Some people don’t like it and prefer tea or herbal infusions, but if there’s something characteristic of our country—especially Madrid—it’s that we love coffee. And what’s more, we make it really well: foreigners (and we have plenty at our café) truly appreciate the taste of this precious beverage.

So, since there are international and world days for just about everything—and because we not only love coffee ourselves, but it’s also one of our customers’ favorite moments of the day (their morning or afternoon “cafecito”)—we didn’t want to miss the chance to dedicate a post to this treasured treat, whose International Day is celebrated on October 1st.

International Coffee Day is celebrated on October 1st. The idea behind this date was to bring together all the world’s coffee producers in a single celebration. Coffee-producing countries quickly joined the event, and during that very first celebration, 70 events were held across 35 nations around the world.

You probably know that in Spain we drink coffee in more different ways than anywhere else in the world. In fact, those of us behind the counter sometimes have to take notes carefully when a table orders, because it’s rare for two coffees to be the same.

A quick rundown (and we’re leaving out a ton):

black coffee
americano
macchiato
iced coffee
capuccino
more coffee, less milk
room-temperature coffee (served with ice in some regions)
coffee with liquor
viennese coffee
irish coffee
espresso with a dash of milk
coffee with milk
coffee with milk… but with foam
and so on…
But we didn’t want to miss the chance to share a few fun coffee facts you might not know:

Coffee is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water.
Approximately 3 billion cups of coffee are consumed every day around the world.
The countries that consume the most coffee are the Nordic nations.
The word “coffee” comes from the Arabic term “Qahhwat Al-bun,” which means “wine of the bean.”
In fact, the coffee bean is the seed of the fruit of the coffee tree, which can grow up to 6 meters tall.
It has been shown that drinking coffee can speed up a person’s metabolism by between 3% and 11%.
It’s the second most traded product in the world, alongside Coca-Cola.
Brazil is the largest coffee producer in the world. Its harvest accounts for 30.16% of global coffee production.
And if you’re interested in data from Spain, here’s an infographic for you: