Coffee Quiz – Printable Version
20 multiple-choice questions with an explained answer key, ready to print.
Print the sheet (or save it as a PDF from the print window), hand it out, then mark it together using the answer page: every answer is explained. Perfect for a party, a birthday, a classroom, a care home or a team activity.
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- Which Arab city is considered the birthplace of the coffee trade in the 15th century?
- A. Mocha
- B. Baghdad
- C. Damascus
- D. Cairo
- Which is the world's leading coffee-producing country?
- A. Colombia
- B. Brazil
- C. Vietnam
- D. Ethiopia
- Which coffee drink is made with hot frothed milk poured over an espresso?
- A. The cappuccino
- B. The lungo
- C. The ristretto
- D. The Americano
- Which famous Parisian café was a meeting place for Enlightenment philosophers in the 18th century?
- A. La Closerie des Lilas
- B. Les Deux Magots
- C. Le Procope
- D. Café de Flore
- What is the art of drawing designs on coffee using milk foam called?
- A. Milk painting
- B. Latte art
- C. Coffee design
- D. Foam art
- What is the difference between a 'washed' coffee and a 'natural' coffee?
- A. Washed coffee is decaffeinated, natural coffee is not
- B. Washed coffee is depulped and fermented in water, natural coffee dries whole
- C. Washed coffee grows near water, natural coffee at altitude
- D. There is no difference in taste
- What is the purpose of 'tamping' before extracting an espresso?
- A. To measure the exact weight of coffee
- B. To aerate the coffee before adding water
- C. To heat the coffee before extraction
- D. To evenly compress the ground coffee for uniform extraction
- Which coffee chain is the largest in the world by number of locations?
- A. Tim Hortons
- B. Dunkin'
- C. Starbucks
- D. Costa Coffee
- What is the record price ever paid at auction for a kilo of coffee beans?
- A. About €2,000/kg
- B. About €500/kg
- C. Over €10,000/kg
- D. About €100/kg
- What ingredients make up a traditional Irish coffee?
- A. Coffee, vodka, and crushed ice
- B. Coffee, hot milk, and cinnamon
- C. Coffee, dark rum, and orange juice
- D. Coffee, Irish whiskey, sugar, and lightly whipped cream poured on top
- About how many cups of coffee are consumed worldwide each day?
- A. 50 million
- B. 200 million
- C. 10 billion
- D. 2 billion
- What does 'macchiato' literally mean in Italian?
- A. Stained
- B. Filtered
- C. Mixed
- D. Doubled
- Compared to coffee, how does tea's caffeine content per cup generally compare?
- A. Tea always contains more caffeine than coffee
- B. Tea contains no caffeine at all
- C. Both contain exactly the same amount
- D. Tea generally contains less caffeine per cup than coffee
- How many coffee beans does a coffee cherry usually contain?
- A. 2
- B. 1
- C. 5
- D. About ten
- According to legend, after which event did Vienna open its first coffee houses, thanks to sacks of beans left behind by the enemy?
- A. The French Revolution
- B. The Congress of Vienna in 1815
- C. The Ottoman siege of 1683
- D. The Thirty Years' War
- Where does the name 'americano', an espresso topped up with hot water, supposedly come from?
- A. A New York barista
- B. An American coffee chain
- C. American soldiers in Italy who found espresso too strong
- D. A bean grown in America
- Which iced drink, hugely popular in Vietnam, mixes very strong coffee with sweetened condensed milk?
- A. Greek frappé
- B. Cà phê sữa đá
- C. Cold brew
- D. Affogato
- What colour are coffee beans before roasting?
- A. Black
- B. Green
- C. Red
- D. White
- What is the reference pressure an espresso machine uses to extract coffee?
- A. About 2 bar
- B. About 9 bar
- C. About 50 bar
- D. About 200 bar
- In Italy, at what time of day does tradition say you should drink a cappuccino?
- A. In the morning, never after lunch
- B. Only in the evening
- C. After dinner, to aid digestion
- D. In the afternoon with cake
Answer key — Coffee Quiz
- A. MochaThe port of Mocha, in Yemen, was the major export hub for coffee to the rest of the world in the 15th century.
- B. BrazilBrazil produces about one-third of the world's coffee, far ahead of Vietnam and Colombia.
- A. The cappuccinoA traditional cappuccino consists of one-third espresso, one-third hot milk, and one-third milk foam.
- C. Le ProcopeFounded in 1686, Le Procope is the oldest café in Paris. Voltaire, Rousseau, and Diderot debated there the ideas that would enlighten Europe.
- B. Latte artLatte art is the technique of pouring frothed milk in a way that creates patterns (heart, rosette, tulip) on the surface of the coffee.
- B. Washed coffee is depulped and fermented in water, natural coffee dries wholeWashed coffee produces clean, precise flavors (floral acidity), while natural coffee is more fruity, sweet, and wine-like.
- D. To evenly compress the ground coffee for uniform extractionTamping creates uniform resistance so that the water flows through the entire coffee puck evenly, avoiding channeling that degrades the extraction.
- C. StarbucksStarbucks has more than 35,000 locations worldwide, far ahead of its competitors.
- C. Over €10,000/kgLots of Panamanian Geisha (Hacienda La Esmeralda) or Ethiopian Yirgacheffe have reached record prices exceeding €10,000/kg at specialty coffee auctions.
- D. Coffee, Irish whiskey, sugar, and lightly whipped cream poured on topCreated in 1943 in Foynes, Ireland, Irish coffee blends sweetened hot coffee with whiskey, topped with a layer of lightly whipped cream that floats on the surface.
- D. 2 billionIt's estimated that around 2 billion cups of coffee are drunk every day around the world, making coffee one of the most consumed beverages after water.
- A. Stained'Macchiato' means 'stained' in Italian: a macchiato is an espresso 'stained' with a small touch of milk foam.
- D. Tea generally contains less caffeine per cup than coffeeWhile dried tea leaves contain more caffeine by weight, a brewed cup of tea generally contains less than a cup of coffee, due to the quantities and steeping times used.
- A. 2The two beans face each other on their flat side. Sometimes a single rounded bean develops: the 'peaberry', prized by some enthusiasts.
- C. The Ottoman siege of 1683A spy called Kolschitzky supposedly recovered the sacks the Turkish army left as it fled.
- C. American soldiers in Italy who found espresso too strongDuring the Second World War, GIs supposedly diluted espresso to get the taste of their filter coffee back.
- B. Cà phê sữa đáThe coffee drips through a small metal filter straight onto the condensed milk, then everything is poured over ice.
- B. GreenThis is called "green coffee". Roasting, at over 200 °C, develops the brown colour and aromas.
- B. About 9 bar9 bar is about nine times atmospheric pressure. Machines advertising "15" or "19 bar" are actually giving their pump's maximum pressure.
- A. In the morning, never after lunchFor many Italians, milk is too heavy after a meal. Ordering a cappuccino at 3 pm instantly gives the tourist away!