Today is special request day! Last night my son asked me to learn something new about coffee. He knows that I enjoy coffee and on weekends he quite frequently asks for a sip (after it cools down of course). So this one's for you little buddy!What people commonly refer to as a coffee "bean" is actually a "seed." In fact, the "bean" starts off as a "berry," which is picked from a coffee "bush," which is also referred to as a "tree." The flesh of the berry is removed and what's left is the "seed." The seed, or bean, is first dried and then roasted before it is crushed to brew a cup of coffee.
In grade school I remember being taught a corny song that went something like "C-o-f-f-e-e, coffee is not for me." I did a Google search and found the lyrics and the melody to a children's song called the "Coffee Song":
C-o-f-f-e-e, coffee is not for me,
It's a drink some people wake up with,
That it makes them nervous is no myth,
Slaves to a coffee cup, they can't give coffee up.
While I don't really remember the second, third, or fourth lines, I certainly remember the melody so this must be it. It strikes me today as a really strange song to be teaching kids. If the point was to indoctrinate them that they shouldn't drink coffee, I guess it didn't work on me.
There are varying opinions on whether coffee has medicinal properties that could be good for you, or bad for you. The approach I take to everything else in life is the same I take when drinking coffee: Everything in moderation; nothing in excess.
Don't remember the song, but it is funny. Although I no longer drink caffinated coffee, tea or soda (I do eat chocolate), I started drinking coffee when I was about five. My grandfather drank it and he'd make me a cup of what was essentially cafe au lait. I'd have a cup at night with him and a cup with breakfast. I thought it was normal for 8 year olds. I remember some even at our school, and I walked up to the refreshment table and poured myself a cup of coffee, then looked over to see the surrounding adults staring at me horrified. One of them told me not to drink it because it would "stunt my growth".
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