Nowadays

Coffee beans have been around for thousands of years, according to the Beverage Answers website. Coffee beans come from the seed of a berry called a cherry and grow in clusters on trees. Humans reportedly were eating coffee-bean berries 100,000 years ago, Beverage Answers adds. One legend has it that an Ethiopian goat herder observed his goats eating red berries from a tree and becoming energized, which prompted him to try the berries, too. Coffee beans grow all over the world, generally within 1,000 miles of the equator, the Specialty-Coffee-Advisor website reports.

According to the University of Michigan Health Service, moderate doses of caffeine, found in coffee beans, are not harmful. However, the American Fitness Professionals and Associates organization cautions that caffeine may increase your heartbeat, respiration, stomach acid and urine production. The side effects of caffeine will vary depending on your sensitivity to caffeine, metabolic rate and the amount of caffeine you consume, AFPA adds, noting that other risk factors include whether or not you smoke, the medications you take and the health of your liver.