– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

By the time you finish watching this video,

eight million cups of coffee will have been  drunk all over the world.

Coffee has been consumed for at least

1,500 years and some say its impact is so great that it helped fuel 

the Enlightenment, which gave rise to some of the 

big ideas that underpin the world as we know it. The main active ingredient of coffee is 

caffeine, which is considered the most widely consumed psychoactive drug on the planet. 

So where does coffee come from and 

what does it do to us when we drink it? Coffee comes from the fruit of the 

Coffea arabica plant that originated in Ethiopia. One story claims a ninth Century goat 

herder called Kaldi, saw his goats were more full of energy after eating coffee berries — 

so he had a bite too. Historic records suggest the Sufis of Yemen

roasted the seed of the coffee berry to create the beverage we recognise today. 

In the 15th Century, the first coffee houses 

began to appear across the Ottoman Empire before spreading to Europe in the 

following centuries. Coffeehouses in Europe became a 

space for discussing business, politics and new ideas. 

One academic - Jurgen Habermas – even says without coffee we might  

not have had the Enlightenment. 

Philosophers like Kant and Voltaire - who  is said to have drunk as many as 72 cups a 

day - started to question the Catholic Church’s interpretation of the world. 

Instead they looked to science, believing that everything in the Universe could 

be rationally explained. This so-called Age of Enlightenment 

radically changed the world as we knew it. It led to the overthrow of monarchs, the 

growth of democracy, and numerous scientific discoveries. 

Coffee also fuelled the slave trade. The French used slaves from Africa on 

plantations in Haiti and by the early 1800s Brazil was producing a third of the world’s 

coffee using African slaves.

Did coffee give rise to capitalism too? 

Companies started giving away coffee to their workers and eventually let 

them have coffee breaks. This wasn’t an altruistic move. 

They were trying to increase worker productivity. 

Fast forward to the present and two billion  cups of coffee are consumed every day. 

It’s a $90 billion a year industry. And, more than that, it is a 

fundamental social part of everyday life for 

billions of people.

So how does coffee impact the body?

When caffeine enters your digestive system, it is absorbed via the intestine into the 

bloodstream. But the effects only start when caffeine 

hits the nervous system. This happens because caffeine has a 

chemical structure very similar to that of a substance produced by our own body: 

adenosine. Caffeine binds to the body’s adenosine 

receptors, which can be found on the surface of nerve cells. 

It's like a key opening a lock. Adenosine is known to slow down the 

sympathetic nervous system - it reduces your heart rate and generates a state of drowsiness 

and relaxation. By blocking these receptors, caffeine 

generates the opposite effect. Your blood pressure, for example, may 

increase slightly, especially if you are not used to drinking coffee often. 

The same goes for brain activity: caffeine stimulates the brain, 

suppresses hunger and helps you stay in a state of alertness, so you 

can concentrate for longer. Caffeine can have a positive impact on 

your mood, inhibit feelings of fatigue, and can improve physical performance. 

So, many athletes use it as a supplement. 

These effects can last between 15 minutes and two hours. 

The body removes caffeine five to 10 hours after consuming it but caffeine’s residual 

effects can last even longer.

If you want to optimise caffeine's

effects on your body, experts suggest abstaining from caffeine in the afternoon 

- so your cup of coffee the following morning has more impact. 

Coffee also requires care when it’s drunk. 

For healthy adults, the recommended [maximum] limit is 400 milligrams of caffeine a day.

That’s about four or five cups of coffee. 

Exceeding this limit can lead to side effects such as insomnia, nervousness, anxiety, 

tachycardia, stomach discomfort, nausea and headache. 

Toxic effects, like seizures, can be seen after the rapid consumption of around 

1,200 milligrams of caffeine - that’s the equivalent of around 12 cups of coffee.

Of course these limits vary from person 

to person: some people are genetically more 

sensitive to caffeine. But when drunk in moderation, coffee 

can be good for your health. For instance, it’s associated with a 

reduced risk for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, some cancers and Parkinson’s. 

And these health gains aren't just 

linked to caffeine. Coffee has other beneficial substances, 

such as chlorogenic acid, a potent antioxidant that may reduce the risk of many diseases. 

So next time you grab a cup of coffee, you might not look at it the same again.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
coffee /ˈkɔːfi/ B1	noun - a hot drink made from roasted coffee beans
caffeine /ˈkæfiːn/ B2	noun - a stimulant found in coffee and tea
consume /kənˈsjuːm/ B1	verb - to eat or drink something
drink /drɪŋk/ A1	verb - to take liquid into the mouth and swallow it noun - an alcoholic beverage
body /ˈbɒdi/ A2	noun - the physical structure of a person or animal
brain /breɪn/ B1	noun - the organ inside the head that controls thought and feeling
effect /ɪˈfekt/ B1	noun - a change that is a result or consequence of an action
health /hɛlθ/ A2	noun - the state of being free from illness or injury
energy /ˈɛnədʒi/ A2	noun - the power to do things or make things happen
plant /plɑːnt/ B1	noun - a living thing that grows in the ground
enlightenment /ɪnˈlaɪtənmənt/ C1	noun - the state of having knowledge or understanding
democracy /dɪˈmɒkrəsi/ B2	noun - a system of government where the people choose leaders by voting
capitalism /ˈkæpɪtəlɪzəm/ C1	noun - an economic system based on private ownership and market competition
alertness /əˈlɜːtnəs/ B2	noun - the state of being watchful and quick to notice things
drowsiness /ˈdraʊzinəs/ C1	noun - a feeling of being sleepy or lethargic
fatigue /fəˈtiːɡ/ B2	noun - extreme tiredness
antioxidant /ˌæntiˈɒksɪdənt/ C2	noun - a substance that prevents damage caused by free radicals
adenosine /əˈdɛnəsin/ C2	noun - a compound involved in energy transfer in cells
seizure /ˈsiːʒə/ B2	noun - a sudden attack of illness, especially a fit or convulsion
antioxidant /ˌæntiˈɒksɪdənt/ C2	adjective - preventing oxidation or having antioxidant properties

Key Grammar Structures

• Coffee has been consumed for at least 1,500 years and some say its impact is so great that it helped fuel the Enlightenment...

  ➔ Present Perfect Continuous/Past Simple with 'that' clause

  ➔ The sentence uses the present perfect continuous ('has been consumed') to indicate an action that started in the past and continues to the present. The 'that' clause expresses a belief about the impact of coffee. The verb 'fuel' is used metaphorically.

• One academic - Jurgen Habermas – even says without coffee we might not have had the Enlightenment.

  ➔ Conditional Sentence (Type 3 implied), Appositive

  ➔ This sentence uses an implied conditional structure. The meaning is 'If we hadn't had coffee, we might not have had the Enlightenment'. 'Jurgen Habermas' is an appositive, providing more information about 'One academic'.

• Philosophers like Kant and Voltaire - who is said to have drunk as many as 72 cups a day - started to question the Catholic Church’s interpretation of the world.

  ➔ Non-defining Relative Clause

  ➔ The clause 'who is said to have drunk as many as 72 cups a day' provides extra information about Voltaire but isn't essential to the sentence's meaning. It's set off by commas. The phrase 'as many as' emphasizes a large quantity.

• Instead they looked to science, believing that everything in the Universe could be rationally explained.

  ➔ Gerund as Subject Complement, Subordinate Clause with 'that'

  ➔ The phrase 'believing that everything in the Universe could be rationally explained' functions as a result of their looking to science. 'Believing' is a present participle acting as a subject complement. The 'that' clause expresses their belief.