The world is divided in two, there is an element that has always separated peoples and nations and which can be summed up in one simple question: tea or coffee?
Beyond personal preferences and tastes, there are cultural elements that influence the traditions and habits widespread in different countries and, consequently, structure their industries.
As can be seen from the map there is a more or less clear division: in the United States and Latin America coffee excels as well as in Europe where only Great Britain sees the prevalence of tea. While in Russia, in Arab countries the leaf-based infusion prevails.
Drawing up a global ranking regarding the diffusion of drinks, coffee excels over tea with a consumption of around 1.6 billion cups per day. Drawing up a ranking we find water on the first step of the podium, coffee on the second and then tea . Next to follow: beer, energy drink, vodka, wine, coca-cola, milk, orange juice and cider.
In the common imagination, created by films and television, Italians are the largest consumers of coffee. Images of Italian popular culture are often linked to coffee, strictly espresso or mocha, but Italy is "only" in twelfth place in the scale of coffee consumers with around 12 kg per capita per year. At the top of this ranking we find the countries of Northern Europe: Finland (12 kilograms per capita per year), Norway (9.9 kilograms per capita per year) and Iceland (9 kilograms per capita per year). Here it is common to see people walking, working, shopping and more with huge mugs full of coffee. Certainly compared to espresso this coffee is less concentrated, but the quantity of caffeine is significantly greater. The most widespread method in these countries is filter coffee and the roasting is very light.
We've talked about the biggest coffee consumers, but who is at the bottom of this list?
In last place we find Uzbekistan with a consumption of 0.10 kilograms of coffee per person per year; preceded by Pakistan, Kenya, Azerbaijan, China and Nigeria. These countries have different habits and customs and prefer other drinks, mainly tea, and have not yet developed a widespread culture around caffeine. Despite these data, it is interesting to note that coffee is gradually gaining popularity in some of these regions, but per capita consumption still remains low.