To all the coffee souls, gear up for International Coffee Day, to be celebrated on 1st October. From espresso to macchiato, our day begins with that cup of coffee bean! It keeps us going throughout and what better day to celebrate it on the occasion of International Coffee Day!
Although coffee lovers need no coffee day to celebrate it, every day is a coffee day for them. Do you know coffee was discovered by a goat herder? I bet you didn’t! let me take you through a little history of this important event.
World Coffee Day History
The International Coffee Organization (ICO) declared International Coffee Day for all the coffee souls in 2014. And it was only in 2015 that the ICO celebrated its first official Coffee Day in Milan, Italy.
In 2009, during a press conference, ‘International Coffee Day as a term was first used by Southern Food And Beverage Museum, where the first New Orleans Coffee Festival was announced.
Every country celebrates national coffee days on different dates. Taiwan had its first International Coffee Day in 2009. Nepal celebrated its first National Coffee Day on November 17, 2005. Indonesia celebrated its first National Coffee Day on August 12, 2006, which happens to be Indonesia’s Independence Day as well.
Following is a list of different countries celebrating National Coffee Day:
| Countries | Date |
| Mongolia | 3rd January |
| Portugal | 14th April |
| Denmark | 6th May |
| Colombia, North Korea | 27th June |
| Peru | 22nd August |
| Costa Rica | September, second Friday |
| Netherlands | September, 4th Tuesday |
| Switzerland | 28th September |
| Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Ethiopia, Hungary, Iceland, India (Chikmagalur, Bengaluru), Indonesia, Norway, Philippines, Romania, South Africa, Sweden, Taiwan, United States, Pakistan, Karachi, Poland | 29th September |
| Germany, Honduras, Ireland, Slovakia, Japan, Malaysia, México, New Zealand, Singapore, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom | 1st October |
International Coffee Day Significance
This day marks the importance of all the coffee growers of the world who work earnestly in order to produce the best coffee for everyone. While Brazil is the largest producer of Coffee, Hawaii in the US is very popular for its coffee production. Various coffee establishments even provide discounts, free drinks, coupons on this day. They also conduct campaigns and seminars in order to promote this beverage.
On International Coffee Day, the ICO sheds light on the continued plight of farmers who grow coffee and makes people aware of how they produce this wonderful beverage at the cost of their sweat and blood.
The day also walks us through the history of this fragrant beverage and lets us know the different types of coffee and the dishes that are produced by using coffee beans.
Coffee Day: Special Recipe
Though all the coffee geeks are well aware of every type and dish produced from coffee, here is a recipe for a very popular coffee drink that will let you be your own Barista.
Cappuccino
This oh-so-french coffee is everyone’s favorite. Don’t have a coffee machine? Don’t worry, this easy recipe will get your coffee brewed in no more than 10 mins
Ingredients
- ¼ cup instant coffee powder
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3 tbsp water
- Milk
Procedure
- In a bowl, mix ¼ instant coffee powder and ¼ cup sugar and 3 tbsp water.
- Mix well till the sugar dissolves
- Beat the mixture either with a hand beater or use a whisk
- Beat for 5 minutes until it is frothy and turns light
- The mixture should be thick and creamy by now. This mixture can be stored in an air-tight container for a week.
- Heat two cups of milk
- Whisk the milk while boiling it
- In a cup, add 1 tbsp of the cappuccino mixture made earlier
- Top it up with frothy milk and mix gently
- You can add more cappuccino mixture if you prefer drinking it strong. Now, your cappuccino is ready
Tip: you don’t need a fancy machine to make steamed milk. Follow these steps to make your own hot steamed milk:
- Pour some milk into a glass jar
- Cover it up and shake the jar for at least 45 seconds. Stop shaking when you see the milk has doubled in volume.
- Uncover it and shift it to microwave and heat it on high for 30 to 45 seconds. Don’t let the milk get too hot otherwise, it will deflate all the air you’ve shaken.
- Take it out from the microwave and bring the foam to the side while pouring the steamed milk into the coffee. Then let the foam in on top of the coffee.
