Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world–in fact, billions of cups of coffee are consumed every day. Despite coffee’s popularity, there are still many persistent myths and misconceptions about the drink, believed even by people who can’t go a day without their morning cup. Let’s take a look at the top myths about coffee–and bust them.
Myth #1: Coffee is made with boiling water and ground coffee beans
There’s a persistent misconception about coffee that it is made by filtering ground coffee beans through boiling temperature water. And although the water used to brew coffee is hot–it should never be boiling. The reason for this is that boiling water releases the bitterness of the the coffee beans, resulting in a bitter and unpleasant flavor in the brewed coffee.
Myth #2: Coffee beans are beans
This myth persists because most people associate coffee beans with dark brown beans that show up on coffee bags and plenty of commercials. However, coffee beans are not actually beans. They are the seed pits of the red coffee cherry; coffee beans are also not naturally brown. They are green and do not become brown until they are roasted. Many companies dehydrate fresh green coffee beans in special coffee bags to keep them fresh as long as possible before roasting them for consumer purchase.
Myth #3: If you drink coffee in the afternoon you won’t be able to sleep
Whether you grind your coffee with beans fresh from coffee pouches or buy a cup at the coffee shop on your way home, there’s one myth that seems to never go away: that drinking coffee in the afternoon will make you an insomniac, unable to sleep at night. While you should cut off your caffeine intake a few hours before bedtime, the coffee you drink at 3 PM or so will be out of your system almost completely in a few hours, long before you head to bed.
Myth #4: Coffee will help you drop weight
Many people have listed coffee as one of the potential allies you can find during a journey to lose weight. However, caffeine does not help you lose weight on its own, nor do any of the other components of coffee contribute to weight loss. There is a slight hint of truth to this myth, in that some people find that drinking a cup of coffee will help suppress their appetite, but this is also true of other warm drinks, such as a warm cup of tea or hot chocolate.
Myth #5: Drinking coffee stunts your growth
Perhaps the most persistent myth of all is that coffee stunts your growth. This myth has been especially popular over the past few decades, when the subject of what adults and children should eat has become a huge part of health culture. However, there is no evidence that coffee stunts your growth, whether you’re drinking it as a teenager or as an adult.