The history and development of the beverage that we know as coffee is varied and interesting, involving chance occurrences, political intrigue, and the pursuit of wealth and power.
According to one story, the effect of coffee beans on behavior was noticed by a sheep herder from Caffa Ethopia named Kaldi as he tended his sheep. He noticed that the sheep became hyperactive after eating the red "cherries" from a certain plant when they changed pastures. He tried a few himself, and was soon as overactive as his herd. The story relates that a monk happened by and scolded him for "partaking of the devil's fruit." However the monks soon discovered that this fruit from the shiny green plant could help them stay awake for their prayers.
Another legend gives us the name for coffee or "mocha." An Arabian was banished to the desert with his followers to die of starvation. In desperation, Omar had his friends boil and eat the fruit from an unknown plant. Not only did the broth save the exiles, but their survival was taken as a religious sign by the residents of the nearest town, Mocha. The plant and its beverage were named Mocha to honor this event.
Originally the coffee plant grew naturally in Ethopia, but once transplanted in Arabia was monopolized by them. One early use for coffee would have little appeal today. The Galla tribe from Ethiopia used coffee, but not as a drink. They would wrap the beans in animal fat as their only source of nutrition while on raiding parties. The Turks were the first country to adopt it as a drink, often adding spices such as clove, cinnamon, cardamom and anise to the brew.
Coffee was introduced much later to countries beyond Arabia whose inhabitants believed it to be a delicacy and guarded its secret as if they were top secret military plans. Transportation of the plant out of the Moslem nations was forbidden by the government. The actual spread of coffee was started illegally. One Arab named Baba Budan smuggled beans to some mountains near Mysore, India, and started a farm there. Early in this century, the descendants of those original plants were found still growing fruitfully in the region.
Coffee was believed by some Christians to be the devil's drink. Pope Vincent III heard this and decided to taste it before he banished it. He enjoyed it so much he baptized it, saying "coffee is so delicious it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it."
Coffee today is grown and enjoyed worldwide, and is one of the few crops that small farmers in third-world countries can profitably export.
taken from: http://www.telusplanet.net/
Are you a coffee addict?
Are you denying the coffee addict in you?
I don't remember what my first tip-off was. Perhaps it was when I chose coffee-flavored hard candies over fruit flavoured candies. Or was it when I downed the mocha chip ice cream instead of my usual mint-chocolate chip? Perhaps it was when I started salivating every time I drove by an unaffordable-on-a-student-budget Starbucks shop. Actually, I must have clued in when I started having headaches if I hadn't had a cup-o-joe by noon.
So, it's true. I am addicted.
I always said that I just drank coffee for the 'warmth' and 'flavor' of it. It was the experience of coffee I said I kept returning too, not the black liquid itself. You know the scene: snuggling into a comfy coffee-shop seat with a large, foaming cup of coffee in hand. It's always over coffee you talk to friends about life, love, philosophy and politics. Sigh. A day in the life of a coffee-lover. Okay, by addicted, I don't mean obsessed. But is enjoying the experience of a cup of coffee obsessed? Nah. There are worse things in life.
But I would argue, for all the students who do not drink coffee, and quite proudly so - you are missing part of the student life. Perhaps I'm not addicted to it, but 'enhanced' by it. Let me explain.
Here are 10 reasons why I enjoy my java that will convert any coffee-hater into a coffee-addict that each one of you actually desires to become. I have numerous arguments to appeal to different kinds of students and individuals out there. (And no, I do not, and have never worked at a coffee shop. This is not some sort of marketing ploy! I write this just for the personal satisfaction of seeing some of the adamant coffee-haters become coffee-lovers out there).
1. To all students: Alcohol makes you silly.
Drugs make you out of it. Both are expensive. But coffee, the cheaper alternative, makes you more aware. Heightened senses means better listening skills in class, more open eyes to see the board, a greater awareness of falling objects, and just general heightened senses.
2. To all students looking for a new university personality and identity:
Out here on the west coast, coffee drinking is an art. Those who drink coffee come across as cultured. Downtown Vancouver you see it all over: unique coffee personalities. I am convinced that these personalities began in university and were perfected with the addition of coffee:
Business and economics students
The business associate coffee drinkers: You see these personalities walking beside the high rise buildings with their newspaper, briefcase, and business attire. If you can't drink coffee after university, how will you ever make it in the business world? Meetings, clients, proposals, and three year plans all have one thing in common: coffee.
Arts students
The artsy coffee drinkers: These are the ones who are connoisseurs. Funky eye-glasses and artistically clashing clothing mark this individual. In theatres at intermission, in parks, and painting outside, they have coffee in their hands to complete their image.
Fashion-conscious-female
The modern woman coffee drinkers: High class fashion, high heeled shoes, faux-fur, and a cup of coffee. You see these women sitting in coffee shops chatting with friends and 'sipping.' They carry coffee in one hand and shopping bags in another while wearing a suit. They are the epitome of 'chic' and are established working women.
I don't remember what my first tip-off was. Perhaps it was when I chose coffee-flavored hard candies over fruit flavoured candies. Or was it when I downed the mocha chip ice cream instead of my usual mint-chocolate chip? Perhaps it was when I started salivating every time I drove by an unaffordable-on-a-student-budget Starbucks shop. Actually, I must have clued in when I started having headaches if I hadn't had a cup-o-joe by noon.
So, it's true. I am addicted.
I always said that I just drank coffee for the 'warmth' and 'flavor' of it. It was the experience of coffee I said I kept returning too, not the black liquid itself. You know the scene: snuggling into a comfy coffee-shop seat with a large, foaming cup of coffee in hand. It's always over coffee you talk to friends about life, love, philosophy and politics. Sigh. A day in the life of a coffee-lover. Okay, by addicted, I don't mean obsessed. But is enjoying the experience of a cup of coffee obsessed? Nah. There are worse things in life.
But I would argue, for all the students who do not drink coffee, and quite proudly so - you are missing part of the student life. Perhaps I'm not addicted to it, but 'enhanced' by it. Let me explain.
Here are 10 reasons why I enjoy my java that will convert any coffee-hater into a coffee-addict that each one of you actually desires to become. I have numerous arguments to appeal to different kinds of students and individuals out there. (And no, I do not, and have never worked at a coffee shop. This is not some sort of marketing ploy! I write this just for the personal satisfaction of seeing some of the adamant coffee-haters become coffee-lovers out there).
1. To all students: Alcohol makes you silly.
Drugs make you out of it. Both are expensive. But coffee, the cheaper alternative, makes you more aware. Heightened senses means better listening skills in class, more open eyes to see the board, a greater awareness of falling objects, and just general heightened senses.
2. To all students looking for a new university personality and identity:
Out here on the west coast, coffee drinking is an art. Those who drink coffee come across as cultured. Downtown Vancouver you see it all over: unique coffee personalities. I am convinced that these personalities began in university and were perfected with the addition of coffee:
Business and economics students
The business associate coffee drinkers: You see these personalities walking beside the high rise buildings with their newspaper, briefcase, and business attire. If you can't drink coffee after university, how will you ever make it in the business world? Meetings, clients, proposals, and three year plans all have one thing in common: coffee.
Arts students
The artsy coffee drinkers: These are the ones who are connoisseurs. Funky eye-glasses and artistically clashing clothing mark this individual. In theatres at intermission, in parks, and painting outside, they have coffee in their hands to complete their image.
Fashion-conscious-female
The modern woman coffee drinkers: High class fashion, high heeled shoes, faux-fur, and a cup of coffee. You see these women sitting in coffee shops chatting with friends and 'sipping.' They carry coffee in one hand and shopping bags in another while wearing a suit. They are the epitome of 'chic' and are established working women.
coffee review
 |  | Classic but not Ordinary The thirteen Colombia coffees reviewed in February's cupping (and a half-dozen more rated 90-plus but not reviewed) definitely transcend the reliably good. Rather, they are exceptional variations on classic purity and balance. All are wet-processed or "washed" coffees, with the fruit and pulp removed before the seeds or beans are dried, a procedure that performed correctly emphasizes transparent, bright cup character with aromatic notes that reflect the floral-tinged, sweetly tart cherry character of coffee fruit just after picking. Most come from trees of sturdy, straightforward tasting varieties of arabica: caturra, typica and the hybrid Colombia. Most are very high-grown coffees with dense beans, full mouthfeel and substantial acidity, but acidity rounded and nuanced by natural sweetness from ripe fruit harvested by farmers whose fruit selection approaches the obsessive. |
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| | | Micro-Lots and Other Lots Understandably, the highest rated of this month's Colombias are generally the tiny "micro" lots offered by roasting companies that specialize in offering seasonal lots of very small volume and distinctive cup character usually sourced directly from small-holding farmers: Intelligentsia (Chicago), Paradise Roasters (Minnesota), Coffee Klatch (southern California), Counter Culture (North Carolina), Stumptown (Portland, Oregon), PT's (Kansas), Willoughby's (Connecticut). |
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 | | Kickapoo's Organic Colombian Earns 95 Points Kickapoo Coffee is a Wisconsin micro-roaster devoted to organic and fair-trade principles and coffees. Their organic Colombian coffee from the Fondo Paez Cooperative is an exceptionally pure and balanced coffee. Sweet-toned, delicately complex aroma: flowers, hints of honey, cedar and tart cherry, perhaps chocolate. In the cup very gently acidy, light in body but buoyant and silky in mouthfeel, and giddily floral- and honey-toned with complicating hints of chocolate, tart coffee fruit and Riesling-like white wine (95 points; $12.95/12 ounces). |
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 | | Classic, Intense Paradise Colombian Shares Top Spot This 95-point gem from Paradise Roasters is from a very micro micro-lot, weighing only 350 pounds, selected from the 15-acre farm of Jairo Guiterrez. Intense, balanced aroma: cedar, cherry, flowers, orange. In the cup syrupy body with an almost bouillon-like richness, deeply but quietly acidy, with floral high notes and a wonderfully deep cherry- and cedar-toned chocolate (95 points; $24.95/14 ounces). |
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