15 Coffee Trivia Questions (with Answers)

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T

It's no secret that Americans love drinking coffee. But if there is anything we love more, it's stumping our friends with mind-blowing facts that they don't know. That's why we've compiled a list of some of the best coffee trivia around.

Fun facts about coffee and its origins? Check. Interesting facts about the coffee industry today? Check. Coffee trivia that will teach your friends about the history of java and how it was enjoyed in the past? Check. We've even included coffee facts that touch on a few of the most famous coffee lovers over the years, some of which we're sure will surprise you.

So what are you waiting for? Read on for 15 coffee trivia questions you'll love.

Where does the word cappuccino come from?

1. 1. The drink's resemblance to the brown cowls worn by Capuchin monks
   2. The similarity in color to the fur of Capuchin monkeys
   3. The Italian puccino , meaning "light brown one"
   4. The size of the cup in which it's commonly served

Answer: 1

The word comes from the resemblance of the drink to the clothing of the Capuchin monks, or friars, who wore brown robes with long, pointed hoods. According to Merriam-Webster, these hoods were called cappuccios in Italian, which led to the friars being referred to as cappuccinos. So, when the drink was first introduced, it was named after these friars because the color of the drink was similar to the color of their robes.

What does espresso literally mean?

1. Speed it up
2. To go
3. Pressed out
4. Black and intense

Answer: 3

Espresso literally means "pressed out" in Italian. The drink is called this because of the way it's made: Boiling water is forced through finely ground coffee beans and the espresso is "pressed out."

What country produces most of the world's coffee?

1. Ethiopia
2. Colombia
3. Vietnam
4. Brazil

Answer: 4

Brazil produces 39% of the world's coffee, according to the USDA. Vietnam (16%), Colombia (8%) and Ethiopia (5%) round out the top four.

Kopi Luwak, which sells for hundreds of dollars per pound, the world's most expensive coffee. What makes it so special?

1. It is only processed during a full moon
2. It is brewed only with solid gold pots
3. It is made from coffee beans eaten and then excreted by a Sumatran weasel
4. It is only made from every tenth hand-picked coffee bean

Answer: 3

Yes, Kopi Luwak is produced from coffee beans that have been eaten and excreted by the Indonesian palm civet (similar to a weasel). The outer layers of the beans are removed and the remaining beans are cleaned before being roasted. The coffee supposedly has a smooth, earthy, chocolaty flavor.

What is an ibrik?

1. A South American tool for grinding coffee beans
2. A long-handled copper pot for making Turkish coffee
3. A Middle Eastern coffee house
4. The Turkish word for barista

Answer: 2

Also called a cezve, an ibrik is a pot with a wide bottom, narrow neck and long handle. It's usually made out of copper or brass and lined with tin.

Why was drinking coffee punishable by death in 16th-century Istanbul?

1. People were gambling in coffee shops
2. Coffee was only bought and traded on the black market
3. Coffee drinking was suspected of encouraging dangerous thoughts and social unrest
4. Drinking coffee was illegal unless you were a noble or a royal

Answer: 3

Murad IV, the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, was said to walk the streets in disguise and decapitate anyone he saw drinking coffee. Why? According to NPR, he believed coffee shops were capable of stoking social unrest and encouraging the spread of dangerous thoughts that could threaten the social order.

What country drinks the most coffee per capita?

1. Finland
2. Norway
3. Iceland
4. Denmark

Answer: 1

People in Finland drink over 26 pounds of coffee per year. They're followed by Norway (22 pounds per person), Iceland (20 pounds per person), and Denmark (19 pounds per person).

Which two U.S. states grow and produce coffee?

1. Hawaii and Florida
2. Arizona and Florida
3. Hawaii and California
4. California and Florida

Answer: 3

Hawaii is famous for its Kona coffee and California has been producing coffee since the early 2000s.

Coffee beans aren't actually beans. What are they?

1. Seeds
2. Nuts
3. Weeds
4. Fruits

Answer: 1

Coffee beans are the seeds, or pits, of the fruit that grows on the coffee tree (called coffee cherries). The skin and pulp are then removed and the pits are processed into coffee.

How much caffeine is in decaf coffee?

1. None, it's decaf!
2. Up to 12% as much as caffeinated coffee
3. 50% as much as caffeinated coffee
4. The same amount as in caffeinated coffee—decaf is just a marketing ploy

Answer: 2

According to the National Coffee Association, the decaffeination process removes up to 97% of the caffeine in coffee, usually leaving roughly two to fifteen milligrams of caffeine per eight-ounce cup of joe.

How many new coffee shops opened in the US in 2024?

1. 40
2. 400
3. 4,000
4. 40,000

Answer: 3

Nearly 4,000 new coffee shops (3,993 to be exact) opened in the US in 2024, bringing the total to 83,153, according to data collected by the market research company IBISWorld.

Which of these things can you repurpose used coffee grounds for?

1. You can use them to exfoliate your skin
2. You can put them at the bottom of a trash can to reduce odors
3. You can use them as natural fertilizer for plants
4. All of the above

Answer: 4

Yes, there are many uses for used coffee grounds! In addition to those above, you can also use them for composting, as insect repellent, and for cleaning dishes.

Which of these animals drank coffee every day?

1. The world's oldest cat
2. The world's oldest monkey
3. The world's oldest tortoise
4. The world's oldest dog

Answer: 1

Cream Puff was certified by the Guiness Book of World Records as the oldest cat ever, living to be 38 years and 3 days old. Her owner gave her coffee with cream every day.

Which famous composer only drank coffee brewed from precisely 60 beans that he counted out himself?

1. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
2. Ludwig van Beethoven
3. Johann Sebastian Bach
4. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Answer: 2

Beethoven was eccentric in many ways, his coffee drinking being one of them. He supposedly counted out 60 beans every morning to brew his sip.

What do coffee companies do with the caffeine they remove from coffee to make decaf?

1. Sell it to supplement companies to make caffeine pills
2. Throw it away
3. Sell it to soda companies to make caffeinated soda
4. Sell it to drug companies to make painkillers

Answer: 3

Most of the caffeine used in soft drinks today is synthetic caffeine, but coffee companies do still sell crude caffeine to soda companies to use in their drinks as well.

Sources

• Merriam-Webster: Where Does the Name 'Cappuccino' Come From?
• USDA Foreign Agricultural Service: Production - Coffee
• Kaya Kopi: What is Kopi Luwak?
• NPR: "Drink Coffee? Off With Your Head!"
• World Atlas: The Top Coffee-Consuming Countries
• California Grown: Coffee From California? Sip Happens!
• National Coffee Association: Lifecycle of Coffee
• National Coffee Association: Decaf Coffee
• Greenwell Farms: Cats and Coffee (no, Really, It's a Thing!)
• KQED Food: Caffeine for Sale: The Hidden Trade of the World's Favorite Stimulant

Author Alyssa Sybertz Alyssa has been writing about health, wellness and lifestyle for more than 10 years. She covers food, cooking and science for Reader's Digest, as well as Allrecipes, Southern Living, Woman's World, Parents, Food and Wine, Verywell Family, CNN and Time. She was the editor-in-chief for numerous special-interest bookazines on intermittent fasting, thyroid health and weight loss. Alyssa is the author of  The OMAD Diet , a guide to the one-meal-a-day lifestyle. In her spare time, she loves to hike and read romance novels.