Interesting, fun, & Informative Things About Coffee

The coffee tree and its remarkable berries were first discovered growing wild in the region now known as Ethiopia.

It is said that an Ethiopian goat herder discovered coffee. One day the herder saw his goats romping more than usual in a field and wondered why they were acting so "rammy." Noticing that they were eating the berries of a struggling little tree, he tried one himself. He found the fruit of this tree to be bland, but also sweet and refreshing. After a few minutes around the meadow, he found himself feeling quite "rammy" himself.

The goat herder composed himself, gathered up a handful of the berries and took them to a local abbot. The abbot tried them and thought they were a gift from God created so he and his monks could pray all night.

Coffee soon spread throughout the African world.. It was first prepared not as a beverage but as a food. African tribes would crush the ripe cherries from the wild coffee trees, mix them with animal fat and then fashion this exotic blend into round balls, which they consumed on their war parties.

Around 1000 AD, the neighboring Arabs began to boil the dried, crushed seeds to make a hot drink. Due to religious, medical, and commercial considerations, prohibitions and restrictions on the export of the trees and seeds impeded the spread of the beans.A popular Arab legend tells of Sheik Omar, who experimented with brewing some coffee from raw wild berries he found in his travels during his exile from Mocha. Thanks in part to the beneficial effects of the caffeine, the Sheik survived his exile, and upon his return to Mocha, introduced his new way of preparing the drink.

The Arabs refined their methods of preparing the drink over many years. For over 300 years, the coffee drinkers drank the grounds right along with the boiled water. Then, they began drinking the liquid alone, leaving the grounds to settle at the bottom of the cup. As methods for preparing coffee became more refined, the popularity of the drink spread first through coffee houses, known as qahveh khaneh, and then into the home, where elaborate ceremonies became associated with consumption of the drink. Soon coffee had become such an important part of the lives of the Arabs that in Turkey a wife could divorce her husband if he refused to provide her with the drink!

Coffee had been a part of Arab culture for centuries, but not so in the western European world. Venetian fleets sailed the known world trading silk, spices, and perfumes with the East. It is believed that coffee came to Venice from Constantinople as part of its trade. There was one problem. When the drink reached Rome, the priests attacked it and forbade its consumption.

The priests believed that the coffee was the drink of the devil. That Satan had invented the drink for the Moslem infidels as a substitute for the wine they were forbidden to drink. Since wine in the Western Christian world was sanctified by Christ and used in Holy communion, coffee must then be of the Anti-Christ. If a Christian drank this devil brew they would risk damnation.

It was not until the late 1500's that Pope Clement VIII settled the dispute. He asked that the brew be brought before him. Intrigued by its powerful aroma, he sipped the coffee. It was delicious. The Pope blessed the coffee and baptized it on the spot. He reasoned that banishing this drink from the Christian world would be a larger sin. With the Pope's blessing, imports of coffee to Italy and the Western world came flooding in, paving the way for the first western coffee houses.

During the seventeenth century, the habit of coffee drinking spread westward across Europe and eastward into India and Indonesia. First, a Muslim pilgrim carried it to India, and then Europeans brought it to Ceylon and Java. From there, coffee spread into Amsterdam and Paris. Finally, coffee became an important new crop in the Caribbean and South America. It was also during this time in Vienna that coffee was introduced to its long-time companion...milk.

The coffee houses that sprang up in France, England, and eventually the Americas proved to aid the spread of new and sometimes radical political opinions. In 1675 Charles II issued a "Proclamation for the Suppression of Coffee Houses" in an attempt to quell the liberal ideas being discussed by the patrons. All parties rebelled, and eleven days later the coffee houses reopened. The Parisian coffee houses are credited as a testing ground for the ideology that led to the French Revolution.

Across the ocean in Boston, the Boston Tea Party was planned in the now famous Green Dragon Coffee House in 1773. And, in New York, the Merchants Coffee House was the site of the government headquarters in the days following the outbreak of the American Revolution. Later, as American soldiers forged into battle in the Mexican War and the Civil War, they protected the coffee beans as their most precious rations.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, tools and machinery were simple and most power derived from renewable resources, like water and wind. By the end of the century, complex machinery changed people's lives and power was provided by coal and oil. Like everything else, coffee was acutely affected by these changes. Among industrialized nations, the United States led in replacing craft roasting with pre-roasted, pre-ground coffee. Preferences for store-bought bread and pre-roasted coffee were driven by the myth of progress and convenience in industrialized society.

The quality of coffee in the U.S. declined after World War II with the widespread introduction of Robusta coffee. This species was developed to improve yields and grow in marginal conditions. Cheap Robusta coffees were adopted by the giant commercial roasters for mass-market canned and instant blends.

Coffee is the largest traded commodity throughout the world (even greater than oil). Frost, unseasonable rains, political upheaval, and even volcanic activity can affect the price and availability of green coffee.

A single coffee tree produces about one pound of coffee. If you also consider that a coffee tree may take at least 3 years from planting to becoming viable, you can understand the huge investment on behalf of the grower. Add in all the other factors, such as weather and politics, and it is understandable why the Arabica beans are more sought after and expensive

Auto-Drip
Grind: Medium
This is the most widely used method in the United States most likely due to its ease of use and speed. Auto-Drip has been around since the 1950's. It has replaced stove-top and most percolators

The auto-drip machine produces coffee by rapidly heating water drawn from a reservoir and spraying the hot water over the coffee grounds in a filter basket, which then allows the brewed coffee to drip into a pot that sits on a hot plate.

Most models have either a flat-bottomed, cylindrical filter basket or a conical filter basket into which is placed a paper filter (many people now prefer a permanent gold filter).

A primary issue with auto-drip machines is that they do not brew at the right temperature. Bunn is one of the few companies who calibrate their machines to extract at the correct temperature.

French Press (Cafetiere)
Grind: Coarse
French Press (also called the Plunger method) is considered by many to be the best coffee making method. It is more labor-intensive in terms of making the coffee and cleaning the equipment.

It consists of a glass carafe that usually has a handle attached to it. The other part is a lid into which is built a plunger with a knob. This plunger filters the grounds of the coffee with a mesh filter that fits snugly inside the glass carafe.

Coarsely ground coffee is placed in the glass carafe, then water, that has been heated separately to the desired temperature, is poured over the grounds and on which the lid is placed. When brewing is complete, the punger is pressed firmly down pressing the grounds to the bottom and leaving the coffee liquid on top.

The filter is not as tight a weave as a paper filter and, because of the larger pores, a coarser grind is required. Because a coarser grind is required, a longer steep, or brew, time is required (between 3 - 6 minutes is usual). The coarse grind will, unfortunately, result in some grounds ending up in the cup. You will find that French pressed coffee will be fuller, with much more body, and tell-tale sediment at the bottom of the cup.

Espresso
Grinds: Stove Top - Drip to Fine
Electric - Extra-Fine

There are two different types of espresso makers: the stove top model (also known as the Moka Italian Stove Top) and the household electric model. Household electric models force hot water through grounds directly into your waiting cup. With these models, you can also make steamed milk for cappuccino and latte.

Stove top models have two chambers. The lower chamber forces hot water through a filter that holds your coffee grounds into the upper serving chamber.

Espresso's serving size is usually measured in shots (1 -2 ounces). It has a thicker consistency than drip coffee and a crema, which is a reddish-brown foam that floats on the surface.

Espresso lends itself well to mixing into other coffee drinks such as lattes, cappuccino, and mochas.

The dark roast in espresso beans diminishes the concentration of caffeine. A single espresso has half to two-thirds as much caffeine as a cup of regular coffee.

Vacuum Infusion Method
Grind: Coarse
The vacuum brewing method is quite ceremonious and more involved than the more popular current coffee making procedures. Possibly because of their appreciation of these ritualistic steps, it is used by the Japanese far more than any other culture.

Vacuum brewing uses an elegant looking device that consists of two glass globes that fit together with an air-tight seal. Ground coffee is placed in the top globe that is a funnel. Water is brought to a near boil in the carafe (lower globe) and then forced to the top into the funnel by steam pressure. After most of the water is in the funnel, the coffee should be stirred. After one to three minutes, the heat sousrce should be turned off. As the unit begins to cool, a vacuum is formed which sucks the brewed coffee back down into the carafe and leaves the grounds above in the funnel. The funnel can then be separated from the carafe.

Middle Eastern, "Turkish", or "Greek"
Grind: Pulverized
This is the most popular method for drinking coffee in the Middle East, Turkey, and Greece. Turkish brewing is the only method in which coffee and water are in contact throughout the entire process. The technique uses a long handled narrow necked device, called an ibrit, in which coffee grounds the consistency of talcum powder are placed along with sugar and water. Middle Easterners also seem to like to add spice to their coffee (usually cardamom)

When heated to a boil, the liquid inside begins to rise and a dark foam will come through the small opening of the ibrit. The coffee should be poured into demitasse cups immmediately along with the foam.

The coffee is not filtered and the result is a very intense, dark coffee that is sweet and syrupy.

Cold Water Brewing
Grind: Coarse

Also known as concentrate brewing, this method is very popular in Latin America. This brewing procedure requires a pound of ground coffee to be placed into a bucket apparatus along with half a gallon of water. The mixture should sit at room temperature for six to ten hours. After this time, the plug is removed from the bottom of the receptacle and the extract, separated from the grounds by a large felt filter, is drained into a pitcher. This extract should be refrigerated. To prepare a cup of coffee, place one to two ounces of the extract into a cup and add six to eight ounces of hot water.

The resulting cup is light bodied and bland since all acidity and flavors, which require hot water for the right chemical reactions, are never formed.

Neapolitan
Grind: Medium Coarse

Neapolitan coffee makers use a a very traditional brewing process often referred to as the "flip drip" method. Water is added to one half of the pot, then fine ground coffee is placed in the stainless steel filter basket and then the pot is assembled and placed on the stove. Once the water begins to boil the pot is removed from the stove and flipped over, allowing the hot water to drip down through the ground coffee producing a very rich brew

Percolator
Grind: Coarse

Everyone has seen a percolator. Some of us remember them from our childhood, some use it currently for camping, some only know it through movies and still, there are those that still prefer this method.

Percolators consist of five parts: the pot, the lid, the funnel, the filter basket, and the filter top. Measured water is placed into the pot and the funnel is placed into the bottom with the wide part down. This is where the boiling water shoots up a tube to fall over the coffee grounds in the filter. Coarsely ground coffee beans are measured into the filter basket and the basket is covered with the filter top. These two parts have large holes which allow them to be placed on the funnel tube which has a stopper so that they do not go all the way to the bottom of the pot. The lid is placed on the top of the pot and the pot placed on the stove at high heat. Most percolators have a glass knob on top of the lid which allows the color of the coffee to be seen as it percs. This is how most people tell when the coffee is ready.