Coffee

The coffee plant originates from the highland forests of Ethiopia. It is believed that the first plants were found growing wild in the region of Kaffa, where coffee derives its name from. A popular legend tells of a goat herder named Kaldi. One day he noticed his goats behaving in a strange manner. They were full of energy, playfully chasing each other and bleating loudly. He noticed they were eating red berries from the bushes nearby. Feeling tired and slightly curious, Kaldi decided to try some of the berries. To his delight his fatigue quickly faded into a fresh burst of energy.

Kaldi was so impressed by the berries, that he filled his pockets with them and ran home to show his wife. “They are heaven-sent” she declared, “You must take them to the Monks in the monastery”. At the monastery, Kaldi told the Abbot how these berries had had a miraculous energising affect on himself and his goats. The Abbot clearly displeased, hurled the berries into the fire, proclaiming them as the “Devil’s work”.

Within minutes the berries started to smoke and the monastery was filled with the heavenly aroma of roasting beans. The other Monks quickly gathered to see what the commotion was. One Monk swiftly raked the beans from the fire and extinguished the embers by stamping on them. The rich smell of coffee obviously agreed with the Abbot’s nose as he ordered the Monk to place the now crushed beans into a jug and cover it with hot water to preserve their divine goodness. He then took a sip from the jug and sampled the rich and fragrant brew that is coffee. From that day on the Monks vowed to drink coffee daily to keep them awake during the long, nocturnal devotions.

No one is exactly sure when coffee was discovered. There is evidence to suggest that coffee beans were used to make a primitive ‘energy bar’ before they were actually brewed as a hot drink. Sometime between 575-850AD, a nomadic mountain tribe known as Galla, used to mix ground coffee with ghee. These bars were consumed by the tribe’s warriors to heighten aggression and increase their stamina during battle. To this day, these bars are still eaten in Kaffa and Sidamo (Ethiopia).

Some authorities claim that coffee originated from the Arabian Peninsula rather then Ethiopia, stating that coffee was cultivated in Yemen from around 575AD. An Islamic legend tells of how Sheikh Omar discovered coffee growing wild while living as a recluse near the port of Mocha (Yemen). He is said to have boiled some berries, and discovered the stimulating effect of the infusion, which he administered to the locals who were stricken with a mysterious illness and thus cured them. However it is more likely that coffee spread to Yemen through Sudanese slaves. These slaves are thought to have eaten coffee beans to help them stay alive as they rowed ships across the Red Sea between Africa and Arabian Peninsula.

Evidence suggests that coffee was probably not enjoyed as a beverage until around the 10th Century. It is at this time that the oldest known documents describing the beverage coffee were written. Two Arabian philosophers: Rhazes (850-922AD), and Avicenna of Bukham (980-1037AD); both refer to a drink called ‘bunchum’, which many believe is coffee.

As the Quran forbids Muslins from drinking alcohol, the soothing, cheering and stimulating effects of coffee made it a popular substitute in Islamic countries for wine. The first coffeehouses are said to have been established in Mecca (Saudi Arabia). Known as the Kaveh Kanes, they were public places where Muslims could socialise and discuss religious matters.

The relationship between Islam and coffee has not always run smoothly though. Some Muslims believed coffee was an intoxicant and therefore is banned by Islamic law. In 1511, the governor of Mecca, Khair Beg, saw some worshippers drinking coffee in a mosque as they prepared for a night-long prayer vigil. Angered, he drove them from the mosque and ordered all coffeehouses in Mecca to be closed. This incited the pro-coffee Muslims and a heated debate soon ensued. In this dispute, two unscrupulous Persian doctors, the Hakimani brothers, who were infamous for testifying on the side of the highest bidder, condemned coffee as an unhealthy brew. The doctors had good reason for wanted it banned, for it was popular cure among the depressed patients who would otherwise have paid the doctors to cure them. The matter was only resolved when the Sultan of Cairo, Khair Beg’s superior, intervened, demanding that a drink that was widely enjoyed in Cairo should not have been banned without his permission. Khair Beg soon paid for his insolence, as when in 1512 he was accused of embezzlement; the Sultan sentenced him to death.

By the late 16th Century, the use of coffee was widespread throughout the Arabia, North Africa and Turkey. The nutritional benefits of coffee were thought to be so great that coffee was considered as important as bread and water. So much so that a law was passed in Turkey making it grounds for divorce if a husband refused his wife coffee.

Wherever Islam went, coffee was sure to follow. With the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, coffee quickly spread to the Eastern Mediterranean. However, it is believed that no coffee seed sprouted outside Africa or Arabia until 17th Century, as coffee beans exported from the Arabian ports of Mocha and Jidda, were rendered infertile by parching or boiling. Legend has it that this changed when a pilgrim named Baba Budan, smuggled fertile coffee beans out of Mecca, strapped to his stomach. Returning to his native India he successfully cultivated the beans in Mysore.

James Grierson is the owner of Galla Coffee: http://www.gallacoffee.co.uk – Uk online retailer of designer coffee accessories. Through the Coffee Knowledge section of his website he aims to help people understand more about coffee and give them tips on how to make great tasting coffee in their home.

Check out http://www.gallacoffee.co.uk/acatalog/Coffee_Knowledge.html for more articles or if you have a question send it to: coffeeknowledge@gallacoffee.co.uk

Author: James Grierson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Is there a magical flavor in Gourmet coffee beans? But what is it that decides a coffee is gourmet? If you drink coffee and have ever stopped to look at the different types of the ground coffee bean can brands on the supermarket shelf. You might wonder if they really are gourmet beans. Buying a can or packet of the beans is a little bit too much in a packet at one time to actually give some a try next time you’re shopping for coffee.

Instead of grabbing that huge tub of ground coffee, the same brand you’ve been purchasing and drinking for years, or instead of grabbing that more expensive, smaller tub of “gourmet” ground coffee, break out of your coffee rut and give fresh beans a try.

But what is it that decides a coffee is gourmet?

For me gourmet means something that i don’t normally purchase like a more expensive treat, and it might be the same for you too. You can also say that Kona coffee is a gourmet coffee under the terms of a more expensive treat, as it is only grown in one place and that is on the island of Kona, Hawaii.

That means of course that the coffee growers of Kona Hawaii need to transport their products to you the purchaser. And we can do that too, right to your door, either ground ready for your coffee making or as roasted and even green beans.

Some people already own a coffee grinder, or remember when their parents used to purchase beans and grind them at home. Many stores can still accommodate you purchase of roasted beans with a grinder right in the coffee aisle and also many coffee houses grind their coffee as they make your drink too.

The beans our parents purchased and ground were usually not gourmet coffee beans, it was simply cheaper to buy the beans and grind them yourself. If you don’t have a grinder at home, coffee grinders aren’t expensive.

You’ll also enjoy the smell of freshly ground coffee beans. While some savor that rich smell when they open a tub or brick of pre-ground coffee, once you’ve opened and inhaled the aroma of freshly ground beans, that tub of coffee won’t ever smell quite the same to you again.

Some people who are very choosy when it comes to coffee, purchase several different types of beans and combine them in certain combinations to get the coffee taste they want. Most of us probably aren’t going to take the time to do that.

We know what we like when we drink coffee, and we know what we don’t like. That’s why we frequent the different coffee shops offering things like a doughnut or a sandwich with our cup or mug of coffee.

In that case, gourmet coffee beans can be ideal because they’re already specially chosen and designed to offer up a much richer, more complex taste than that bag of coffee grounds you can purchase at your local supermarket. You don’t have to purchase the same old beans or ground coffee from your supermarket anymore.

You can break out of that habit with gourmet coffee beans from the Kona coffee guy, you can buy coffee beans online and have them delivered right to your door too.

You can find blends of different beans like the almighty Arabic, Jamaican, Colombian and many others in the supermarket isles, as well as beans that are infused with different flavors. But by adding your own flavors the taste is totally different.

You can add cocoa that will give your coffee a chocolate flavor, or cinnamon or even a hint of fruit or vanilla, or almost anything you can imagine even rum to give it that extra punch.

When you’re looking at gourmet coffee beans, you literally have hundreds of choices, and that choice can seem almost overwhelming. Most places that offer this many choices have information about different types of coffee beans, roasting times, flavors and hints of flavor and general coffee information to help you choose which type of beans to purchase.

And don’t forget the people you buy for.

Coffee lovers can truly appreciate a thoughtful gift of gourmet beans. If you’re unsure whether they grind their own beans, you can purchase the beans whole and grind them just before gift-giving. While gourmet pre-ground coffee can also be a thoughtful gift, whole beans will give the person on your gift lift the freshest coffee experience possible, and put you at the top of their list.

The Crusty Baker
John Taberner
http://www.howtostartacoffeeshoptoday.com
http://www.thekonacoffeeguy.com

Author: John Taberner
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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