Discovery of coffee took place in Eastern Africa in a region that is presently known as Ethiopia. According to a popular legend, a goat herder called Kaldi, watched his goats behaving in a strangely frolicsome manner after ingesting berries from a bush. Inquisitive about this occurrence, Kaldi made an attempt to consume the berries himself. He realized that these berries provided him with a new vigor. The news of this fruit rich in energy rapidly unfolded all through the region.
Monks learning about this remarkable fruit desiccated the berries in order that they could be shifted to far-away monasteries. They soaked these berries in water, consumed the fruit, and gulped the liquid to make available stimulation for a more stimulating time for prayer.
Contents
Movement of coffee
- From Ethiopia coffee berries were brought to the Arabian Peninsula, and were initially grown in what at present is known as the country of Yemen.
- From Yemen, coffee moved to Turkey.
- Here, coffee beans for the first time were roasted over open fires.
- The roasted beans after being crushed were boiled in water, producing a simple adaptation of the beverage that is consumed at present.
Disapproval by Catholic Church
- Coffee initially reached the European continent through Venetian trade merchants.
- As soon as it arrived in Europe this new beverage attracted severe disapproval from the Catholic Church.
- A large number of people were of the opinion that the pope should forbid coffee, terming it the devil’s drink.
- However much to their chagrin the pope who was a coffee drinker was favorably disposed towards coffee and pronounced it as a genuinely Christian beverage.
Coffee houses became extremely well liked all over Europe and turned out to be hubs of intellectual exchange. In Europe, a large number of people engaged in creative pursuits utilized this beverage, and meeting place, as a platform for giving shape to their delicate thought and ingenuity.
Arrival in the Americas
- In the 1700’s, coffee entered the Americas through a French infantry captain who raised one tiny plant on its extended trip across the Atlantic.
- This single plant, shifted to the Caribbean Island of Martinique, became the precursor of more than 19 million trees on the island within 50 years.
- It was from this modest launch that the coffee plant made its way to the remainder of the tropical areas of South as well as Central America.
Coffee was acknowledged as the state drink of the then colonized United States by the Continental Congress, in objection to the disproportionate tax on tea imposed by the British crown.
Espresso, a modern improvement in the way to make coffee, originated in 1822, with the advancement of the first basic espresso machine in France. The Italians worked on this wonderful machine and were the first to produce it. Espresso has turned out to be such a vital part of Italian life as well as culture, that there are currently in excess of 200,000 espresso bars in Italy.
Coffee Today
Coffee is the most widespread drink in the world with approximately half-a-trillion cups consumed every year. There are two fundamental types of coffee: espresso and regular, or non-espresso. Espresso is the variety of coffee available in cafés and restaurants, whilst regular coffee is generally meant for the home.
Major producers
- Nearly 70% of the world’s coffee is produced by the Americas while Brazil contributes 30% and Colombia 12% to the global production.
- Three percent of the global demand is met by Ethiopia.
The coffee industry of the world employs nearly 25 million people while approximately 5 million people work in the coffee industry in Brazil. Brazil has in excess of 3 billion coffee plants.
Ethiopia has a total workforce of 12 million people in its coffee industry. Importing approximately 1.2 billion kg each year, the USA is the world’s chief coffee consumer.
In the UK a substantial sum of money is spent on coffee each year. Behind petroleum coffee is the world’s second most important commodity.
Inside 1,000 miles of the equator the entire commercial coffee is cultivated. Coffee is produced in commercial amounts by more than 50 countries across the globe.
Of all extensively produced agricultural crops, harvesting of coffee is the least mechanized.
Highest consumption
- The highest per capita drinking of coffee in the world takes place in Ethiopia.
- In Europe, Finland has the maximum per capita coffee consumption, closely trailed by Denmark.
The three major kinds of commercially produced coffee bean are Arabica, Robusta in addition to Liberia.
Content
- The weight of a standard bag of coffee for international trade is 60 kg or 132 lbs.
- A bag of green coffee contains 600,000 beans while there are 10,000 beans in a kg; and a kg of roasted coffee contains 12,000 beans.
- 35 – 45 beans are required to make an espresso
It has been observed that men consume greater amounts of coffee than women though the difference in intake is slight.
Milk and sugar in coffee
- The majority of people prefer to drink coffee with milk and sugar while a number of people have a fondness for black coffee.
- This is confirmed by the fact that 60% of coffee is consumed with sugar and milk while 40% is consumed black.
- Of all the coffee consumed in the world, 13% is instant coffee.
During breakfast 57% of coffee is consumed while between meals the consumption of coffee is 34% and at other times 13% of coffee is drunk. Every hour the human body gets rid of 20% of the caffeine in its system. At any one time the human body is merely able to absorb 300 milligrams of caffeine. Approximately 150 milligrams of caffeine is present in a standard coffee cup. Of the entire caffeine consumption in the world coffee accounts for nearly 75% of it.