Coffee

When you think of coffee, where do you think it comes from? If you are from America, your first thought is probably from Colombia. You remember Juan  picking the coffee beans at just the right time. While it’s true that the bulk of our coffee that comes into the United States, may be from South America, that is not where coffee was first discovered. To a great many peoples surprise coffee was first discovered in the Eastern part of African. In an area that we know today as Ethiopia.

One story says that a goat herder observed his goats became overly active after eating the berries. After eating the berries himself he found that he was not nearly as tired and was somewhat refreshed.

The story goes on to say that some monks heard of the story and began drying them as a mean of preserving them. Later they would soak them in water so that the fruit could be eaten.

Over time traders transported coffee to Arabia and Turkey, and finally to Europe. Coffee was not introduced to the Americas until some time in the 1700’s.

At one time many in the Catholic Church wanted the pope to ban coffee. They said it was the drink of the devil. However, the pope after trying the drink said it should not be left for only the unfaithful to enjoy.

Coffee being roasted, crushed is thought to have first started in Turkey. It was roasted over open fire and later crushed and boiled.

I’m sure many also wrongly assume that the coffee houses such as Starbucks and others are more or less something American. Again, they would be wrong. Coffee houses were found popping up all over Europe before coffee ever came to the Americas. Because the elite and enlighten people frequented the coffee houses they became known as Penny Colleges, because that was the price of a coffee of coffee.

Coffee gained popularity as an American drink because of a well-known party, The Boston Tea Party. Until that time most Americans, (we were just colonies at that time), drank tea. But when the king of England put a high tax on tea, the Americans rebelled, dumping vast amounts of tea into the Boston Harbor. The Continental Congress declared our national drink to be coffee.

In Europe the trend of drinking a variation of coffee called Espresso. Espresso uses an almost powdery coffee and very hot water under high pressure. This has come to a fine development in Italy and has now come to the U.S. It is a much thicker consistency than our coffee because of the powdery ground coffee. It usually has a reddish foam on the top. Because of the high concentration of caffeine, it is usually served in small quantities. From the espresso you can make many different blends such as the cappuccinos, lattes, and mochas.

Another type of coffee or rather a substitute for coffee is Chicory. Chicory was brought to the Americas along the same time as coffee. But a much hardier plant it is well established in North America. Probably because of its abundance it has been used as a substitute for coffee and is still used to some extent in the southern states to blend with coffee. During the war between the States when the South was very short on supplies chicory was used for coffee.

We have been experimenting with ways to improve on coffee since it was first discovered. Such innovations as instant coffee, invented around 1901 and later freeze dried coffee, and on and on.

Today coffee is traded on the commodities market’s world wide. There are many a fortune that has been made and lost in the commodities market. It is a world wide industry employing millions of people.

Coffee is considered to be one of the most popular drinks in the world and that includes topping the various soda drinks.

Hey, have a cup of coffee!