Coffee

Where did coffee originate?

Brazil is now biggest exporter, followed by Vietnam. But where did it originate?

Clue..best tasting, with widest breadth of flavour, It is almost certainly Ethiopia.

The history of coffee goes at least as far back as the 10th century, with a number of reports and legends surrounding its first use. The native (undomesticated) origin of coffee is thought to have been Ethiopia. The earliest substantiated evidence of either coffee drinking or knowledge of the coffee tree is from the 15th century, in the Sufi monasteries of Yemen.[1]

Coffee beans were first exported from Ethiopia to Yemen. Yemeni traders brought coffee back to their homeland and began to cultivate the bean.[13] T

Dutch

Burgomaster of Amsterdam got Dutch East India Company to grow coffee from the Yemen in Java. One plant sent back to Amsterdam, who sent a plant to Louis XIV, where seedlings did not thrive, but one tree survived to be planted in Martinique early 1700s, then taken on Jamaica (famous Blue Mountain cultivars). Subsequently plants from these areas spread throughout the Caribbean and Central and South America, where still largely dominates world trade. 50% of world production originates from descendant's of that one tree from the Amsterdam Botanical Garden. From NHM

Arabica coffee originated i Ethiopia and Kenya.

Robusta - predominantly in 'instant' coffee, from West Africa.

Coffee plantations in Brazil depended on migrant workers from Italy/Portugal (Brazil 2nd/3rd period) each given a small plot of land for themselves.

Sri Lanka

According to PP Courteny in Plantation Agriculture "the failure of Ceylon's attempt at coffee production may be seen to be as much the result of its inability to compete with the very considerable advantages of Brazil as of inefficency with leaf blight, especially in view of the lomited British market for coffee." p48

Capuccino por favor

Why do we cal it Capuccino coffee? The name comes from the Capuchin friars, referring to the colour of their habits,[1] and in this context referring to the colour of the beverage when milk is added in small portion to dark, brewed coffee (today mostly espresso). Of course the Capuchin monks were also famous for taking cocao from where it originated and grew it in Trinidad - see cocoa - which is of course added as a voluntary topping to your capuchino drink now.

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