online business

HISTORY OF COFFEE

Coffee was first discovered around 600AD in the Middle East. It arrived in Europe during the 16th Century and since, has traveled around the world, becoming an international trade and the beverage of choice everywhere. There are a number of legends as to how coffee came into being. The most common is that of Kaldi, the shepherd who was tending to his animals in the mountains of East Africa. According to legend, the shepherd observed a local group of people acting strangely. After investigating, he realized they had been eating the red berries of a nearby shrub.

The men seemed to always be awake, and were often found jumping and leaping around. Curious, the shepherd picked some for himself and noted similar results. Several days later, a passing monk began conversation with the shepherd, and learning of the discovery, asked to see the berries. The monk crushed a few beans into powder, added boiling water and made himself a drink. This monk would take his new find back to his monastery, with hopes of helping himself and his fellow monks stay awake during their long hours of prayer. The exciting new drink quickly traveled from monastery to monastery, until it found its way outside holy walls.

In the years that followed, coffee would serve many purposes. Arab traders in the 9th century coined the hot drink “quahwa” (which literally means “that which prevents sleep”), and began boiling the beans during preparation. Arabs, who were not allowed to drink wine, made a holy drink from the beans and labeled it "Arabian Wine." It would be used all official Muslim ceremonies. Tribes in Africa made a makeshift protein bar from the beans, combining it with animal fat balls. And in almost every country, coffee would serve some sort of medicinal purpose. It was known as both a "cure" and a "gift from God." Around 1000AD it was discovered by complete accident, that by roasting the coffee bean, a delicious hot drink could be made. Once this discovery was made, extensive planting occurred and the coffee trade was closely watched. Arabs went to great lengths to prevent other countries from acquiring their fertile coffee beans, and even prohibited anyone from taking the beans out of the country, unless they had first been dried or boiled to kill the seed germ. Because of this, no coffee every sprouted outside Africa or Arabia until the 1600’s. The first coffee shop known to man opened in Istanbul in 1475, just two years after coffee had been introduced to Turkey. In the coming years, coffee would become a regular part of social life and coffee shops multiplied rapidly.

GROWTH OF A COFFEE BEAN
Coffee is actually the seed of a cherry from a tree that grows in the sub-tropical belt regions of the world. Cultivation of these trees begins with planting the seeds and tending to them in closely monitored nurseries for the first year and a half of life. Once the tree reaches 24 inches in height, they are transplanted to permanent groves. After three years, the trees reach maturity and begin to bear fruit in lines or clusters along their branches. The fruit turns red and cherry-like when it is ready to be harvested. The actual cherry takes between 6-11 months to ripen. There is one harvest of coffee beans per year. Ripe fruits can be plucked by hand or picked with small rakes. Industrial processing begins immediately to prevent the pulp from fermenting or deteriorating.