Future Barista,

Prepare to be EDUCATED!!! So, since I have nothing to do at work, I'm reading The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting and Running a Coffee Bar and the first chapter is all about the history of coffee, which I am finding INCREDIBLY intriguing. Here are some of the things I've learned about this beverage that everyone but me drinks:

1) Coffee grounds can also be used as a plant fertilizer. Perhaps we should make it a Coffeehouse/Bakery/Florist and sell roses from our garden.
2) The most well known origin of coffee is of the sheep herder Kaldi who noticed his sheep acting more exciting and energetic than usual after eating berries from a certain plant. He even noticed himself feeling more awake after trying the berries himself. Then a monk saw him eating the berries and scolded him for eating the devil's fruit, only to try it himself and become obssessed. Then the monastery starting drinking coffee to stay awake and the rest is history!
3) The first coffee shop was called Kiv Han and opened in Constantinople in 1475.
4) In the fifteenth century Turkish law allowed a woman to divorce her husband if he failed to provide her with her daily quota of coffee.
5) When coffee houses made it to England, they were very social places where people would just go to sit and chat and meet new people. In fact, they were called "penny universities" because for a penny you could buy a cup of coffee then go socialize with people and learn smart stuff from smart people!
6) The practice of tipping in restaurants started in English coffee houses. When customers wanted good service and seating, they put money in a tin labeled "To Insure Proper Service" aka TIPS.
7) Captain John Smith brought coffee to America first.
8) Tea was always more popular than coffee in America until the Boston Tea Party when people switched over to coffee to protest taxes put in place by King George.

Fascinating no!?!?!?! I'm excited for us to open our Coffeehouse/Bakery/Library/Florist

Sincerely,
Future Baker