Our Most Delicious Facts About Drinks

Coffee Beans Aren’t Actually Beans

It turns out that the name we use for those tiny pods that are ground and brewed into a cup of joe is a misnomer. Coffee “beans” are actually the seeds found within coffee cherries, a reddish fruit harvested from coffee trees. Farmers remove the skin and flesh from the cherry, leaving only the seed inside to be washed and roasted.

Coffee farming is a major time investment: On average, a tree takes three to four years to produce its first crop of cherries. In most of the Coffee Belt — a band along the equator where most coffee is grown that includes the countries of Brazil, Ethiopia, and Indonesia — coffee cherries are harvested just once per year. In many countries, the cherries are picked by hand.

Herbal Tea Isn’t Actually Tea

This may be a shocking revelation, but herbal “teas” like chamomile and peppermint aren’t officially teas at all. In order for a drink to be classified as tea, it must come from the Camellia sinensis plant, from which many white, green, oolong, and black teas do. Herbal teas, however, are tisanes, or infusions that incorporate various leaves, fruits, barks, roots, flowers, and other edible non-tea plants. So while the experience of drinking a minty tea may be quite similar to drinking a warm cup of green tea, the two beverages fall into completely different categories from a scientific gastronomic perspective.

Seltzer Water Was Named After the German Town of Selters

Germany loves its beer, but seltzer is a close second. The country is so entwined with the fizzy beverage that the word “seltzer” comes from the name of the German town of Selters (located about 40 miles northwest of Frankfurt), which is famous for its naturally carbonated mineral springs. The springs have been well known in the area for more than 1,000 years, and by 1791, fizzy water from Selters was so popular, it was exported throughout the world in jugs stamped with the name “selters-wasser,” or “Selters water.” The word transformed into “seltzer” when the beverage became popular in North America, especially in New York and Philadelphia, around the early 19th century. Today, the Selterswassermuseum (in Selters, of course) chronicles the local spring’s long history.

Starbucks Invented the Pumpkin Spice Latte

Love it or hate it, the pumpkin spice latte is a part of the American coffee identity. It’s hard to imagine that the drink didn’t exist as recently as the early 2000s. We have Starbucks to thank for the seasonal treat — they introduced it in 2003. Pumpkin spice lattes were created by the “Liquid Lab” at Starbucks’ Seattle headquarters, and are considered to be the brainchild of Peter Dukes. Dukes had the idea for the latte back in 2001, at a time when Starbucks was trying to conceive of a fall-themed beverage that would become as popular as their seasonal holiday drinks. Short of an actual recipe, the testers brought pumpkin pies into a lab, poured espresso atop, and ate the pie in what proved to be a delicious treat. After matching the taste in drink form, the result blew up into a worldwide sensation.

Pumpkin spice lattes were first tested in 100 Starbucks stores in 2003 before launching worldwide the following year. They went on to sell upwards of 500 million cups in the drink’s first 18 years on the market. The drink has expanded far beyond Starbucks ever since, becoming an autumnal staple of coffee shops everywhere.

The Negroni Was Invented by One Count Negroni

In 1919, Count Camillo Negroni bellied up to the bar at Café Casoni and asked for something stronger than his usual Americano (Campari, club soda, and vermouth). Fosco Scarselli obliged, replacing the club soda with gin, and the Negroni was born. While the ownership and name have changed a few times, you can still visit the original space on Piazza della Libertà, now known as Caffè Lietta.

The British Have Their Own Official Standard for the Perfect Cup of Tea

The British are serious about tea. So much so that British Standards — a national body that produces technical specifications for products and services — released an edict in 1980 on the official British guidelines for making the perfect cup of tea. Though some may disagree with the standard, the rules include the following: Use a porcelain pot and a ratio of 2 grams of tea per every 100 ml of water, brew for six minutes, maintain a temperature of 60 to 85 degrees Celsius (140 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit) when serving the tea, and add milk to the mug first if using tea that’s already been steeped.

Plant Milks Have Been Around for 5,000 Years

For years, dairy producers have sued alternative milk companies for using the word “milk” on their packaging — but history is not on their side. Evidence suggests that Romans had a complex understanding of the word “milk,” as the root of the word “lettuce” comes from “lact” (as in “lactate”). Many medieval cookbooks make reference to almond milk, and the earliest mention of soy milk can be found on a Chinese stone slab from around the first to third century CE. However, coconut milk has the longest history; archaeologists have recovered coconut graters among relics from Madagascar and Southeast Asia that date back to around 3000 to 1500 BCE.

California Wines Beat French Rivals in a Blind Taste Test

In a legendary event dubbed “The Judgment of Paris,” held on May 24, 1976, French wine experts preferred upstart California wines to the finest French ones in a taste test. An English wine shop owner staged the event to drum up business, and everyone assumed a French victory was a foregone conclusion. The nine experts swirled, sniffed, and sipped a variety of reds and whites, then tallied the number of points they awarded to each sample; shockingly, a cabernet sauvignon and a chardonnay from Napa Valley won out, proving that countries besides France could produce the world’s finest wines. A bottle of each winning wine is now in the Smithsonian collection.

Decaf Coffee Is Still a Tiny Bit Caffeinated

Decaf coffee has helped coffee drinkers enjoy the taste of coffee without (much of) the jolting effects of caffeine, but its creation was entirely accidental. According to legend, around 1905 German coffee merchant Ludwig Roselius received a crate of coffee beans that had been drenched with seawater. Trying to salvage the beans, the salesman roasted them anyway, discovering that cups brewed with the beans retained their taste (with a little added salt) but didn’t have any jittery side effects. Today, the process for making decaf blends remains relatively similar: Beans are soaked in water or other solvents to remove the caffeine, then washed and roasted. However, no coffee is entirely free of caffeine. It’s estimated that 97% of caffeine is removed during preparation, but a cup of decaf has as little as 2 milligrams of caffeine — compared to regular coffee’s 95 milligrams.

Dr Pepper Was Once Marketed as a Warm Beverage

Dr Pepper was first served around 1885 at Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store in Waco, Texas. The drink was created by Charles Alderton in an effort to capture the fruity and syrupy smells wafting through the store. Though Dr Pepper was initially served cold, the drink was briefly marketed as a warm beverage, a plan that was developed to ensure the brand’s continued popularity throughout the colder holiday months.

Hot Dr Pepper was first conceived of in 1958, when company president Wesby Parker found inspiration while visiting a bottling plant during a blizzard. The result was a new recipe developed by the company that encouraged consumers to heat Dr Pepper over a stovetop to 180 degrees and then pour it over a thin slice of lemon. The drink was marketed in ads using taglines such as “Devilishly Different” and “Winter Warmer,” and an alcoholic version containing rum, called the Schuss-Boomer, was later popularized. Hot Dr Pepper remained a beloved holiday drink into the 1970s, and though it has since faded in popularity, the beverage continues to be made each year by certain pockets of loyal fans.

There’s a Debate Over Whether the Martini Was Invented in California or New York

The “shaken or stirred” debate has nothing on the origin of America’s most iconic cocktail, which is vigorously argued by both of the nation’s coasts. The historic town of Martinez, California, swears the gin-and-vermouth classic was created as a celebratory Champagne replacement for a gold miner who struck it rich. New Yorkers insist it’s solely the invention of the bar staff at the Knickerbocker Hotel, named after the Martini in Martini & Rossi vermouth. As for us? We’ll think about it while we have another.

The Snapple Lady Was an Actual Employee

Wendy Kaufman was hired in 1991 to work in Snapple’s shipping department. A hardworking, dedicated employee, she noticed the fan mail piling up in the mail room and made it her mission to answer the letters personally, writing or even calling fans back to thank them for their devotion to the brand. Kaufman ultimately rocketed to stardom after being cast as “Wendy the Snapple Lady,” a character who appeared in 37 commercials between 1993 and 1995. The commercials featured a fictionalized version of Wendy doing what she did best — reading and answering fan mail — and some of the ads even involved filming at the homes of fans who had written letters.

Coca-Cola Ads Helped Popularize Santa Claus’ Modern-Day Likeness

Coke has a surprising connection to Santa Claus. In 1931, Coca-Cola hired illustrator Haddon Sundblom to paint Santa Claus for a series of holiday advertisements. Using friend and retired salesman Lou Prentiss as a model, Sundblom produced a version of Santa that depicted the jolly, bearded man with rosy cheeks that we all recognize today. Sundblom would continue painting Santa for Coke’s advertisements until 1964.

While the character of Santa Claus predated Coke, of course, he had been depicted in a variety of ways, ranging from tall and thin to looking like an elf. An 1862 drawing of Santa Claus by Thomas Nast for Harper’s Weekly portrayed Santa as a tiny figure compared to the booming presence he is today, though Nast would also be the first to draw Santa wearing a red jacket, and some other Nast drawings showed a version of Santa that resembles the jolly man we now know. Yet all in all, it wasn’t until Coca-Cola debuted its holiday advertisements that Americans began to fully associate Santa Claus with the large, jovial figure we know him as today.

The Czech Republic Consumes the Most Beer of Any Country

For over 25 years running, the country that drinks the most beer per capita — by quite a large margin — is the Czech Republic. The average resident there guzzles 142.6 liters of the golden bubbly beverage annually. By comparison, people in other major beer-drinking countries such as Austria and Germany barely crack 100 liters.

It’s fair to say that the Czech Republic has a strong beer culture. After all, it is the birthplace of pilsner, one of the most popular styles of beer, and in many Czech cities, a beer will set you back less than a bottle of water. And it doesn’t seem likely that the country will reverse course anytime soon. Each year, consumption is increasing, although trends in recent years favor take-home bottles from breweries rather than old-fashioned pints at a local pub.

Almost All Wines Are Grown From a Single Species of Grape

The mother vine of almost all wines today is Vitis vinifera, a grape likely native to Western Asia. Over millennia, winemakers have domesticated and crossbred the vines to create subspecies with distinct colors, flavors, and suitability to different climates. About 8,000 cultivars exist today, including well-known varieties like pinot noir, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, and merlot. V. vinifera vines have long been cultivated in regions with hot, dry summers and mild winters, such as Italy, Spain, and France, but the U.S., Chile, Australia, and South Africa are also major producers, among other countries.

Your Genes Might Determine How Much Coffee You Drink

If you can’t get through the day without several cups of coffee, you may have your genes to blame. A 2018 study suggests inherited traits determine how sensitive humans are to bitter foods like caffeine and quinine (found in tonic water). Researchers found that people with genes that allow them to strongly taste bitter caffeine were more likely to be heavy coffee drinkers (defined as consuming four or more cups daily). It seems counterintuitive that people more perceptive to astringent tastes would drink more coffee than those with average sensitivity — after all, bitter-detecting taste buds likely developed as the body’s response to prevent poisoning. But some scientists think that human brains have learned to bypass this warning system in favor of caffeine’s energizing properties. The downside? Constant coffee consumers are at higher risk of developing caffeine addiction.

Tea Bags Were Popularized by Accident

Before individual tea bags came into wide use, it was more common to make an entire pot of tea at once by pouring hot water over tea leaves and then using a strainer. In 1901, Wisconsin inventors Roberta C. Lawson and Mary Molaren filed a patent for a “tea leaf holder,” a concept that resembles the tea bags we use today. It wasn’t until about seven years later, however, that another individual inadvertently helped popularize the concept of tea bags — at least according to legend. Around 1908, American tea importer Thomas Sullivan reportedly sent samples of tea inside small silken bags to his customers. His clients failed to remove the tea leaves from the bags as Sullivan assumed they would, and soon Sullivan realized that he’d stumbled onto an exciting new concept for tea brewing. He later reimagined the bags using gauze, and eventually paper.

Tea bags were booming in popularity throughout the United States by the 1920s, but it took a while for residents of the United Kingdom to adopt the concept. In fact, tea bags wouldn’t make their way to the U.K. until 1952, when Lipton patented its “flo-thru” bag, but even then the British weren’t keen to change their tea-brewing ways. By 1968, only 3% of tea brewed in the U.K. was done so using tea bags, with that number rising to 12.5% in 1971. By the end of the 20th century, however, 96% of U.K. tea was brewed with bags.

Dairy Milk Was Revolutionized by Bacteriology

In 1857, French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur discovered that microorganisms in the air caused lactic acid fermentation, aka the souring of milk. Pasteur also discovered (after a request from Emperor of France Napoleon III) that certain microbes caused wine to go bad, but briefly heating the libation to around 140 degrees Fahrenheit caused those microbes to die off, leaving behind a sterilized (or as it would be later known, “pasteurized”) liquid that would stay fresh for longer.

Pasteurization for milk wasn’t introduced until 1886, but it was a game-changer, as diseases introduced via contaminated milk killed scores of infants in the 19th century. With the introduction of pasteurization, that number dropped significantly.

Humans Invented Alcohol Before We Invented the Wheel

The wheel is credited as one of humankind’s most important inventions: It allowed people to travel farther on land than ever before, irrigate crops, and spin fibers, among other benefits. Today, we often consider the wheel to be the ultimate civilization game-changer, but it turns out, creating the multipurpose apparatus wasn’t really on humanity’s immediate to-do list. Our ancient ancestors worked on other ideas first: boats, musical instruments, glue, and alcohol. The oldest evidence of booze comes from China, where archaeologists have unearthed 9,000-year-old pottery coated with beer residue; in contrast, early wheels didn’t appear until around 3500 BCE (about three millennia later), in what is now Iraq. But even when humans began using wheels, they had a different application — rudimentary versions were commonly used as potter’s wheels, a necessity for mass-producing vessels that could store batches of brew (among other things).

Egg Creams Contain Neither Eggs nor Cream

Foods tend to get their names from their appearance or ingredients, though not all are so clear-cut. Take, for instance, the egg cream, a beverage that has delighted the taste buds of New Yorkers (and other diner patrons) since the 1890s. But if you’ve never sipped on the cool, fizzy drink known for its chocolate flavor and foamy top, you should know: There are no eggs or cream in a traditional egg cream drink.

According to culinary lore, the first egg cream was the accidental invention of Louis Auster, a late-19th- and early-20th-century candy shop owner in New York’s Lower East Side. Auster’s sweet treat arrived in the 1890s, at a time when soda fountains had started selling fancier drinks, and it was a hit — the enterprising inventor reportedly sold upwards of 3,000 egg creams per day by the 1920s and ’30s. However, Auster kept his recipe well guarded; the confectioner refused to sell his formula, and eventually took his recipe to the grave. The origins of the drink’s name have also been lost to time. Some believe the name “egg cream” came from Auster’s use of “Grade A” cream, which could have sounded like “egg cream” with a New York accent. Another possible explanation points to the Yiddish phrase “echt keem,” meaning “pure sweetness.”

Regardless of the misleading name, egg creams are once again gaining popularity in New York, though you don’t have to be a city dweller to get your hands on the cool refreshment. Egg creams can be easily made at home with just three ingredients: milk, seltzer, and chocolate syrup.

Hemingway Has His Own Type of Daiquiri

Ernest Hemingway had more than one favorite bar, but in Cuba, it was El Floridita. The bar was founded in Havana’s Old Quarter in 1817, and it was already an institution as la cuna del daiquiri — the cradle of the daiquiri — when the famous author walked in. After sampling the original, Hemingway requested “more rum, less sugar” from legendary barman and owner Constantino Ribalaigua. You can still order a Papa Doble, Hemingway’s favorite, while sitting next to his life-sized statue.

Snapple’s Apple Juice Once Contained No Apple

Though they’ve since updated the ingredients to list both apple and pear concentrate, there was a time when Snapple’s apple juice drink didn’t contain a single drop of real apple juice. Instead, the company used pear juice flavored to taste like apple, perhaps because the flavor of altered pear concentrate more closely resembled what the public expected out of an apple drink than did apple juice itself.

It Takes Eight Years To Grow Agave Plants for Tequila

When European colonists first encountered Mexico’s native agave plants, they were intrigued by the succulents the Aztecs had been using to make clothing, rope, and intoxicating drinks. The spike-tipped plants, which grow as tall as 20 feet, were dug up and transplanted to greenhouses and botanical gardens throughout Spain, Portugal, and other parts of Europe starting in the 16th century. But most agave plants struggled to flourish in areas lacking their natural arid climate; in cooler countries, they were dubbed “century plants,” because those that survived the overseas journey didn’t bloom for nearly 100 years. Agave plants mature much faster when left in their natural habitats, but growing the crop for today’s tequila production is still a time investment. It traditionally takes about eight years before the plants are ready to harvest, though some agave crops are left to grow even longer.

7Up Once Contained Mood Stabilizers

While it’s somewhat common knowledge that early versions of Coca-Cola contained cocaine, it wasn’t the only soda to contain unusual and potentially harmful ingredients. In fact, 7Up’s formula used to contain prescription mood stabilizers upon its launch in 1929 — specifically, a drug known as lithium citrate, which is used in modern times to treat conditions such as bipolar disorder.

At the time of 7Up’s inception, the soda was called “Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda,” which was descriptive of the product’s actual ingredients back then, even though it doesn’t quite roll off the tongue. Though the product’s name was later shortened to 7Up in 1936, it wasn’t until 1948 that lithium citrate was deemed potentially harmful and removed from the recipe after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration outlawed the use of the chemical in sodas.

Portugal Drinks More Hot Chocolate Than Any Country in the World

Hot chocolate is a decadent treat for children and a guilty pleasure for adults, and no country in the world drinks more of it per person than Portugal. The Portuguese drink a whopping 100.2 cups per capita annually — an amount that sounds either soothing or sickening, depending on your sweet tooth.

The hot chocolate that originated in Spain during the 1600s consisted of ground cocoa beans, water, wine, and chili peppers. Although the powdered packets today are quite different, Spain is fourth worldwide in per-capita consumption (76.6 cups). Ahead of Spain are Finland (90.1 cups) and Colombia (84 cups).