Eighty-three percent of adults in America drink coffee. It’s the world’s second-most traded commodity, and it’s delicious. But there’s more to the country’s favorite hot beverage than meets the eye. From the sublime to the horrifying, coffee is a fascinating natural resource that has had a profound cultural impact around the world.

10 Deadly Coffee Crime Wave In Kenya

An epidemic of theft and violence is sweeping the coffee industry in Kenya, a country where a kilo of dried beans can be worth a week’s wages. A special police force has been set up to deal with the problem, but raids by armed gangs are a daily occurrence. Coffee growers are being forced to sleep in their fields so they can fend off would-be thieves. The thieves aren’t subtle, with reports of security guards at coffee factories being shot with arrows and beaten to death with branches. Villagers have taken to fighting fire with fire, and criminals caught in the act have been lynched in the street.

While coffee is grown on tens of thousands of small farms throughout the country, exports are only managed through licensed operations. The coffee thieves are able to make money because of corruption reaching right to the top of the tree. With 5 million people in Kenya dependent on the coffee industry to make a living, it’s a daunting issue for the government to overcome.

9 Coffee Rust Devastates Central America

Coffee rust is a fungal disease that attacks the leaves of the coffee plant. It gets its name from the distinctive orange patches it causes. The disease, which has blighted crops since the 19th century, eventually kills the plants and is a threat to the livelihoods of farmers around the world. The Arabica plant, favored by coffee connoisseurs, is coffee rust’s main victim, and countries that grow Arabica beans are currently suffering an epidemic.

In February 2013, Guatemala declared a state of agricultural emergency due to coffee rust and has provided $14 million for farmers to buy pesticides. Seventy percent of their national crop has been impacted, and there are similar circumstances throughout the region. Unfortunately, that means you may end up having to pay more for a decent cup of coffee in the next couple of years.

8 Coffee Contains Caffeine To Attract Bees

Every other coffee list on the Internet will tell you that coffee was discovered by goat herders, whose goats got a little jolly after munching on coffee berries. But why does coffee contain caffeine to begin with? Well, it’s toxic to slugs and other pests, but it turns out it also has an effect on pollinators such as bees. In fact, scientists think they get—wait for it—a buzz from the caffeine in the flowers of plants.

Scientists found that consuming caffeine helped bees to improve their long-term memories. The caffeine acts on the brain chemistry of bees in a way that makes the flowers more memorable, so the bees are more likely to return to plants of the same type. Though bees and humans are very different, some experts suggest the capacity to be affected by caffeine could be as old as the common ancestors we share, as it impacts our neurological activity on a very fundamental level.

7 Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony

The Ethiopian coffee ceremony, or bunna, is a key part of home and social life. It is a process of preparation that can take hours. It starts with the washing of coffee beans and ends with ceremonially pouring the drink into cups. The ceremony is practiced by women in Ethiopian culture, and girls are taught from a young age how the ritual is performed. It is observed at least daily, and starting the coffee ritual is the standard way to welcome visitors to the home.

The ceremony starts with fresh, green beans that are roasted in a pan while fragrant flowers are burned to provide a pleasant aroma. After that, coffee is prepared and poured into cups containing sugar, salt, or butter. It is sometimes offered at Ethiopian restaurants in the US, the UK, and elsewhere.

6 Coffee Overdose And Addiction

Caffeine, like any drug, is toxic in large enough doses. The lethal dose of caffeine would require about 100 cups of coffee, and the water from drinking that much coffee in one go would kill you before the caffeine did.

That said, there’s still enough caffeine in coffee to make you ill, especially if you’re not used to it. A 17-year-old girl in England was hospitalized after drinking seven double espressos. She suffered mood swings, raised temperature, and palpitations. She said the experience has put her off coffee for good. The other risk of over-indulging is caffeinism, an addiction that is defined as needing six or more cups of ground coffee per day.

5 Coffee Ban In 17th-Century England

Coffee first reached England in the 17th century, served in coffee houses around the country—there were 82 in London alone by the mid-1660s. But coffee wasn’t popular with everyone. A group of women, frustrated by the lack of virility in their men, claimed coffee “made men as unfruitful as the deserts.” This campaign by “several Thousands of Buxome Good-Women, Languishing in Extremity of Want,” as they called themselves, combined with concerns from other quarters, saw King Charles attempt to ban the drink in 1675.

The people were very unhappy with this decision, and Charles quickly forgot about the idea. Coffee houses went on to become the meeting places of the scientific and literary worlds, frequented by people like Isaac Newton, Robert Hooke, Samuel Johnson, and Alexander Pope.

4 Latte Art And Tasting Competition

People will compete at pretty much anything, even hot drinks. It’s that competitive spirit that gives us the World Cup Tasters Championship. In this event, participants aim to use smell and taste to identify different coffees from around the world as quickly as possible.

Coffee tasting is just one competition held in the annual World Coffee Event, which took place this year in Nice, France. Latte art is among the most impressive, and certainly the easiest to appreciate over the internet. Using nothing but hot milk and espresso, latte artists work to create intricate designs on the surface of the drink. Swirls and leaves are popular, but some artists produce pictures of dragons, cartoon characters, and teddy bears, the last being too adorable to even consider drinking.

3 Coffee In Pregnancy

Advice on what and what not to consume during pregnancy is rampant, and coffee falls into the camp of things a lot of women are told they should avoid. Much of the reason for this is that data shows that women who drink less coffee have healthier pregnancies. While that seems clear-cut, it’s far from it. Women who suffer more nausea also have healthier pregnancies, and anyone suffering nausea is unlikely to fancy a caramel latte with sprinkles.

The best data available appears to show no evidence of causation between coffee drinking and problems below around three cups of coffee each day.

2 Re-Using Coffee Grounds

Only about 20 percent of the coffee bean contributes to the flavor and aroma of the drink—the rest is tasteless plant fiber. That means that there’s a lot of stuff left over when coffee is produced—hundreds of thousands of tons of it a day. Scientists are working hard to come up with a useful way to use the waste.

Researchers at the Maine Technology Institute have investigated ways to turn spent coffee grounds into fuel pellets to be burned for energy, and one coffee production company already sends its waste to a nearby biomass plant to be burned along with wood.

Another group of scientists has devised a way to use coffee grounds to produce an alcoholic drink, by fermenting the grounds and distilling them in a method similar to the production of whiskey. The result is a beverage the makers claim has “organoleptic quality acceptable for human consumption.” They might need to work on a tagline.

1 Coffee Contamination

Coffee rust is not the only fungus that can affect coffee plants. Ochratoxin A is toxic poison produced by Aspergillus and Penicillium fungi that grow on coffee plants. The amount of acceptable ochratoxin is controlled in Europe, with an acceptable level of five parts per billion for ground coffee, and 10 parts per billion for instant, because who cares about instant coffee drinkers anyway? Its presence in coffee was only discovered in 1988, and a study shortly afterward found that 7 percent of shipments were over this safe level. Work by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN helped farmers to reduce the average level found in exports by over 25 percent between 1998 and 2004.

Ochratoxin is not the only poison found in coffee. In 2003, one man was killed and 15 people were hospitalized with suspected food poisoning. Doctors eventually deduced that the cause of the illness wasn’t sandwiches, as initially thought, but someone poisoning the coffee pot with arsenic. Sadly for the town of New Sweden, this seems to be the only event in their history worthy of making their Wikipedia page.

You can email Alan here or read his blog, where he writes stuff that isn’t lists.

Coffee gets a bad rap. Maybe because it tastes so good. Things that taste good are almost always bad for us, right?

There are some less than awesome things that can be rightfully blamed on our favorite morning brew, like insomnia, jitters, and heartburn. But people tend to overlook the truly incredible things that coffee does for us.

Of the 150 million Americans who drink a collective 400 million cups of coffee each day, most of us only give it props for its magnificent flavor and its ability to help us wake up and stay that way. Beyond the glorious caffeine, however, a lot of components in coffee are actually hard at work behind the scenes benefiting us in the most surprising ways!

10 Improves Your Mood

As any true coffee lover can attest, there is just something special about that first cup of coffee in the morning that makes everything right with the world. Coffee improving one’s mood probably sounds like a “duh,” but there is actually some science behind it.

A study from 2011 shows that moderate coffee consumption decreases the risk of depression in women, lowers the risk of suicide in men, and generally puts you in a better mood by acting as the tastiest antidepressant on Earth.^[1]

It isn’t just your imagination if that steaming cup of morning coffee makes you noticeably less irritable. It has actually been proven to positively enhance your mood by boosting serotonin, noradrenaline, and dopamine production.

9 Increases Mental Acuity And Brain Health

The effects that coffee has on the brain do not stop with putting you in a better mood. Coffee can also do wonders for long-term memory. Studies show that a boost of caffeine before a demanding task can increase processing and memory retention. It also helps with focus, reaction times, and reasoning.^[2]

The good news does not stop there.

According to the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, drinking at least three cups of coffee a day could stave off Alzheimer’s disease. If you have not poured yourself another cup yet, consider that coffee also targets the part of the brain affected by Parkinson’s disease, reducing the risk of the disorder by 25 percent in men and a little less than that in women.

8 Helps To Prevent Diabetes

Coffee drinkers can take solace in knowing that their java addiction may be helping them to keep diabetes at bay. That tasty cup of joe targets your insulin behind the scenes by increasing adiponectin, one of the many things that helps to regulate blood sugar and insulin levels.

Pair this with magnesium and antioxidants, and that simple cup of brewed beans becomes a powerful disease-fighting blend of awesomeness. The effects are temporary, of course. So it only makes sense that those who drink more coffee are better protected.

These rules do not apply for people who already have diabetes. In those cases, blood sugar levels from and sensitivity to coffee can vary from person to person.^[3] Check with your doctor before you make any changes to your diet.

7 Coffee And Your Heart

People have long considered coffee to be bad for the heart, but recent studies have debunked these misconceptions. There appears to be no link between increased risk of heart disease and coffee. To the contrary, emerging evidence suggests that coffee is actually good for the heart.

Overall, coffee has been shown to be a powerful ally with respect to cardiovascular health. Although the effects are stronger in women, moderate coffee consumption has proven to slightly decrease heart attack risk for both genders.

If you really love coffee, here is some even better news: Three to five cups of coffee a day can significantly reduce your risk of having a stroke. That’s actually quite a bit of coffee if you think about it. As if this was not big enough news already, java also helps to decrease the risk of congestive heart failure and coronary heart disease.^[4]

6 Protects Your Liver

If you are the type who likes to come home after a long, hard day and have a beer or two or too many, here is some good news for you. Coffee drinking can help save the liver you thought college may have destroyed!

Java reduces the levels of enzymes that indicate liver damage and works to fight off liver cancer and cirrhosis. Two cups a day can reduce the risk of hospitalization and mortality from liver disease by 50 percent.^[5] This is huge!

Cafestol and kahweol are the two substances in coffee that are responsible for this potentially lifesaving perk. Like anything, the results will vary from person to person, so don’t go thinking that this is carte blanche to go on an epic binge topped off with a cup of joe. For optimal results, coffee consumption needs to be a lifestyle and not a quick fix.

Coffee has also been shown to decrease the risk of liver cancer. Three or four cups a day may decrease the risk by 38 percent and 41 percent, respectively.

5 It’s Good For Your Eyes

Step aside, carrots. There is a new player in town when it comes to improving eyesight.

For everyone who is sick of being told to eat carrots because they are good for your eyes, this one is for you. Scientists are discovering that coffee is actually amazing for your vision. Coffee contains chlorogenic acid (CLA), a powerful antioxidant shown to prevent eyesight deterioration from retinal damage.

People tend to forget that coffee has hundreds of other properties besides caffeine, and CLA is one of them. With raw coffee containing 7–9 percent CLA versus 1 percent caffeine, CLA is definitely the bigger player on the field here. Though CLA is proving to be a powerful ally in retinal health, there are still many unknowns.^[6]

Who knows? This could lead to CLA in the form of eye drops one day for optimal effect.

4 Fights Cancer

Recent studies show that the antioxidants in coffee reduce the risk of some cancers. Better yet, it appears that the more you drink, the better protected you are. This means that four or more cups a day of your favorite brew could potentially spare your health and save your life. Some of the cancers from which coffee helps to safeguard you include oral, uterine, prostate, and brain cancers—and this is only a handful of them.

The Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that coffee drinkers were less at risk for melanomas. As published in the Experimental Hematology & Oncology journal, one study found that caffeine curbs certain proteins in lung cancer cells, which can prevent these cells from growing and multiplying.^[7]

According to other research, women who drink at least three cups of coffee a day lower their risk of developing endometrial cancer by 19 percent and experiencing a recurrence of breast cancer by 49 percent. However, it is important to note that the breast cancer patients were also taking the cancer drug tamoxifen.

3 Aids In Weight Loss

Obviously, a large latte with whip cream and extra shots of chocolate and syrup is not doing your waistline any favors. But for those who don’t mind plain black coffee, it is a whole different story. Coffee has been shown to slow weight gain, if only for the short term.

Chlorogenic acid, the compound in coffee that’s associated with improved eyesight, may also help to slow carbohydrate absorption. In addition, the caffeine in coffee can contribute to a metabolic rate increase of 3–11 percent. Caffeine speaks directly to the nervous system, telling it to break down fat cells, which directly leads to the burning of fat.^[8]

Of course, the results will vary from person to person. The most profound results occurred in leaner individuals. Those carrying around more weight will not benefit as much. But every little bit counts, right?

Coffee also helps with weight loss by enhancing athletic performance. Studies show an 11–12 percent boost on average as java mobilizes fatty acids from fat tissues.

Before you go sucking down entire pots of coffee in hopes of a permanent trim figure solution, keep in mind that studies have only shown this to work temporarily. The body will eventually become immune to the effects of coffee, and it will cease to work as well as it may have earlier.

2 Gives Your Sex Life A Boost

Perhaps the most exciting perk on this list: Coffee makes you better in bed!

Ready for the steamy details? For women, drinking coffee increases the blood flow to the genitals, which means increased arousal. Never a bad thing. A cup of coffee 15 to 30 minutes before a quick romp in the sack will ensure optimal arousal in addition to a caffeine boost for energy! This benefit also extends to the casual coffee drinker who may only have one cup a week.

Men who drink three cups a day are less likely to deal with erectile dysfunction (ED).^[9] This is great news. In the United States alone, 18.4 percent of men who are at least 20 years old suffer from ED. Caffeine relaxes the penile helicine arteries and increases blood flow to the area, making erection possible. The one exception to this is men who suffer from diabetes.

1 Lowers Risk Of Death

Take a minute to let this one sink in. Coffee may prevent death . . . for a while anyway.

Before you get too excited, coffee isn’t necessarily a fountain of youth, but it may be the closest thing we have to it. David Furman, PhD, and consulting associate professor at Stanford University, explains, “More than 90 percent of all noncommunicable diseases of aging are associated with chronic inflammation.”^[10]

Why is this a big deal to coffee drinkers? Because consumption of coffee results in lower activity in gene clusters associated with the inflammatory protein IL-1-beta. Long story short: Inflammation is super bad, and drinking coffee reduces inflammation.

This perk occurs with decaf, too. In a study from the University of Southern California with over 180,000 participants, researchers found that drinking three cups of coffee a day reduced the risk of premature death by 18 percent. Even one cup a day lowered the risk by 12 percent.

Coffee may not help you to live forever, but it may tack on a little more time. Not to mention making each day just a little more enjoyable.

Melynda Sorrels is a writer, student, reckless blogger, dreamer, and an aficionado of all things funny or caffeinated.

We all love a good cup of coffee to start off the morning, but this beverage can be used in several other ways. Just like coffee is good for our bodies, it has other benefits that can make our lives easier.

Next time you think about throwing those used coffee grounds away, think again. They can be recycled and used throughout your home or garden. Here are 10 creative ways to enjoy coffee besides drinking it.

10 Insect Repellent

Mosquitoes are pesky and annoying. The little bloodsuckers can ruin a relaxing night outdoors. You will find yourself busy swatting them away instead of enjoying the time with friends and family.

Coffee grounds are an unusual solution to this annoying little problem. According to the EPA, coffee grounds are a safe and effective way to repel mosquitoes and other troublesome insects. A study also showed that coffee grounds and caffeine could kill larvae by preventing the development of adult mosquitoes. The insects were not able to build a resistance to coffee.

To burn coffee grounds to use as a repellent, start by grabbing your used grounds and placing them in a bowl covered in foil. Once the grounds have dried, burn them like incense. It is best to choose a spot upwind of your location, and you can add fresh bay leaves to the fire for extra repellent.^[1]

This is a cheap and effective way to prevent those bothersome insects from ruining your night.

9 Stain Wood Furniture

Everyone is always looking for DIY projects around their house. Staining wood furniture is one of the many projects that people attempt to tackle. There are a lot of manufactured wood stain products on the market, but you won’t need to buy any of them if you have coffee at home. The method of staining wood with coffee is natural and chemical-free, and the finish is exceptional. The coat will also get darker as it becomes older.

To stain wood with coffee, simply start by brewing a pot of coffee. Then allow it to cool. The stronger you brew, the darker the stain will be. Use fine sandpaper to sand the surface that you plan to stain. Pour the cool coffee into a plastic container along with alum to help it adhere to the wood.

Use your sponge, rag, or cloth to spread the coffee over the wood surface. Don’t worry about using too much because it will absorb. Let the wood sit for 10–15 minutes, and you can repeat if you would like the wood to be darker.^[2]

How satisfying is it to know that you stained your wood furniture with a natural and nonchemical substance found in your home!

8 Create Air Freshener

We are always coming into contact with unpleasant smells, whether it is from the kitchen, bathroom, living room, or even your vehicle. Sometimes, you have to freshen up those areas with an air freshener.

Don’t have one handy? Make it yourself from coffee found in your home. Most air fresheners only cover up the odor, but an air freshener made from coffee can absorb the odor to keep it away.

Coffee beans act like baking soda does in a fridge. They help to absorb the smell and eliminate it. An air freshener can be easily made from coffee grounds to help any area smell better. All you need is a pair of old socks, your favorite brew, and a tall glass or cup.

Stick the sock down in the glass, and roll the excess over the outside of the glass. Then pour some coffee grounds or beans into the sock, pull the sock out, and tie it in a knot. Stick the air freshener anywhere that needs some help. For those who want to get fancy, you can stick the sock in a decorative bowl to hide it.^[3]

7 Dry Rubs For Steak Or Chili

We all love to consume our favorite coffee in drink form, but did you know that it is also delicious to eat? If you have extra brewed joe or grounds lying around, you can spice up almost any food. Coffee is a spice that brings rich, deep, and earthy flavors to food. You’ll mostly find it on red meats and desserts to add an espresso-like taste.

Coffee can be added to a marinade for roast meat, braising liquid for beef short ribs, barbecue sauce for grilled chicken, a sauce for fried eggs, or a pancake topper. You can even mix it with your favorite spices to create an amazing dry rub for burgers, spice-crusted pork, or lamb.

Using coffee while cooking can really add the extra flavor to make many dishes pop. There are several recipes available if you are looking to experiment with cooking with coffee.^[4]

6 Exfoliate Your Skin

Not only does coffee have some great benefits for the inside of your body, but it is also valuable for your skin. The grounds can help balance the pH of the skin. Coffee is loaded with antioxidants that battle free radicals and is a great product to exfoliate the skin. It helps you to shed dead and dry skin to reveal a glow, and it adds extra shine to your hair.^[5]

Many of the ingredients you need to make a face mask or exfoliating face scrub are found in your home. Making a scrub with natural properties will be beneficial to your skin as it eliminates lines and dry skin. Coffee can also be mixed to create body scrubs, hair masks, and foot scrubs.

Try making a homemade mask or scrub one day, and you will be amazed at how well it treats your skin.

5 Compost And Fertilizer

Instead of letting your old coffee grounds end up in a landfill, use them in your garden and compost pile. Using coffee grounds in your garden helps to add nitrogen to your compost pile.

You can simply throw the grounds into your compost pile, or they can be used as a fertilizer. Using grounds as a fertilizer adds an organic material to your soil, which improves drainage, water retention, and aeration in the soil.

Coffee grounds can even repel slugs and snails in the garden. If you want to add coffee grounds to your compost or fertilizer, stop by your local Starbucks. Participating stores give out free bags of used coffee grounds as part of their Grounds For Your Garden program.^[6]

The company does this to recycle and help reduce waste. Use this organic resource in your garden to help reduce the amount of products going to a landfill.

4 Clean Out Garbage Disposal

Since coffee is a great deodorizer like baking soda, it can be used to freshen up garbage disposals. They often start to release an unpleasant smell, and coffee grounds are an excellent solution to this problem. You don’t have to waste good coffee for this little DIY trick. Used grounds are just fine.

To make a garbage disposal cleaning pad, you will need coffee grounds, Epsom salts, baking soda, and vinegar.^[7] Once you properly mix the ingredients, you will use a measuring spoon to create the small cleaners and allow them to dry overnight. Then you can drop one in your garbage disposal when needed. Turn on the disposal and water to enjoy a wonderful new smell coming from your kitchen sink.

3 Coat Sidewalks During Winter

If you live in areas that experience a lot of snow during the winter, then you probably know all about using salt on your sidewalks. Salt is effective in melting the ice to prevent slipping, but it can be destructive to the environment. Salt can also restrict plants from absorbing the proper amount of water and nutrition. If you are looking for a safer alternative to salt, try using coffee.^[8]

You probably had a hot cup of brew to help keep you warm on those winter days. Save the coffee grounds, and generously sprinkle them across the snowy sidewalk as you would salt. The grounds work just as sand or salt would and give you the opportunity to walk across the sidewalk. The acid of the coffee even helps to melt away the snow more quickly.

Save those coffee grounds to stay environmentally friendly during those snowy days!

2 Wash Your Hair

Instead of drinking coffee, try throwing it on your hair during a shower. There are many advantages to washing your hair with coffee because it has a lower pH than water. The rough grounds exfoliate the scalp and stimulate hair follicles to help growth. Coffee is found in many shampoos now because of the benefits it provides.

The caffeine in the coffee is great for your hair, too. It helps stimulate the hair roots and may deter baldness and hair loss. The caffeine will block the effects of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and enables hair shafts to grow faster.

It also has a way of making your hair shine more. You can use coffee to make a hair rinse to enhance hair color and texture, a hair mask to make it softer and shinier, and a hair oil to stimulate the roots of the hair.^[9]

1 Protect Dog From Fleas

Everybody loves a good cup of coffee, except fleas. They hate coffee, but they do love your dog. If you notice that your dog is itching from those pesky fleas, then save your coffee grounds from that cup of joe you had this morning. The grounds can help to get rid of the fleas when mixed with the dog’s shampoo.

Start by giving your dog a bath as usual. After you have shampooed Spot, generously rub the coffee grounds through the dog’s hair. Then rinse the grounds from the animal’s hair and be sure to look for those loose grounds that haven’t shaken off. The coffee will act as a natural repellent and help remove the fleas that were annoying your dog.^[10]

I’m just another bearded guy trying to write my way through life. Visit me at www.MDavidScott.com