Coffee History

Kaldi Coffee Legend :

History of coffee is a legend, it is believed that Kaldi, an Arabian shepherd discovered his goats behaving funny; they seem to be actually dancing around a bush. When the Shepherd investigated, he found that it was the bright berry in the bush which made the goats act funny. Soon Kaldi came to a conclusion that these particular beans from the bush cause some kind of excitement when eaten. So Kaldi himself had tried these beans and he was able to fell the ‘effect’ of these beans. Later, the shepherd passed this message to the monks from the local monastery. Everyone from the monastery was able to feel the stimulating effect of these red berries. These berries were distributed to other monasteries and this had spread all across the globe.

The coffee plant belongs to the family Rubiaceae which is a woody evergreen perennial dicotyledon. The plant has an orthotropic trunk with primary, secondary and tertiary plagiotropic branches. There are several species of coffee plants, the two common species cultivated are the Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora. Throughout the globe Coffea Arabica is widely cultivated; Coffea Arabica is also called the Arabica coffee. The Robusta coffee is the Coffea canephora, which has very high caffeine content but the taste seem to be inferior. Both Arabica and Robusta coffee are grown at high altitudes and in places where the temperature is low.

There numerous kinds of coffee beans. The Typica is said to be the base from which many kinds of coffee has been developed. The Pache comum is the mutation of the Typica type. The Bourbon coffee plants make about 30% more coffee than the Typica variety. Bourbon coffee fruits are basically small and dense and they tend to mature faster. The Catuai produces a superior yield, which is a cross between the Caturra and Mundo Novo. The Amarello produces a yellow fruit hence not preferred by cultivators. Again Maragogype is a mutation of Typica and this was discovered in Brazil. The Kent is known for its resistance to coffee rust and produces high yield. The Catimor is a cross of Caturra coffee and Timor coffee which was produced in Portugal. The Catimor variety matures earlier, and has larger coffee fruits and seeds hence the production is high. The most famous coffee is the Blue Mountain; know for its flavor and resistance against many diseases and they have the ability to grow in higher altitudes.

Coffee is a brewed beverage prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, of the coffee plant. Caffeinated coffee has a stimulating effect in humans. Today, coffee is one of the most popular beverages worldwide.

Coffee was first consumed in the ninth century, when it was discovered in the highlands of Ethiopia. From there, it spread to Egypt and Yemen, and by the 15th century, had reached Azerbaijan, Persia, Turkey, and northern Africa. From the Muslim world, coffee spread to Italy, then to the rest of Europe, to Indonesia, and to the Americas.

Coffee berries, which contain the coffee bean, are produced by several species

of small evergreen bush of the genus Coffea. The two most commonly grown species are Coffea canephora (also known as Coffea robusta) and Coffea arabica. These are cultivated in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Once ripe, coffee berries are picked, processed, and dried. The seeds are then roasted, undergoing several physical and chemical changes. They are roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired flavor. They are then ground and brewed to create coffee. Coffee can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways.

Coffee has played an important role in many societies throughout modern history. In Africa and Yemen, it was used in religious ceremonies. As a result, the Ethiopian Church banned its secular consumption until the reign of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia. It was banned in Ottoman Turkey in the 17th century for political reasons, and was associated with rebellious political activities in Europe.

Coffee is an important export commodity. In 2004, coffee was the top agricultural export for 12 countries, and in 2005, it was the world’s seventh-largest legal agricultural export by value.

Some controversy is associated with coffee cultivation and its impact on the environment. Many studies have examined the relationship between coffee consumption and certain medical conditions; whether the overall effects of coffee are positive or negative is still disputed.

Initially, coffee was brewed from green, unroasted beans to yield a tea-like beverage. By the late 13th century, Arabians roasted and ground coffee before brewing it. Ironically, coffee was usually brewed by Arabian men, and then drunk by Arabian women to alleviate menstrual discomforts.

Coffee cultivation was rare until the 15th and 16th centuries, when extensive planting of the trees occurred in the Yemen region of Arabia. From Yemen the use of coffee beans spread throughout the Arabian peninsula and later via the Othman Empire to Turkey. At that time, coffee was used for it’s medicinal properties and as a ritual drink. The world’s first coffee shop, Kiva Han, opened in Constantinople in 1475.

The modern coffee drink was invented at the end of 15th century, when roasting and crushing the coffee beans before extracting them with hot water grew in acceptance.

Turkish people claimed coffee to be an aphrodisiac and husbands kept their wifes well supplied. If the husband refused, it was a legitimate cause for a wife to divorce!

Legend also has it that the Arabs, protective of Coffea Arabica, refused to allow fertile seeds to leave their country. Transportation of the plant out of the Moslem nations was forbidden by the government. Around 1650 a Moslem pilgrim from India named Baba Budan snuck seeds out of Arabia. He planted his seeds in the hills in Mysore, India where they flourished.

Introduced into Europe in the early 1600′s, coffeehouses quickly appeared. The Arabs used so much coffee that the Christian church denounced coffee as “the hellish black brew.” But Pope Clement VIII found it so great tasting that he baptized it and made it a Christian beverage saying “coffee is so delicious it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it.”

Exactly where and when coffee was first cultivated is not known, but some authorities believe that it was grown initially in Arabia near the Red Sea around the year 675. Other authorities say that coffee was discovered in Ethiopia around the year 900. Still others say that around the year 575, Arab traders took it to the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula, now known as Yemen, where the cultivation of coffee began.

In 1607, Captain John Smith founded the colony of Virginia at Jamestown. It’s believed that he introduced coffee to North America.

The first coffeehouse opened in England in 1652. A cup of coffee sold for a penny.

Paris coffeehouses opened in 1672.

In 1675, Franz Georg Kolschitzky, a Viennese who had lived in Turkey, opened central Europe’s first coffee house. He also established the habit of refining the brew by filtering out the grounds, sweetening it, and adding a dash of milk.

Coffee made its way to Austria in 1683. Franz Kulczycki opened its first Viennese coffeehouse.

Along with the increase in popularity of coffee in Europe and especially England, the Dutch began to cultivate it in their colonies during the 17th century.

In 1715, the Jesuits started coffee cultivation in Haiti.

In 1721, the first coffee house opened in Berlin.

In 1723, French naval officer, Gabriel Mathieu do Clieu, stole a seedling and transplanted it to Martinique. That cutting was the start of coffee plantations in Latin America. Within 50 years an official survey recorded 19 million coffee trees on Martinique.

Americans revolted against King George’s Tea Tax and in 1773, the Continental Congress declared coffee the official national beverage.

Coffee was taken to Hawai in 1825.

By 1887, coffee had made its way to Tonkin, Indo-China.

In 1896, coffee was taken to Queensland, Australia.

New Guinea began cultivating coffee in the 1950′s.

Espresso is a process of extracting flavor from coffee beans.

In 1901, Luigi Bezzera filed a patent for a machine that contained a boiler and four “groups”. Each group could take varying sized filters that contained the coffee grounds. Boiling water and steam were forced through the coffee and into the cup.

Desiderio Pavoni purchased Luigi Bezzera’s patent in 1903 and in 1905, began manufacturing machines based on the patent.

The first espresso machine was installed in the United States in 1927 at Regio’s in New York. The “La Pavoni” machine is on display there today.

In 1938, M. Cremonesi developed a piston pump that forced hot, not boiling, water through the coffee. The piston pump was quite an improvement as it eliminated the burnt taste of coffee which occured in the Pavoni machine.

Installed at Gaggia’s Coffee Bar in 1946, Achille Gaggia began manufacturing a commercial piston machine. The resulting coffee had a layer of foam or “crema”. Water taken from the fresh water supply traveled through a tube that passed through the boiler and then through the coffee. This allowed the water to be at the optimal temperature, off the boil, filtered, and not have to stay in the boiler for a long period of time. Today, most restaurants use pump based machines.

In 1961, M. Faema launched a pump based machine. The water was forced through the coffee by an electric pump rather than a manually operated piston.

Espresso machines have had many innovations in design to produce a consistent product regardless of the operator. Early designs were based on the operator deciding when to stop the machine.

Another innovation for espresso lovers included the “fully automatic” machine

that ground the beans, frothed the milk and delivered a complete cup, all with the touch of a button.

Due to the economic importance of coffee exports, a number of Latin American countries made arrangements before World War II to allocate export quotas so that each country would be assured a certain share of the United States coffee market.

The first coffee quota agreement was arranged in 1940 and was administered by an Inter-American Coffee Board.

The idea of establishing coffee export quotas on a worldwide basis was adopted in 1962, when an International Coffee Agreement was negotiated by the United Nations.

During the 5 year period, while the agreement was in effect, 41 exporting countries and 25 importing countries acceded to its terms. The agreement was renegotiated in 1968, 1976, and in 1983.

World coffee prices plunged when participating nations failed to sign a new pact in 1989.