Tasting Table Asks: How Many Cups Of Coffee Do You Drink Each Day?
Legend has it that the discovery of the energizing effects of coffee goes back to the 9th century, according to Essense Coffee. The National Coffee Association explains that a goat herder named Kaldi, who lived in Ethiopia, observed that his goats didn't sleep at night after consuming the fruit from a certain tree. He took some of the berries to the local monastery, and the abbot, after consuming a beverage brewed of the fruit, discovered that the drink kept him awake and shared it with his fellow monks. The knowledge of the power of coffee began to spread throughout the world.
The first live coffee plants arrived in Europe in 1616, when Pieter van der Broecke brought them to the Netherlands, and according to World Atlas, it is Europe that still has the highest per-capita consumption of coffee. Finland ranks highest among all countries for coffee consumption, with more than 26 pounds per person over the course of a year. The US ranks in 25th place, with a modest per-capita consumption rate of just over nine pounds. Tasting Table wanted to know how our readers contribute to the total, so we asked how many cups of coffee you drink each day. The results are invigorating!
Most readers consume coffee in moderation
Despite the dramatic increase in the cost of coffee, most of you continue to drink it. We surveyed 567 readers, and more than half — about 51% — drink one to two cups of coffee daily. The Harvard School of Public Health says our readers' habits are in line with the rest of the US, which, on average, consumes about 135 milligrams of caffeine a day, the equivalent of roughly a cup-and-a-half of coffee. Since the FDA says that 400-500 milligrams of caffeine is a safe range for most adults, unless you're chasing your coffee with an energy drink, most of you consume a reasonable amount of caffeine each day.
About 23% of readers report drinking three to four cups each day, and 19% of you are coffee teetotallers, drinking zero cups daily. The super-caffeinated are much fewer in number; roughly 4% of you drink five to six cups of coffee daily, and about 3% drink more than six cups a day. Whether it's Starbucks for a PSL or home-brewed, regardless of rising prices, coffee consumption remains robusta.