• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / History / How are Bananas, Sugar, and Coffee not Latin American Food and Where do they come from?

How are Bananas, Sugar, and Coffee not Latin American Food and Where do they come from?

April 4, 2020 by Karen Hill

Bananas from Ecuador. Sugar from Cuba. Coffee from Colombia.

These foods are so strongly associated with Latin America that many people think they must have originated there. They didn’t.

Bananas and sugarcane are both native to tropical Asia. Because they only grow in a warm climate, they flourished when transplanted to the tropical colonies of Latin America. Coffee was first an Arab drink before becoming popular in Europe in the seventeenth century.

In 1714, the French managed to transplant a coffee tree to Martinique in the West Indies. Before long, coffee was being grown throughout Latin America, which now produces two-thirds of the world’s supply of coffee.

Related Facts

  • History of Coffee
  • Who invented coffee and How did people learn how to make coffee?
  • Why Do Bananas Turn Brown Faster In the Fridge and What Is the Best Way To Store Bananas To Keep Them Fresh?
  • Does Espresso Contain More Caffeine Than Regular Coffee?
  • When Did People Start Drinking Coffee?
  • How is instant coffee made and Where does instant coffee come from?

Filed Under: History

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Why were Spanish colonists more prone to mix with Native Americans than English colonists were?
Next Post: Where do Lima Beans come from and How did Lima Beans get their name? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy