coffee: Quick Facts

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The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

Nov. 12, 2026

News •

Scientists finally discover why we learn to love bitter coffee • Nov. 9, 2026, 6:21 PM ET (Science Daily)

Drinking 2–3 cups of coffee a day linked to dramatically lower dementia risk • Nov. 7, 2026, 5:17 AM ET (Science Daily)

Photos and Videos

Paper bags filled with roasted coffee beans, ground coffee, and instant coffee granules arranged closely together.

Close-up of a cappuccino in a white cup with latte art on milk foam, resting on a saucer with a spoon on a cafe table in Rome, Italy.

Coffeehouse, 17th-century England

A Guatemalan boy wearing a cap carries a large sack on his back while walking through rows of coffee plants with red berries on a plantation.

Branches of a coffee plant with clusters of green and red coffee cherries among large, glossy leaves.

Drying coffee beans

coffee roasting

Barista in a brown apron pours hot water from a metal kettle over a drip coffee filter into a glass beaker filled with ice, with a jar of coffee beans on the wooden table.

A grid chart categorizes coffee and tea drinks by taste from bitter to sweet and by caffeine intensity from high to low, with espresso in the high caffeine and bitter quadrant and drinks like mocha and chai in the sweet, lower caffeine area.

coffee plantation in Colombia

Is cold- or hot-brewed coffee better for you?

Explore the health benefits of coffee consumption

Why can coffee act as a laxative?

How Does Caffeine Affect the Human Body and Brain?

See All Videos, Images and Interactives →

Topics

instant coffee cold-brew coffee decaffeinated coffee espresso history of coffee Why Is Coffee Called a Cup of Joe?How Is Coffee Decaffeinated?What’s the difference between coffee and tea?Know Your Joe: 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Coffee kopi luwak tea energy drink mate soft drink decaffeination kombucha milk kefir cider alcoholic beverage

Key People

Thomas Lipton

Thomas Lipton

British merchant

Fruit. Grape. Vitis vinifera. Blauer Portugieser. Wine. Wine grape. Autumn. Grape leaves. Two clusters of Blauer Portugieser grapes on the vine.

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