The things we eat

Now seriously, how did we get to some of the things we eat?

As an example, consider coffee:

1. You pick the fruit
2. You extract the seeds, and then throw away the fruit 
3. You dry the seeds, and then burn them in a fire  (what?)
4. You grind up the burnt seeds and pour boiling water on them (why would you do that?)
5. You throw away the seeds, and then you DRINK THE WATER!

The only one of those steps that makes any sense is the first one. And all the intermediate products are noxious – no one would want to consume any of them – you have to go all the way thru the process to get something worthwhile.

How did humans ever figure this out?

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Inspired by a recent post by our friends on ZTC down in the Caribbean, on cocoa, whose preparation is almost as weird.

The things we eat