**History and Spread of Coffee:**
– Legendary accounts attribute the discovery of coffee to a 9th-century Ethiopian goatherd, Kaldi.
– Coffee drinking traces back to the 15th century in Yemen and spread to various regions by the 16th century.
– Coffee was introduced to Europe through Venice and gained approval as a Christian beverage by Pope Clement VIII in 1600.
– The first European coffee house opened in Venice in 1647, marking the beginning of coffee culture in Europe.
– Coffee reached North America during the Colonial period, contributing to its global popularity.
**Global Coffee Industry:**
– Coffee is cultivated in over 70 countries globally, with Brazil leading in production, accounting for 35% of the world’s total.
– The global coffee industry was valued at $495.50 billion as of 2023.
– Brazil, Vietnam, and Colombia are the top exporters of coffee beans.
– Despite the industry’s significant sales, many coffee farmers face poverty and challenges.
– Coffee has been a vital cash crop for developing countries, supporting millions of people.
**Cultivation and Production of Coffee:**
– Coffee is primarily extracted from shrubs of the Coffea genus, with Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora (robusta) being the main commercially cultivated species.
– Brazil leads in green coffee bean production, utilizing effective methods like nursery raising.
– Coffee is intercropped with food crops during initial cultivation and thrives within the bean belt between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
– Traditional planting methods involve placing 20 seeds in each hole, while Brazil’s method focuses on seedling nurseries.
– In 2020, Brazil accounted for 39% of the global green coffee bean production.
**Coffee Varieties and Species:**
– Arabica coffee is more esteemed than robusta, with about three-quarters of coffee cultivated worldwide being arabica.
– Robusta coffee contains more caffeine but is often used as a substitute for arabica in commercial blends.
– Coffee beans from different regions have distinct flavor profiles, known as varietals like Colombian, Java, and Kona.
– Arabica berries ripen faster than robusta, with arabica being native to Ethiopia and Sudan.
– Robusta strains have better body but are more bitter than arabica.
**Processing and Brewing of Coffee:**
– Coffee beans undergo processing methods like wet or dry, with fermentation, washing, and drying involved.
– Roasting coffee influences flavor through caramelization, sucrose loss, and aromatic oil development.
– Roast characteristics are graded by color and size, impacting flavor and body.
– Decaffeination methods include Swiss water process or solvents, with decaffeinated seeds often sold to the pharmaceutical industry.
– Proper storage in airtight containers away from moisture, heat, and light preserves coffee freshness and flavor.
Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It has the highest sales in the world market for hot drinks.
 | |
| Type | Usually hot, can be iced |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Yemen |
| Introduced | 15th century |
| Color | Black, dark brown, light brown, beige |
| Flavor | Distinctive, somewhat bitter |
| Ingredients | Roasted coffee beans |
The seeds of the Coffea plant's fruits are separated to produce unroasted green coffee beans. The beans are roasted and then ground into fine particles typically steeped in hot water before being filtered out, producing a cup of coffee. It is usually served hot, although chilled or iced coffee is common. Coffee can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways (e.g., espresso, French press, caffè latte, or already-brewed canned coffee). Sugar, sugar substitutes, milk, and cream are often added to mask the bitter taste or enhance the flavor.
Though coffee is now a global commodity, it has a long history tied closely to food traditions around the Red Sea. The earliest credible evidence of coffee drinking as the modern beverage appears in modern-day Yemen in southern Arabia in the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines, where coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed in a manner similar to how it is now prepared for drinking. The coffee beans were procured by the Yemenis from the Ethiopian Highlands via coastal Somali intermediaries, and cultivated in Yemen. By the 16th century, the drink had reached the rest of the Middle East and North Africa, later spreading to Europe.
The two most commonly grown coffee bean types are C. arabica and C. robusta. Coffee plants are cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in the equatorial regions of the Americas, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and Africa. As of 2023[update], Brazil was the leading grower of coffee beans, producing 35% of the world's total. Green, unroasted coffee is traded as an agricultural commodity. Despite sales of coffee reaching billions of dollars worldwide, farmers producing coffee beans disproportionately live in poverty. Critics of the coffee industry have also pointed to its negative impact on the environment and the clearing of land for coffee-growing and water use. The global coffee industry is massive and worth $495.50 billion as of 2023. Brazil, Vietnam, and Colombia are the top exporters of coffee beans as of 2023.