Interesting Facts About Coffee咖啡撷趣

薛洪君

Oil is valuable. In fact， it is so valuable that it’s often called black gold. However， oil isn’t the only liquid to hold this title. Coming in1 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. Let’s find out some interesting facts about “Coffee”.

1. Coffee is actually a fruit.

Coffee is actually a fruit like a cherry. Its seed is often called coffee beans because of its resemblance2 to actual beans. Because it is a fruit it could be processed differently for getting different type of flavors. Depending on the variety， the roast， and the brewing method， coffee can be brewed to taste like white grape， lemon zest3， plum juice， strawberry jam， etc.

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

The term coffee came from the Dutch word “koffie” which was originally borrowed from Ottoman Turkish4 language word “kahve”. It is interesting that “kahve” was originally borrowed from Arabic word “Qahwah”. Qahwah is also known as Arabic coffee.

3. George Washington invented instant coffee.

No， not that George Washington. While Satori Kato actually created the first “recipe”5 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 wasn’t very tasty， it did hit the spot6 for soldiers on the battlefield in World War I.

4. The stock exchange7—both in London and in New York—started in coffeehouses.

Just as they are today， coffee houses often served as portable8 “offices” for gentlemen doing business in earlier years. Both the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchanges started in popular coffee houses in their respective cities. Other financial industries that also started in coffee house include auction houses （Sotheby’s of London） and the insurance industry—Lloyds of London began in a coffee house as well.

5. Coffee was first cultivated in Middle East.

Although Coffee plant was first in Ethiopia it was first cultivated in Yemen. Initially it was used for religious purpose for Arabs at that time. From Middle East it was reached Europe through Italy in 17th century.

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

Despite old wives tales9 to the contrary， if you feed coffee to a drunk， all you get is a wide-awake10 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.

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

While mid-1970s US ads centered around women who couldn’t make a good cup of coffee and the displeasure of their husbands， in ancient times， the onus11 for coffee was laid upon the providers. A woman could legally divorce her husband if he failed to provide her with enough coffee.

石油很宝贵。事实上，正因其宝贵，常被称为“黑色的金子”。不过，石油并非唯一享此美誉的液体。作为交易额位居世界第二的商品，咖啡有着巨大的经济、社会甚至政治影响力。研究人员指出，每天都会有20多亿杯咖啡被喝掉。这里是关于“咖啡”的一些趣事。

1. 咖啡实际上是一种果实。

咖啡实际上是一种果实，类似樱桃。种子的外形像真正的豆类，所以常被称作咖啡豆。对这样的果实进行不同方式的加工，可制作出各种口味。咖啡依其品种、烘焙和煮制方式，能煮泡出如白葡萄、檸檬皮、李子汁、草莓酱等诸多味道。

2. 其名称源自阿拉伯语 qahwah。

coffee一词来源于荷兰语koffie，而koffie是借用奥斯曼土耳其语kahve一词。有趣的是，kahve最初是借用阿拉伯词语Qahwah。Qahwah也就是阿拉伯咖啡。

3. 乔治·华盛顿发明了速溶咖啡。

不，不是大家都知道的乔治·华盛顿。毋庸讳言，加藤聪里创制了速溶咖啡的首个“配方”，但量产速溶咖啡的首创者是1871年5月出生于比利时科特赖克市的乔治·康斯坦特·路易斯·华盛顿。尽管这种咖啡味道不很可口，却在第一次世界大战战场的士兵中广受欢迎。

4.伦敦和纽约的证券交易所都始自咖啡馆。

正如今天的情形一样，咖啡馆早些年也是生意人的便携“办公室”。无论伦敦交易所还是纽约交易所，都是从各自城市备受青睐的咖啡馆起家。其他由咖啡馆发展而来的金融行当包括拍卖行（如伦敦的苏富比拍卖行）和保险业——伦敦的劳埃德银行，前身也是咖啡馆。

5.咖啡最先在中东培植。

虽然最早发现咖啡树是在埃塞俄比亚，但最早种植却是在也门。起初它被当时的阿拉伯人用于宗教目的，17世纪从中东通过意大利传至欧洲。

6.咖啡不见得能让你清醒，但似乎的确能保护肝脏免受酒精相关疾病的侵袭。

尽管关于咖啡的功效有很多荒诞传说，不过若是让醉酒的人饮咖啡，最终也只是让其毫无睡意。另一方面，大量研究发现，常喝咖啡的人各类肝病的发生率要低很多，包括肝硬化，而该病常见于慢性酒精中毒者。

7.古老的阿拉伯文化中，咖啡竟是离婚的理由。

20世纪70年代中期，美国广告最为钟爱的题材是女人煮不出好咖啡如何令丈夫不开心;不过在古代，有关咖啡的一应责任却是落在养家者的身上。法律规定，如果丈夫不能供给足够的咖啡，妻子可以提出离婚。                                   □

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖选手）