Do you favour an espresso, americano, latte, cappuccino, flat white, iced, frappuccino, decaf, instant, filter or *insert other coffee*? National Coffee Day is the ultimate celebration, so inhale its aroma, taste its dark and full-bodied flavour, think about its story but most of all enjoy and drink up. 

We drink coffee morning, day and night with friends, business associates and family. Whether it be a coffee in the morning, coffee and a catch-up or a coffee first date. You do not have to go far to find a café, restaurant or coffee chain to realise the extent of our love affair with the caffeinated beverage.

Coffee has been around for a lot longer than you may think. It is believed to have been discovered in Ethiopia. A 9th Century herder noticed the coffee beans effects on his goats and began experimenting. It started to spread in popularity in the 15th Century, from the Arab world to Asia then Italy and other parts of Europe, and a little later on to America. 

Today, coffee is one of the world’s biggest crops. Awareness of buying ethically grown has significantly increased over the last few years, with consumers being selective where they buy their coffee from.

Ten facts you may not know about coffee:

1.      Coffee beans are technically seeds. They're the pits of the cherry-like berries found on the flowering shrubs, but we call them "beans" because of the resemblance to legumes (a plant that looks like a pod).

2.      Brazil grows the most coffee in the world, about a third of the world’s supply, and about twice as much as the second-place holder, Vietnam.

3.      Expresso means ‘pressed out’ in Italian. This refers to the way espresso is made, forcing boiling water through pressed coffee grounds.

4.      Decaf does not mean caffeine-free. While the decaffeination process removes at least 97% of caffeine, virtually all decaf coffees still contain around 7 mg per 8-ounce (236-ml) cup.

5.      On average it takes 140 litres of water to grow, process and then make a single cup of coffee.

6.      Coffee is considered to be an aphrodisiac and is one of the world’s most socially acceptable stimulants. It has been proven that it can increase stamina and overall length of intimate sessions.

7.      In the UK, we now drink approximately 95 million cups of coffee per day.

8.      The coffee industry creates over 210,000 jobs in the UK.

9.      85% of the UK coffee drinkers take milk. Along with sugar, you can also add chocolate, lemon or make it Irish by adding whiskey or a liqueur. 

10.  Cardiff was declared the first fair trade capital city in the world, and Wales became the first fair trade nation in the world. 

Grab a coffee our Wifi is free

If you work for yourself, freelance or need a change of scenery from your office, you no longer have to hunt down places to work with free WiFi. You might need to check your emails between meetings, tie up a few loose ends online at the end of a day or want a change of scenery. Changing your working environment can boost productivity or change of pace. Plus having access to a steady stream of coffee and snacks helps too.  We even offer free parking! (50% off parking at Cabot Circus in Bristol)

Enjoy International Coffee Day

International Coffee Day is acknowledged annually on the 1st of October. So, get comfortable and put your feet up, put the kettle on, or join us in our bar and restaurant, and enjoy your favourite coffee! It is National Coffee Day, after all!

10 reasons to drink coffee everyday

Future Inns are taking part in the online blog and article posting challenge #Blogtober which means we will be posting a different news article every day, creating new and exciting content for you to read throughout October.  Did you know? Every day between two and four million blogs are written, as well as a whole host of news stories, articles, reviews and interviews.