The Unexpected Country That Drinks The Most Coffee

Whether you enjoy a daily cappuccino or latte – or prefer your coffee nitro, cold brew, or iced – this little black drink is ubiquitous. From Mexico to Japan, people love their joe, and it's an affair that has been going on for hundreds of years. But which country has been really carrying the torch for this caffeinated cuppa?

Though Brazil is the country that produces the most coffee in the world, it only comes in second in terms of national coffee consumption. In fact, it's the United States that drinks the most coffee in the world — around 146 billion cups per year. The average American drinks three cups of coffee per day, just below the FDA-recommended daily maximum in terms of caffeine content — which is four or five cups, just to be clear.

But in terms of per capita coffee consumption, Americans barely even rank. While Americans consume around nine pounds of coffee per person every year, this only puts them in 25th place. Coming in at number one is Finland – where the average person consumes up to eight cups of coffee per day.

Coffee is a big business in the United States — an $80 billion one, to be precise. Each day, Americans drink around 400 million cups of coffee, with no sign of slowing down. In fact, Americans have been big on coffee since the days of the Revolutionary War when drinking it was seen as a sign of solidarity against the British, whose preferred tea was being widely boycotted. It then played an important role during the Industrial Revolution, as frequent coffee breaks gave factory employees the energy to keep going through long work days that were no longer dictated by daylight hours. Into the early 20th century, the development of instant coffee by American inventor George C.L. Washington fueled a different kind of worker: the military, who were given rations of the stuff to get them through both World Wars.

In 1971, Starbucks opened its doors in Seattle, bringing Americans into a new era of coffee drinking fueled by endless customizations and powerful brand recognition. Though coffee is only produced in the states of California and Hawaii, Starbucks made America the face of mass-market coffee culture around the world.

Finland has a strong national coffee culture, and the average Finnish person consumes a shocking 26 pounds of coffee per year. Its Scandinavian neighbors aren't far behind, including Norway (22 pounds), Iceland (20 pounds), Denmark (19 pounds), and Sweden (18 pounds). This is thought to be a result of the long nights and short winter days in the far north of Europe where daylight might last only a few hours. Drinking coffee is a way to perk up during the work day, or in time for evening plans when the sun might set as early as 3 p.m. in the afternoon. Filter coffee is the most common, and the Finns generally enjoy a light roast.

Finnish workers are legally entitled to two 15-minute coffee breaks per day, and it is considered proper etiquette for people to be offered coffee at pretty much any event, meeting, or friendly visit — no matter the time of day or night. The Finnish language contains a whole host of vocabulary words used to describe different circumstances and occasions in which you might enjoy a coffee, whether that's in a sauna, after winning a trophy, or even after voting in an election. That's a lot of coffee for a country that doesn't have the climate to produce its own beans!