Straightforward Business

6c Coffee facts
Speaking Reading
1 Work in pairs. Discuss these questions. 1 Read a short fact sheet about coffee.
Tick () any information that surprises
Is your country a coffee-producing country? If yes, where does it grow?
you.
If not, do you know where the coffee in your country comes from?
Is coffee a popular drink in your country? Where and when do people
usually drink it?
Do you like coffee? If yes, how do you take it?
Do you prefer fresh or instant? Why?

Business facts: Coffee is big business. More than 25 million

people work in the coffee industry around the
globe. More than 2 billion cups of coffee are

Coffee
consumed in the world every day. Different
countries have different preferences and tastes,
but it is generally accepted that the best coffee
comes from the blue mountains of Jamaica.

Five facts about Five facts about

coffee production coffee consumption

Coffee is the second most Coffee is the most popular drink

important commodity in the in the world (apart from water).
world after oil. More than 500 billion cups of
coffee are drunk every year.
Brazil is the biggest coffee
The US is the biggest consumer
producer in the world. It produces
of coffee in the world. It imports
around 22 million bags of coffee
almost 6 million coffee bags
a year. Thats almost a third of all
a year. Thats over $4 billion
coffee production.
dollars worth of coffee.
Indonesia and Vietnam are
Finland is the country with the
the largest producers in Asia.
highest coffee consumption per
Between them they produce
capita.
nearly 15 million bags a year.
90% of coffee production takes Although fresh coffee is generally
place in developing countries. more popular than instant coffee,
Many of these countries depend countries which have a tradition
on the coffee trade for foreign of drinking tea prefer instant.
currency. The average price for a cup of
The average daily wage of a coffee in the US is just over $2.
coffee picker is around $2 a day.

Glossary
commodity n something that can be bought or sold, especially a basic
food product or fuel
foreign currency n money from other countries, eg dollars, euros, pounds
daily wage n the money that workers are paid for a days work
per capita adv for each person

1 Straightforward Pre-intermediate Second edition Macmillan Publishers Limited 2012

 Straightforward Business

Coffee facts 6c

2 Work in pairs. Compare your answers with a

partner and answer the questions. Do not look
back at the fact sheet.
1 Which is the number one most important
commodity in the world?
2 Which country provides more than 30% of the
worlds coffee?
3 Which type of coffee is generally more popular,
fresh or instant?
4 In which country do people drink more coffee?
5 What is the connection between the average price
of a cup of coffee and the average earnings of a
coffee picker?
Amazing Food Facts
1 (expensive) meal in the world was in Bangkok
in 2007. For their food and drink, the 15 diners paid
a) 75,000 b) 100,000 c) 150,000.
2 (good) caviar in the world comes from
a) the Caspian Sea b) Lake Titicaca in Bolivia
c) the Eastern Mediterranean.
3 (large) restaurant in the world is in Syria.
It seats
a) 2,500 b) 4,000 c) 6,000 people.

3 Look again at the fact sheet and check your 4 (big) donut in the world was made in 2007.
It was
answers to exercise 2.
a) 3m b) 6m c) 10m in diameter.
4 Find words in the text that mean
5 (long) hot dog in the world was made in
1 someone who buys or uses something. Japan. It measured
2 a country that grows and sells a product. a) 8m b) 25m c) 600m.
3
4
the world.
an amount that is typical for a group of things or
6 (popular) fast food in Britain is
people. a) hamburgers b) pizzas c) sandwiches.
7 (heavy) tomato in the world weighed
a) 3.5 kg b) 5 kg c) 8 kg.
Grammar: superlatives
8 Scientists think that (old) soup in the world
We use the superlative form to compare more was made from
than two things or people. a) crocodiles b) dinosaurs c) hippopotamuses.
We make the superlative of short adjectives with
the+adjective+-est.
cheap the cheapest
4 Work in pairs. Think of places you know where you
can drink coffee or tea (cafs, bars, hotels, etc). Make
large the largest
sentences about these places, using superlatives. You
hot the hottest
can use adjectives from the box or think of your own.
happy the happiest
Brazil is the biggest coffee producer in the world.
badbigcheapexpensivefashionable
We make the superlative of longer adjectives friendlygoodnear to the schooltraditional
with the+most+adjective.
the most interesting, the most traditional
Coffee is the most popular drink in the world.
Did you know?
There are two very common irregular
superlatives. 1 Read the information about Starbucks and discuss the
good the best bad the worst questions.
The best coffee comes from Jamaica.
Starbucks started as a small coffee shop in Seattle. In
See Language Reference page 64 the 1990s, the company grew and it now serves coffee
to more than 11 million customers around the world
1 Find six examples of superlatives in the fact sheet every week. With more than 17,000 stores in about 50
about coffee.
countries around the world, Starbucks has become
2 Complete the sentences in the quiz Amazing the most famous coffee shop in the world.
Food Facts. Put the adjectives in brackets into the
superlative form.
How many of the following can you find near where you
3 Work in pairs. Choose the correct answers in the live?
quiz.
Burger KingDominos PizzaHagen Dazs
Kentucky Fried ChickenMcDonaldsStarbucks

What do you like eating or drinking in these places?

Straightforward Pre-intermediate Second edition Macmillan Publishers Limited 2012 2