There are so many reasons to love coffee. It wakes us up each day—or keeps us going through the afternoon.

Most people have at least one cup of coffee daily, but did you ever wonder where your cup of java came from? These are ten things you probably never knew abut coffee.

1. Nobody is 100% sure when or where coffee was “invented,” but have you ever heard of a goat herder named Kaldi? Not likely. Which is a shame, because he's credited for discovering coffee in the widely-believed legend. As the story goes, his goats were eating berries from a Coffea Arabica tree and they got all frisky. Wondering what was giving them that stimulating effect, Kaldi sampled the beans they were nibbling himself. He shared his new-found stimulant and from there coffee became the beverage it is today.
 
2. Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of coffee and they have been since the 1920s! Back then, about 80% of coffee came from Brazil, and now approximately 30% does.
 
3. Around 33% of all coffee in the world is imported by the United States! That’s the most out of any country in the world. (FYI: Germany comes in second place.)
 
4. Coffee prices vary greatly, but some kinds are much more expensive than others. Kopi Luwak, the world’s most expensive coffee, is made from coffee beans eaten and, erm, excreted by a Sumatran wildcat. At one time, the delicacy commanded a price of over $300 a pound!
 
5. Coffee was declared illegal not once, not twice, but a whopping three times in three different cultures! The first was in Mecca in 1511, followed by Charles the II in Europe (in an attempt to quell the on-going rebellion) and the third was by Fredrick the Great in Germany in 1677 who was worried about the economic implications of buying a foreign beverage.
 
6. If you have a pest problem at home or in the office, sprinkling coffee grounds around the problem areas can do the trick. The strong stench of the grounds and the nitrogen in them are repulsive to some critters (The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) even posted a report showing it's actually effective).
 
7. Residents in Vietnam are crazy for caffeine just like Americans, but many restaurants and coffee shops are selling what is called "cà phê trúng,” which literally translates to “egg coffee.” When served hot, the taste of the coffee gets soaked up into the egg, which rests on top. When served cold, it is eaten with a spoon like ice cream.
 
8. Coffee used to be... grounds (sorry, not sorry!) for divorce. In the 16th century, if a husband didn't supply his wife with enough coffee, that was considered a great reason to find a new spouse. In Turkish culture there was an actual law was created stating that a woman could leave her husband if he didn’t caffeinate effectively.
 
9. Despite the bad reputation some people get for drinking exorbitant amounts of coffee, several studies have provided results suggesting that it may be good for our livers. Drinking a few cups of coffee a day resulted in a much lower amount of scarring of participants’ livers. So when someone harasses you about your coffee intake, tell them you’re just protecting your liver.
 
10. Coffee is a fruit. Yes, a fruit. The beans are actually the seeds of the coffee cherry.

If you want some unique and beautiful ways to brew or drink your coffee, hit us up here at Eight Ounce Coffee and we promise you'll find at least ten things you never knew you needed for your home or office brewing operation, like stylish Acme Demitasse Espresso Cups, HARIO Travel Mugs, Porlex Mini Hand Grinders, or Baratza Grinders.

Erin Lawrence is a Journalist, Writer and Content Creator. She writes technology product reviews on her blog and loves drinking coffee.