Coffee Facts

A coffee bush does not produce usable fruit for five to six years, but then can produce for thirty to forty years after that. Coffee was eaten long before it became a liquid refreshment. African tribes would mix the coffee berries with fat and create energy balls that they would eat once or twice a day, when they needed a boost of energy. Green coffee beans were ground up and mixed with fat, then made into small balls, which were eaten by travelers on long journeys. It was the first plant to be cultivated around the world.
 
The fruit, or cherry, is a reddish two-seeded berry. The two seeds are what we call coffee beans, but are actually seeds. The cherries and leaves also contain caffeine. In some countries, the berries are fermented into wine, but mostly they are used for fertilizer or cattle feed.

Coffee was the very first food to be freeze dried in 1938. Nestle invented the freeze dried coffee. It was a milestone that was unprecedented and set a new standard for how food could be packaged and sold.

Coffee is so popular and in such high demand that it is actually the second most traded commodity on earth, only behind oil.

Mocha is a city in Yemen and the island of Java in Indonesia are two places, which types of coffee are named.

Nestlé

Henri Nestlé, started his company as a pioneer in the baby food industry. He was was likely inspired by his family’s history as 7 of his 13 siblings died before reaching adulthood.

Nestlé sold the company to his business associates and retired just seven years after he founded the company. Though the name “Nestlé” has since gone on to be associated with many different products, mostly chocolate based products and other sweets, the only Nestlé to be involved with the company left when their only product was baby formula.

Kit Kat

It dates back to the 18th century, when mutton pies called Kit-Kats were served at the political Kit-Cat Club. The origins of today’s product go back to 1935, when a York based candy maker, Rowntree’s trademarked 'Kit Kat'. The Kit Cat, as it was called, was produced for a while, before being discontinued. Eventually, it relaunched and was relabeled as “Rowntree’s Chocolate Crisp” before being renamed to its modern title.

In the 1940’s Kit Kat was exported to Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. In the 1970s, a new distribution factory was built in Germany to meet European demand and handle distribution. Agreements were established for Hershey to distribute in the US, and Fujiya to distribute in Japan. In 1988, Nestlé purchased Rowntree’s and Kit Kat with it. Nestlé has global control over the brand, except in North America, where Hershey has licensing rights to Kit Kat.