arabic word “qahwah”. Qahwah is also known as Arabic coffee.

coffee一詞來源于荷蘭語koffie，而koffie是借用奧斯曼土耳其語kahve一詞。有趣的是，kahve最初是借用阿拉伯詞語qahwah。Qahwah也是著名的阿拉伯咖啡。

3. George Washington invented instant coffee.

喬治·華盛頓發明了速溶咖啡。

No， not that George Washington. While Satori Kato actually created the first “recipe” for making instant coffee， the man who invented the first mass produced instant coffee was George Constant Louis Washington， born in Kortrijk， Belgium in May 1871. While it wasnt very tasty， it did hit the spot for soldiers on the battlefield in World War Ⅰ.

不，不是大家都知道的那位喬治·華盛頓。雖然加藤聰里創制了速溶咖啡的首個“配方”，但大規模生產速溶咖啡的首創者是1871年5月出生于比利時科特賴克市的喬治·康斯坦特·路易斯·華盛頓。盡管這種咖啡味道不是很可口，卻在第一次世界大戰戰場的士兵中廣受歡迎。

4. The stock exchange—both in London and New York—started in coffee houses.

倫敦和紐約的證券交易所都始于咖啡館。

Just as they are today， coffee houses often served as portable “offices” for gentlemen doing business in earlier years. Both the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange started in popular coffee houses in their respective cities. Other financial industries that also started in coffee houses include auction houses （Sothebys of London） and the insurance industry—Lloyds of London began in a coffee house as well.

正如今天的情形一樣，咖啡館早些年也是生意人的便攜“辦公室”。倫敦交易所與紐約交易所，都是從各自城市備受青睞的咖啡館起家。其他由咖啡館起家的金融行當包括拍賣行（如倫敦的蘇富比拍賣行）和保險業——倫敦的勞埃德銀行，前身也是咖啡館。

5. Coffee was first cultivated in Middle East.

咖啡最先在中東培植。

Although coffee plant was first seen in Ethiopia it was first cultivated in Yemen. From Middle East it was reached Europe through Italy in the 17th century.

雖然咖啡樹最早是在埃塞俄比亞發現的，但最早種植卻是在也門。17世紀從中東通過意大利傳至歐洲。

6. Coffee may not make you sober， but it does seem to protect your liver from alcohol related diseases.

咖啡不見得能讓你清醒，但似乎的確能保護肝臟免受與酒精相關疾病的侵襲。

Despite old wives tales to the contrary， if you feed coffee to a drunk， all you get is a wide-awake drunk. On the other hand， considerable research has found that people who drink coffee regularly show a much lower incidence of all liver diseases， including cirrhosis of the liver， which is commonly associated with chronic alcoholism.

盡管關于咖啡的功效有很多荒誕傳說，不過若是讓醉酒的人飲咖啡，最終也只是讓其毫無睡意。另一方面，大量研究發現，常喝咖啡的人各類肝病的發生率要低很多，包括肝硬化，而該病常見于慢性酒精中毒者。

7. In ancient Arab culture， coffee was grounds for divorce.

在古老的阿拉伯文化中，咖啡竟是離婚的理由。

While mid-1970s US ads centered around women who couldnt make a good cup of coffee and the displeasure of their husbands， in ancient times， the onus for coffee was laid upon the providers. A woman could legally divorce her husband if he failed to provide her with enough coffee.

20世紀70年代中期，美國廣告最為鐘愛的題材是女人煮不出好咖啡如何令丈夫不開心;不過在古代，有關咖啡的一應責任卻是落在養家者的身上。法律規定，如果丈夫不能供給足夠的咖啡，妻子可以提出離婚。