You wouldn’t normally think a product originally made from coffee beans grown in South America would eventually become one of the most popular and well-known Swiss brands, right? However, Nescafé, an internationally recognized brand of instant coffee, was developed here in Switzerland and launched in 1938. More than 75 years later, it’s ranked as the top Swiss brand by Interbrand for 2016.

Maybe you are a loyal Nescafé-drinker, or maybe you’ve never tried it, but either way—this product has a fascinating history. Want to learn more? You can test your knowledge with my trivia questions. Look at all eight questions and the corresponding choices below, pick your responses and then scroll down to see if you’re correct. Good luck!

Nescafé Trivia Questions

1. What South American nation requested Nestlé’s help to deal with a coffee bean surplus in 1929?

a. Brazil
b. Colombia
c. Venezuela

2. The original recipe for Nescafé, developed by Max Morgenthaler, used what method?

a. freeze-drying
b. freeze-drying and adding carbohydrates
c. spray-drying and adding carbohydrates

3. In which Swiss city was the first Nescafé factory located?

a. Orbe
b. Montreux
c. Vevey

4. Nescafé originally came in aluminum cans, but Nestlé started introducing glass bottles in 1961. Which country was the first to receive them?

a. China
b. Japan
c. Switzerland

5. Which of the following historical events DID NOT include a cup of Nescafé? 

a. The first expedition to Mount Everest in 1953
b. The Apollo 11 mission to the moon in 1969
c.  When Elvis Presley met US President Richard Nixon in 1970

6. Nescafé Gold was introduced in 1965, and now includes several flavors that are all produced in Switzerland. What are the flavors?

a. De Luxe, Finesse, Espresso
b. De Luxe, Finesse, All’Italiana, Sérénade
c. De Luxe, Finesse, All’Italiana, Sérénade and Espresso

7. In 2010, Nescafé launched the Nescafé Barista, a coffee machine that uses soluble coffee. What kind of coffee drink(s) can you make with this machine?

a. Espresso
b. Espresso, Lungo, Americano
c. Espresso, Lungo, Americano, Latte Macchiato, Cappuccino

8. Today, Nestlé reports that approximately how many cups of Nescafé coffee are consumed every second?

a. 500
b. 1,000
c. 5,500

Answers

1. What South American nation requested Nestlé’s help to deal with a coffee bean surplus in 1929?

a. Brazil

In 1929, the Banque Française et Italienne pour l’Amérique du Sud requested help from their former employee, Nestlé Chairman Louis Dapples. With a decline in coffee consumption due to the Great Depression, Brazil had a surplus of coffee beans that they wanted to somehow preserve. They wanted Nestlé’s to develop a new “soluble coffee cube.”

2. The original recipe for Nescafé, developed by Max Morgenthaler, used what method?

c. spray-drying and adding carbohydrates

Mr. Morganthaler’s technique for making soluble coffee, which involved heating the coffee at a very high temperature and pressure, helped to maintain the coffee’s natural aroma and flavor, while preserving it over a longer period of time. He worked for years to develop this new technique. In fact, even though Nestlé cancelled the program, he continued on with the project, supported by his own funds. Thankfully, his determination paid off, and Nescafé was launched on April 1, 1938.

3. In which Swiss city was the first Nescafé factory located?

a. Orbe

Nescafé‘s first factory, which continues to operate today and produces Nescafé Gold for Switzerland, is located in the town of Orbe within the Swiss canton of Vaud.

4. Nescafé originally came in aluminum cans, but Nestlé started introducing glass bottles in 1961. Which country was the first to receive them?

b. Japan

The new packaging was designed to improve the freshness of Nescafé. Shown below is an example of an advertisement from Japan from the 1960s.

5. Which of the following historical events DID NOT include a cup of Nescafé?

c. When Elvis Presley met US President Richard Nixon in 1970

Here’s photographic proof that Nescafé was enjoyed at high elevations in 1953 during the expedition to Mount Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. In 1969, Nescafé also traveled to space during the Apollo 11 mission to the moon with three American astronauts: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. There is no reported evidence that President Nixon served Nescafé to Elvis visited the White House in 1970.

6. Nescafé Gold was introduced in 1965, and now includes several flavors that are all produced in Switzerland. What are the flavors?

b. De Luxe, Finesse, All’Italiana, Sérénade

With Nescafé Gold, Nestlé introduced a new freeze-drying technique for its instant coffee. Today, you can find four flavors in Switzerland: De Luxe (my favorite), All-Italiana (a dark roast with a bold flavor that’s good for cooking and baking), Finesse (I haven’t tried it, but it’s supposed to have a subtle and delicate aroma) and Sérénade (for me, this decaffeinated coffee is a good option after lunchtime!).

7. In 2010, Nescafé launched the Nescafé Barista, a coffee machine that uses soluble coffee. What kind of coffee drink(s) can you make with this machine?

c. Espresso, Lungo, Americano, Latte Macchiato, Cappuccino

The Nescafé Barista is the first machine to use Nescafé Gold, and also for the first time, this machine is now available in Switzerland. You can receive this machine for free with 6 codes collected from Nescafé Gold products. After you add water and one of the four Nescafé Gold flavors to the machine, it’s ready to go. I prefer my coffee with milk, so I almost always make either a Latte Macchiato or Cappuccino, adding the milk to my glass ahead of time, which gets steamed by the machine before the coffee is added. With the relatively high cost for a cup of coffee in Switzerland, this at-home machine offers an affordable alternative—one bottle of Nescafé Gold (approx. CHF 12.80) makes about 100 cups of coffee. Here’s how it looks:

8. Today, Nestlé reports that approximately how many cups of Nescafé coffee are consumed every second?

c. 5,500

Incredible, yes? I never would have guessed this, but you can find Nescafé in 180 different countries, and people apparently drink a lot of it, and often.

How did you do? Did you get them all right? To learn more about the history of Nescafé in Switzerland and beyond, go to Nescafe.ch (in French or German) or visit Nestle’s website (in English) for information related to this Nescafé‘s 75th anniversary.

Photo credits: All images and photographs (except the last two) were provided courtesy of Nescafe.ch.

Please note: I received the Nescafé Barista and Gold products for free for my honest review. Everything is 100% my own views from personal use and experience of the product.