Legends of the origin of coffee
Today there is no clear truth about the origin of coffee, we know that the origins of the homeland lie in Ethiopia, and there are several versions of its discovery, but there is one that I want to retell, about the shepherd Kaldi. It sends us back to the middle of the 9th century, where we first learned about the miracle of berries that give an unprecedented supply of vigor. At first, it was not people who recognized the remarkable effect, but goats, who turned out to be more inquisitive, and their shepherd, whose name was Kaldi, noticed the consequences. He noticed that after eating the berries, his goats became cheerful and began to jump wildly. Then he took the berries to the local monastery, where the monks tried them, and, having convinced themselves of the effect, began to use this decoction so as not to fall asleep during long night services.
There is also a well-known fact that during this period one of the African tribes used coffee berries with fat as an energy food, which adds credibility to this legend.
Making coffee then and now
Over time, traditions and customs become a thing of the past, but the love for the aroma and delicate taste of the coffee drink remains unchanged.
In the past, coffee production in almost all cultures and countries was accompanied by certain traditions and rules that turned this simple process into a real art of the coffee ceremony. The grains were dried in the sun, separated from the husks by hand, and fried in small batches in special ovens. Today, the production process is automated and no longer uses manual labor.
Methods of preparation have also changed: traditional brewing has been replaced by professional coffee machines and French presses. In addition, dozens of new recipes have appeared: Latte, Macchiato, Glace, Mocha, Raf, Ristretto.
Over the course of several centuries, coffee gained increasing popularity, spreading from Africa to other countries and then to other continents. Its unusual taste and alluring aroma appealed to residents of all countries of the world without exception. Today there are coffee plantations in 70 countries, and many people can no longer imagine the morning without a cup of this invigorating drink. The history of the coffee tradition began a long time ago, but its end is not yet near - every day new methods of processing, roasting and brewing beans are created, and original recipes are invented.
Origins of cultural coffee consumption
What they didn’t do with coffee: they used it in medicine as a medicinal plant, soaked it in cold water for coffee decoctions, mixed it into food with fat, but they started frying and grinding only in the 13th century, at least the first mentions date back to this time . During that period, with the growing influence of Islam in the east, many began to follow Muhammad’s ban on wine and other alcohol, and coffee became an excellent alternative, which would later be called “Arabian wine.” By the way, the Arabian Peninsula gave Arabica coffee its legendary name.
Where did the word coffee come from?
The word "coffee" entered English in 1582 through the Dutch koffie, a loanword from the Ottoman Turkish qahwé, itself a loanword from the Arabic qahwah (قهوة).
The Arabic word qahwah originally referred to a type of wine, the etiology of which is given by Arab lexicographers as a derivative of the verb qahā (قها, "to lack hunger") due to the drink's reputation as an appetite suppressant.
The word qahwah sometimes alternatively comes from the Arabic quwwa ("strength, energy") or from Kaffa, a medieval kingdom in Ethiopia from which the plant was exported to Arabia. However, all etiologies of qahwah have been disputed.
The name qahwah is not used for the berry or plant, which is known in Arabic as bunn, and in Somali and Romo as būn. Semitic languages had the root qhh, "dark color", which became the natural designation for the drink. According to this analysis, the form qahwah (also meaning "dark-colored, dull, dry, sour") was probably chosen to parallel khamr (خمر, "wine"), and originally meant "dark".
Arab Bedouin with a cup of coffee, photo 1930
The origins of coffee as a business
The Muslims quickly realized that coffee would become an important export commodity and took control of it, which remained with them for 300 years. They took maximum measures to remain a monopoly: they strictly protected coffee plantations and prohibited visiting them, did not allow the export of coffee trees, and when exporting green raw materials, they scalded it in boiling water or partially fried it. Arabia became the only place in the world where coffee could be bought, and Turkey by the 15th century became the world's main distributor, conquering the markets of Persia, Yemen, Syria, Egypt, Greece, and by the 16th century it was already supplying coffee to Italy. By the way, the appearance of coffee in Italy was controversial; Catholics believed that it was the drink of the devil and petitioned Pope Clement to ban it. The pope wanted to approve the petition, but first try what he was going to ban. Having taken a sip, he immediately christened it, saying that the drink was too good to be drunk only by the Turks. So coffee was approved in Christianity.
Coffee in Arabia
Judging by the treatises of Arab and Persian scientists, people knew about the healing properties of coffee beans even before our era. But a medicinal infusion made from raw beans is one thing, a drink made from roasted coffee that brings pleasure is another.
The first mention of coffee made from roasted beans is contained in a 16th-century treatise written by Abd al-Qadir al-Jaziri. According to the scientist, in 1454, Sheikh Jamal al-Din al-Dhabhani, who was at that time the Mufti of Aden, tasted the drink.
Enterprising Yemeni merchants appreciated the prospects for coffee and set up the first plantation. Coffee grown in Arabia came to Cairo, Damascus, Baghdad, Mecca and Medina, and later to the Maghreb countries (Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Morocco). The export of unroasted grains was strictly prohibited. The main trade was carried out through the port of Al Mokha - this is how the name “Mocha” was born.
Even Islam couldn't overcome the Arabs' love of coffee.
However, Muslim theologians have taken up arms against the invigorating drink: the Koran strictly forbids adherents of this religion from consuming brain-stupefying substances. In 1511, a council of theologians in Mecca declared coffee to be the devil's potion and cursed it in the name of Allah. Egyptian coffee lovers of those times had their tongues torn out, and those who persisted in heresy were drowned in the sea, having previously been sewn into coffee bags.
The first coffee shop in the world and its followers
The first coffee shop in the world opened in 1475 in Constantinople, now the capital of Turkey - Istanbul. The Turks have made a significant contribution to the development of world coffee culture, including consumption, because until now, Turkish coffee is one of the most popular ways of brewing at home.
At the beginning of the 16th century, the door to Europe opened for coffee, and by 1670 coffee houses had appeared in almost every major city, and European countries adapted this phenomenon into culture in different ways:
- In England, coffee shops became a place where pressing issues of the day were discussed, a kind of public forum; they were also called “penny universities,” since anyone with one penny could buy a cup of coffee and join the discussion. Women were not allowed into these coffee shops, which was the beginning of protests, since men spent a lot of time in them. The protests were unsuccessful, and by the end of the 16th century there were about 300 coffee houses in London.
- In France, on the contrary, coffee culture took a different path, these were places where men and women met, there was a rich interior around them, and musicians played. It was here that coffee with milk, which the French called café au lait, first became popular.
- In Italy, the first coffee shop appeared in 1647, in Venice. It was the Italians who in the 20th century invented the espresso coffee machine, which would become a revolution in preparation and form the basis for everyone’s favorite coffee recipes: cappuccino and latte. By the way, many people believe that coffee itself grows in Italy. This is a misconception, they make good equipment for its preparation, and we will tell you where coffee grows and its current geography in the following articles.
- In America, the first coffee shop opened in Boston in 1670, but Americans drank more tea than coffee. Everything changed in 1773, when the Boston Tea Party occurred, it was a protest against an increase in the tax on tea by England. This was the turning point when Americans abandoned tea in favor of coffee, after which it became the national drink here too.
Which country is the birthplace of coffee?
The discovery of coffee took place in Africa. Ethiopia is the birthplace of this exquisite drink. This country still produces unsurpassed Arabica beans. Every year, about a couple of tons of quality products are exported from it.
Conditions in Ethiopia are favorable for tree growth. Therefore, it is possible to grow grains of such varieties as Kharar and Jimma here. The production process uses the dry method. The fruits are dried by the sun's rays. Only after this the shell is removed from them.
Many are convinced that the real birthplace of coffee is Brazil. Actually this is not true. Ethiopian grains were brought to Yemen, and only after that they spread to other states.
The Robusta variety appeared much later. It rose to prominence towards the end of the nineteenth century. Its homeland is considered to be the Congo River basin (equatorial Africa).
Loss of monopoly on coffee production
The Arabs and Turks had a monopoly on coffee production for a long time, but everything did not last forever, especially since there was one European country that perfectly mastered shipbuilding and traded with the whole world. Once, she already managed to bypass the Turks in the lucrative spice trade by finding sea routes that passed through territories not subject to Turkey. These were the Dutch, and they were also interested in the coffee trade.
At the end of the 17th century, an event occurred that changed coffee history: a ship from Amsterdam arrived at the port of Mocha, from which tons of green coffee had been shipped for 300 years. There were sailors on the ship who were able to buy a live coffee tree from the farmer. Having carried it secretly onto the ship, they did not yet fully realize what they had done, because this was the starting point in the loss of the monopoly on coffee production.
The expansion of this stolen coffee tree began, first spreading to the Dutch colonies in Indonesia, then the French in the Caribbean, and then overtook Brazil, which would later become the largest coffee producer in the world.
Australia harvests coffee mechanically
Australia is a small coffee producer with few products to export, but its coffee history dates back to 1880, when the first 500 acres of land began to be developed in the area between northern New South Wales and Cooktown, Queensland. Today there are several Arabica coffee producers in Australia that use a mechanical harvesting system invented in 1981.
modern coffee machines Post Views: 863
Coffee realities today
Undoubtedly, the history of coffee continues, and a lot has changed since it was opened to the world: a hobby has grown into a serious business, engineers have invented cool equipment for roasting and preparation, scientists have created instant coffee and decaffeinated coffee, industry professionals find new ways every year. brewing, and restaurateurs are opening new formats of coffee shops. Today it is difficult to imagine a world without coffee, and for many people their normal day would be without a cup of the invigorating drink.
In Russia, coffee consumption is growing every year, local roasters are opening, which allows many to drink fresh product, and in principle, the market is shifting towards freshly roasted coffee, as an alternative to instant or imported coffee. Affordable methods of brewing coffee at home are appearing, people are beginning to understand that for a tasty cup you don’t need an expensive coffee machine, but rather a simple French press or simply brew it in a cup. Of course, in terms of coffee consumption per capita, we are inferior to many Western countries, led by Finland, where each resident drinks about 13 kilograms annually. But we know that nothing lasts forever, because once upon a time only goats could afford to enjoy coffee.
Coffee in Turkey
Real success awaited coffee in Turkey, where it arrived in the 16th century. The Turks were already familiar with the taste of the drink, but it was not particularly popular among the nobility. Everything changed when, in the middle of the 16th century, the governor of Yemen, Ozdemir Pasha, brought coffee beans as a gift to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.
The ruler and his beautiful wife Hurrem (who went down in history under the name Roksolana) liked the drink so much that drinking coffee soon became fashionable at the Turkish court. As usual, fashion moved from palaces to squares, and in 1564 the first coffee shop was opened in Istanbul. Visitors engaged in philosophical debates and discussed the latest news.
The Turks turned the process of brewing coffee into a high art and brought it to perfection. The drink for the Sultan was prepared and served by 40 servants. Soon the ability to brew coffee began to be considered one of the virtues required for any self-respecting bride.
Coffee house from the Ottoman Empire
How does a coffee tree grow?
The coffee tree is an evergreen plant that consists of shrubs or small trees of the Rubiaceae family (Ru-biaceae). Depending on the species, it reaches a height of 3 to 8 meters.
The leaves of the coffee tree are oblong in shape and glossy in color, reaching up to 14 centimeters in length. At one time they were also used to make a drink, making a decoction or drying and brewing like teas. Flowers appear on this plant for only two to three days and then fall off. They have a pleasant jasmine scent and are sometimes brewed as well. The berries of the coffee tree are round and two-seeded, have a yellow tint, and turn red as they ripen. The fruits consist of a parchment-like skin, sweet and sour pulp and two seeds.
An interesting fact about the coffee tree is that the cycles in which it bears fruit are closely related to the climatic characteristics of the region where it grows. Namely, alternating wet and dry seasons. During the dry season, the tree does not grow, but accumulates useful substances, “freezing” during this period. And then, during the rainy season, it begins to actively grow, bloom and bear fruit.
The origins of coffee culture
The history of coffee and its spread around the world began in the 12th century, when the Arabs, always striving to expand the boundaries of their influence, first came to Ethiopia and brought seedlings of coffee trees from there to the Arabian Peninsula. The plants have taken root well in the warm climate of the peninsula. It is believed that the first coffee plantations appeared here, near the city of Moha, located in Yemen. This is where coffee culture got its start, and from here it continued to spread throughout the countries of the Middle East, Europe, and in a later period even America.
Gradually, the technology for preparing the drink changed. If previously it was only infused with plant grains, then over time a new method was invented: the grains were first fried, then ground, and only then a drink was prepared from them. For the first time, people thought of roasting grains in Turkey.
The Arabs called this drink “qahwa,” which translated from their language means “dream-dispelling.”
In Turkish, this name has slightly changed its sound. The Turks began to call the drink the word “kahve”, from which the word coffee comes, which has taken root in many European languages.
How the coffee was made
- The first recipe was like this: dried grains were thrown into water, boiled for about half an hour and allowed to brew, sometimes left overnight. The resulting infusion, similar in color to green tea, was given to sentries, used as an invigorating agent or as a cure for many diseases.
- Then the grains began to be roasted over a fire. Most likely, this was first done in cases where raw rather than dried coffee beans were on hand. Then roasting became an analogue of drying for the purpose of longer storage. It quickly became clear that the drink made from roasted grains is both tastier and stronger.
- In those distant times, coffee beans were part of the diet of the poorest segments of the population. As today's sociologists would say, it was the lot of the marginalized. Nomads, slaves, beggar dervishes, pilgrims, tramps of all stripes - this was the target audience for coffee until the 14th century inclusive. But thanks to them, the drink spread throughout Arabia and northeast Africa: Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia boiled coffee beans over fires with might and main.
- But travelers and researchers intervened. In the 15th century, documentary evidence appeared of the existence of a certain drink that was used by dervishes during long marches. It turned out that coffee was very popular in the monasteries. There are records of its use by monks in Yemen for vigor during night services.
- With the help of educated travelers, coffee found new fans among the nobility, merchants and even the rulers of Arabia. Since the 15th century, coffee has been served to nobles of the highest rank, and its beans have become the object of trade, intrigue and even government conspiracies.
- One of the rulers of Yemen spared no effort and time to develop coffee plantations and establish logistics. Thus began the global expansion of coffee. For many years, the Yemeni port city of Moka became the largest supplier of coffee beans to other countries, so much so that coffee was called “Mocha” for a long time.
- The method of preparing coffee beans finally took shape in the second half of the 15th century. The fruits of the coffee tree were peeled, the beans were dried, fried, ground and brewed in special ladles, which very quickly gave way to a cezve. It has reached our time, practically unchanged, as has the cooking technology. The past four and a half centuries have not brought about any major changes, except that instruments and utensils have become more complex and varied.
How did coffee shops appear?
Previously, only wealthy and wealthy people could afford to drink coffee. The Turks began to distribute this drink en masse, and Türkiye is considered the birthplace of coffee shops.
The first coffee shop was opened in Constantinople. This happened in the middle of the sixteenth century. At that time, local stores already sold fresh grains, so there was no time needed for delivery of products.
People came to coffee shops not only to try coffee, but also to talk about business relationships. They became a place for meetings and negotiations, and therefore gained great popularity among the population.
Turkish coffee shops are a good example; such establishments have found popularity in Europe and the Middle East.
Coffee has its own holidays
In Costa Rica, a coffee festival is held annually on September 12, with bright, masquerade, theatrical performances.
Many countries in which coffee is a traditional drink celebrate the holiday of this invigorating aromatic nectar. In Costa Rica, the celebration occurs in September. On the 12th, colorful festivals and fairs take place; cafes and restaurants offer all kinds of drinks with the main ingredient – coffee beans. At night, a fantastic action begins - fireworks, theatrical performances, masquerades.
Ireland is another country where coffee is revered so much that they decided to make it a holiday. September 19 is the day when most of the country's residents go to the streets to enjoy a cup of aromatic nectar with friends, acquaintances, and just passers-by. Many families have a tradition of gathering around the festive table; every home has a traditional recipe for making coffee, passed down from generation to generation.
