Coffee

With so many wide and varied coffee producing regions throughout the world it is hard to know what to expect when you buy a coffee from these places. Some of regions rely on small independent farmers to produce the coffee other regions are run by the multinational companies. We are well aware of how famous Java is in the world of coffee, it has now become a second name for coffee. But there a many less well known regions that are producing some of the most outstanding coffee in the world, These beans get their unique flavours and aromas from the way they are grown and processed, for instance some regions in the Americas grown their coffee in the shade, while other prefer their beans to be grown on the slopes of mountains. To name and describe ever region of coffee producing world would take a little longer than I can afford, but they can be broken down into the main regions so you get a general overview of what to expect of the coffees from these regions.

The Americas.

The largest and most diverse of all the regions, coffee is produced from the Caribbean all the way through south and central America and as far as Hawaii. Most of these coffees can be described as having a well balance and medium bodied flavours, because of these characteristics many of the coffees from the Americas are perfect from bending with other strong more acidic coffee verities. Some other well known characteristics of these coffees are chocolaty and nutty tones. Probably the most famous of all the American coffee’s are the kona coffee produced on the slopes of the volcanic Hawaiian mountains and the blue mountain coffee of Jamaica which is the highest mountain in the Caribbean.

Africa and the Middles East.

With Ethiopia being the birth place of coffee Africa has a long history with the Coffee bean and some of the most famous coffees have their origin in African and the Middle East, Mocha Coffee got it’s name from a port in Yemen. Coffee from these regions will always remain popular with each region having its own unique flavours and aromas and this is mostly down to the wide variety of climates from the desert like regions of the Middle East to the tropical regions of the Cameroon and Kenya. Even though there are many different varieties of African coffee you are always assured of a wonderful cup of coffee.

Asia And Indonesia

Almost 75% of all the coffee beans produced in this region come from the Canephora plant, with the remainder produced from the Arabica plant, The tropical and sub-tropical climates of these regions make the ideal conditions for growing some of the world’s finest coffee beans. In general these coffees are low in acidity with a full body and distinctive aromatic flavours of earthy tones. Because the beans are low in acidity with a strong body they are often used in a blend with a milder coffee usually from Africa or the Americas. Some of the most well loved of all the Asian coffee’s are the monsooned malabar coffee produced in India. This is one of the most unique coffees in the world as the beans are left in open sheds though out the monsoon season. This imparts a wonderful unique flavour to the beans. Another famous coffee is Kapal Api which produced on the Indonesian island of Java and in the past 80 it has grown to be a world famous brand.

As you can see that the choice and variety of coffee today is endless, and if you decide to roast your own green Coffee beans not only will have the freshest cup of coffee imaginable but you can also begin to experiment with different blends of coffee from around the world.

Author: Robert T Jones
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Have you ever wondered, as you’re sitting in your favorite coffee shop or perhaps at your own kitchen table, sipping your morning cup of gourmet coffee, where that wonderful drink originated at? If you live in the United States, you can thank a man by the name of Alfred Peet. In 1955, Alfred Peet moved to California from Amsterdam, Holland. To his despair, he couldn’t find a decent cup of coffee anywhere. As the son of an Amsterdam coffee trader, he knew good coffee when he drank it.

In 1966, Peet opened a small coffee store in Berkley, California, and began to sell his dark roasted beans. At the time there was one other North American store selling quality coffee, but they were in Vancouver, Canada. From that time until now, Peet’s has served the gourmet coffee needs in Southern California.

While gourmet coffee didn’t come to the States until 1966, coffee has been around since the 9th century, when Ethiopian shepherds notice that their goats would “dance” and had more energy after eating wild coffee beans. Since Islam prohibits the use of alcohol, coffee provided an alternative to wine. From there it spread to Egypt and Yemen. It wasn’t until it reached Arabia that coffee beans were roasted and brewed to make a drink.

At first, this drink was not well received by the Islamic people. In 1511, it was forbidden by the court at Mecca. The drink was so popular, though, that this was overturned in 1524 by the Ottoman Turkish Sultan Selim. It was also banned for a time in Egypt and Ethiopia, before being accepted as an acceptable Muslim drink. This was largely due to the rulers at the time liking the taste of the beverage, therefore decreeing it acceptable.

By the 15th century, coffee was common throughout the Middle East, Persia, Turkey and North Africa. The word “coffee” came from “caffé” in Italy in the 16th century. Before that it was called, in Arabic, “qahwa”. In Venice traders started buying coffee from Africa and the Middle East, and in 1645 the first European coffee house opened.

The Dutch defied the Saudi Arabians prohibition on exportation of coffee by smuggling seedlings from Aden into Europe in 1616. They were also the first country to import coffee on a large scale. They took plants to Java and Ceylon, where they started exporting to the Netherlands in 1711.

Coffee arrived in the United States during the colonial period. When it was first imported, it was not widely drunk in the United States. It wasn’t until the revolutionary war and the shortage of tea, that Americans began drinking it on a regular basis. After the War of 1812, America’s taste for coffee grew and it became a common drink.

As the consumption of coffee grew, so did the companies cultivating, roasting and grinding. The larger companies used (and still do) a blend of Arabica and Robusta beans for a commercial blend, while gourmet coffee is roasted from the Arabica bean alone. Arabica beans are considered the tastiest of the three types of bean and also the most expensive.

Today, coffee is the life-blood of the third world countries that produce it. Over a hundred million people depend on the growth, production and exportation of this flavorful bean.

The next time you pour yourself a wonderful cup of your favorite gourmet blend, consider the origins and history of the coffee bean and how it came to be in your favorite store. The rich history of gourmet coffee is almost as rich and full-bodied as the drink itself which will surely give you even more of that warm and cozy feeling that only a nice cup of coffee can give!

Katya Coen provides information on gourmet coffee for Coffee Online – the site for coffee lovers.

Author: Katya Coen
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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The first recorded use of coffee as a beverage goes back to the ninth century in highland Ethiopia. According to the legend, a shepherd named Kaldi in Ethiopia noticed that his goats seemed to dance about and to have a higher energy level after eating bright red berries from the coffee plant. Coffee use soon spread to Egypt, Yemen, and Arabia where raw coffee beans were processed by being roasted and then brewed into a beverage. By the fifteenth century coffee drinking had spread throughout the Middle East and into Turkey, Persia and all over north Africa. At the end of the sixteenth century a German doctor traveling in the Near East described coffee as a drink as black as ink which is useful in the treatment of many illnesses, especially stomach disorders.

The thriving commerce between the Middle East, North Africa, and Venice soon brought coffee and coffee drinking to Venice, from where it quickly spread throughout Europe. Although there was suspicion of the drink due to its Muslim origins, Pope Clement VIII declared coffee to be a respectable Christian beverage in 1600, which decree made coffee drinking socially respectable and increased its popularity. The first coffee house in Europe opened in 1645 in Italy. Soon Dutch traders began importing large quantities of coffee to northern Europe. In spite of Arab prohibitions against allowing green coffee suppliers to export unroasted seeds or living coffee plants, in 1616 a Dutch trader named Pieter van den Broeck was able to smuggle some live coffee seedlings out of Aden to Europe. The Dutch began to grow coffee in their colonies in Ceylon and Java, and in 1711 coffee was first exported from Java to Holland. The English East India Company was also active in coffee growing and exporting at this time, and in 1657 coffee was first introduced in France. Coffee came to Poland and Austria after Turkish invaders were defeated in the Battle of Vienna in 1683 and their supplies of coffee were captured by the defenders.

Coffee came to North America with the European colonization, but it was not as successful there as it had been in the old country. The English tax on tea, which led to the Boston Tea Party and other protests by American colonists, turned America into a principally coffee drinking country. During the American Revolution tea imports from England were cut off and coffee demand increased to such an extent that the dealers were forced to hoard the scarce supply of fair trade coffee beans and to raise prices drastically. The War of 1812 also restricted imports of tea from England and created greater demand for coffee. The Civil War was fought on coffee, which became a contraband item at the frontier between north and south: illicit salt and coffee being traded for tobacco and cotton.

Today raw coffee beans are the most valuable legally-traded export item after petroleum. Fair trade coffee beans are the most important cash crop in many countries in the Third World. Over 100,000,000 rural green coffee suppliers in developing countries depend on coffee as their main source of income.

Author: Alice Lane
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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In this the fourth article in our series on world coffees we discuss the coffees from Africa and the Middle East.

ETHIOPIA

Ethiopia is the true birthplace of coffee. The original coffee plant originated here as well the first brew. Ethiopia today is the fifth largest producer of coffee in the world growing mainly the best arabicas. Ethiopian dry-processed coffee (Harrar), tends to be medium-bodied and strongly acidic with fruity, winy tones. The best wet-processed coffee (Yirgacheffe) is light-bodied and has distinctive floral and citrus notes. Dry processed ‘Djimah’ is a popular bean that a exhibits medicinal taste. ‘Ghimbi’ is a wet-processed bean from western Ethiopia. Limu is the market name for a well-respected fragrant, floral and fruit-toned wet-processed coffee from south-central Ethiopia.

UGANDA

As the 11th largest producer of coffee in the world, Uganda has some fine arabica coffees which display the much favoured winy acidity and other desirable flavour characteristics of the best East African coffees. About 90% of the coffees produced are of the robusta variety, which are mainly used for blending and in the manufacture of instant soluble coffee. ‘Bugishu’ coffee from the slopes of Mount Elgon is the best known coffee from Uganda.

IVORY COAST

As the third largest producer of coffee on the African continent, the Ivory Coast grows mainly rich and strong robustas used in soluble coffee production.

TANZANIA

Tanzania produces mostly robusta coffees much of it grown on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro from which these Kilimanjaro coffees get their name. Some arabicas are grown further south in the country the best known of which is ‘Mbeya’ coffee. The best coffees from Tanzania have a full body and rich flavour, with classic acidy that make them resemble the best coffees of neighbouring Kenya.

CAMEROON

Due to its high altitude, rich volcanic soils and ample rainfall coffees from Cameroon are of good quality. They are full-bodied flavour with a well-rounded finish with chocolate characteristics.

KENYA

Kenya produces excellent quality Arabica coffees that are renowned for their consistent high quality. Although mainly produced by smallholders the harvested beans are pooled and processed under strict conditions by the Coffee Board of Kenya. The beans are carefully graded by the board into categories. PB or peaberry is considered the best, followed by AA, A and B. The peaberry plant only produces a single bean, rather than the usual ‘split’ bean found in all other varieties. Kenyan coffees have deep winy acidity with subtle fruit and berry tones.

MADAGASCAR

The island of Madagascar produces over 700,000 bags of coffee per year of both robusta and Arabica varieties. It’s most celebrated coffee ‘Kouillou’ has a highly distinctive flavour and is rated very highly by the French.

YEMEN

The name ‘Mocha’ often synonymous with coffee comes from the Yemen port of the same name, which was used as a main trading point for coffee beans. Yemeni beans are known for their rich, winy, aroma and strong chocolate tones.

For more information about coffee and coffee making equipment visit http://www.cafebar.co.uk

Author: Fenton Wayne
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Coffee is an integral part of my family. We’ve had disputes, and discussions settled over coffee. Sometimes we have bargains and agreements done over coffee. In demonstrable fact coffee has given our family time to slow down and simply catch up.

With coffee so ever famous, it’s no wonder that it’s become a business life blood. Some companies even charge up to $5 for a cup, and yet people are still buying. All the benefits, all the wonder and taste but we have never really asked about the coffee bean to whom we have much to thank for.

Coffee Beans through the Years

A lot of people consider coffee a friend, and a shoulder to lean on. The coffee bean has many secrets which we as firm patrons of its fruits have yet to explore. It’s come a long way from its humble origins; the coffee bean has had many travels. Did you know that the lowly coffee bean was first venerated for its curative properties? The bean is also brewed for religious meditation purposes.

Coffee comes from berry producing trees encountered in the Middle East. The berry itself looks a lot like a very small cherry, red and agreeable. The berries are edible, they are considerably sweet. Each berry contains two locules, enclosed inside are the beans which is the cash crop. The coffee tree cannot tolerate frost or extremely cold weather that is why it is generally found on regions where there is ample sun and rain.

The coffee tree used to be a source for a tisane, where in the fruits, flowers and leaves where boiled in water, kind of like tea.

“Coffee beans, botanically inaccurate, are the seeds of the coffee plants”

It was the Arabs, who innovated upon the idea of making drinking coffee by roasting the dried coffee bean.

The Coffee Bean Travels

The story is that a Moslem stole some coffee beans from a farm in Arabia and brought them to his home in India. There he planted the coffee bean one by one and made it flourish, supplying one – third of India’s coffee produce.

From Arabia to India, word spread of the deliciously enchanting and aromatic coffee. Soon the French and the Dutch became enamored of the coffee bean as well. In their desire to produce the bewitching brew; the French brought coffee to Dijon ( a region in France ) unfortunately the coffee tree is not adept to cold weather, so the whole crop was wasted. The Dutch however was a lot cleverer. They planted the coffee seeds in Java where it thrived and became a reliable crop.

Even the famed King Louie XIV, who is captivated by coffee had a tree shipped to Paris, and built a Greenhouse especially for the Noble Tree. That same coffee tree is the fore bearer of the trees found in the South and Central America today.

There are 50 types of coffee trees in the world today. But only three are acknowledged to produce the best coffee bean of all time. No matter who you are, or where you’re from – have a quiet moment, enjoy a cup and let your mind wander.

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Author: Michael Patrick
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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