The story of Kaldi, the 9th-century Ethiopian goatherd who discovered coffee when noticed how excited his goats became after eating the beans from a coffee plant.
Other accounts attribute the discovery of coffee to Sheikh Omar. According to the ancient chronicle Omar, who was known for his ability to cure the sick through prayer, was once exiled from Mocha, Yemen to a desert cave near Ousab. Starving, Omar chewed berries from nearby shrubbery, but found them to be bitter. He tried roasting the seeds to improve the flavor, but they became hard. He then tried boiling them to soften the seed, which resulted in a fragrant brown liquid. Upon drinking the liquid Omar was revitalized and sustained for days. As stories of this "miracle drug" reached Mocha, Omar was asked to return and was made a saint.[20] From Ethiopia, the coffee plant was introduced into the Arab World through Egypt and Yemen.[21]
Historical transmission
From the Middle East, coffee spread to Italy. The thriving trade between Venice and North Africa,Egypt, and the Middle East brought many goods, including coffee, to the Venetian port. From Venice, it was introduced to the rest of Europe. Coffee became more widely accepted after it was deemed a Christian beverage by Pope Clement VIII in 1600, despite appeals to ban the "Muslim drink." The first European coffee house opened in Rome in 1645.[23]
Through the efforts of the British East India Company, coffee became popular in England. Oxford's Queen's Lane Coffee House, established in 1654, is still in existence today. Coffee was introduced in France in 1657, and in Austria and Poland after the 1683 Battle of Vienna, when coffee was captured from supplies of the defeated Turks.[27]
When coffee reached North America during the Colonial period, it was initially not as successful as it had been in Europe as alcoholic beverages remained more popular. During the Revolutionary War, the demand for coffee increased so much that dealers had to hoard their scarce supplies and raise prices dramatically; this was also due to the reduced availability of tea from British merchants,[28] and a general resolution among many Americans to avoid drinking tea following the 1773 Boston Tea Party.
After the War of 1812, during which Britain temporarily cut off access to tea imports, the Americans' taste for coffee grew.
Meanwhile, coffee had been introduced to Brazil in 1727, although its cultivation did not gather momentum until independence in 1822.
Coffee has become a vital cash crop for many developing countries. Over one hundred million people in developing countries have become dependent on coffee as their primary source of income. It has become the primary export and backbone for African countries like Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and Ethiopia, as well as many Central American countries.
World production
2011 Top twenty green coffee producers
Rank Country Tonnes[61]
Bags x1000[62]
Market share
1 Brazil
2,609,040 43,484 33.1%
2 Vietnam
1,200,000 20,000 15.2%
3 Indonesia[note 1]
495,000 8,250 6.3%
4 Colombia
468,000 7,800 5.9%
5 Ethiopia[note 1]
390,000 6,500 5.0%
Top 5 producers 5,162,040 86,034 65.6%
6 Peru
326,580 5,443 4.1%
7 India
319,980 5,333 4.1%
8 Honduras
270,000 4,500 3.4%
9 Mexico[note 1]
258,000 4,300 3.3%
10 Guatemala[note 2]
225,000 3,750 2.9%
11 Uganda[note 1]
192,720 3,212 2.4%
12 Nicaragua
126,000 2,100 1.6%
13 Costa Rica
107,940 1,799 1.4%
14 Ivory Coast[note 1]
96,000 1,600 1.2%
15 Papua New Guinea[note 2]
84,900 1,415 1.1%
16 El Salvador
70,500 1,175 0.90%
17 Cambodia
64,980 1,083 0.83%
18 Ecuador[note 2]
64,500 1,075 0.82%
19 Democratic Republic of the Congo
63,360 1,056 0.80%
20 Venezuela[note 2]
60,000 1,000 0.76%
Total World[note 3]
7,875,180 131,253
Roast characteristics
The degree of roast has an effect upon coffee flavor and body. Darker roasts are generally bolder because they have less fiber content and a more sugary flavor.
Lighter roasts have a more complex and therefore perceived stronger flavor from aromatic oils and acids otherwise destroyed by longer roasting times.[88] Roasting does not alter the amount of caffeine in the bean, but does give less caffeine when the beans are measured by volume because the beans expand during roasting.
Decaffeination
Decaffeination may also be part of the processing that coffee seeds undergo. Seeds are decaffeinated when they are still green. Many methods can remove caffeine from coffee, but all involve either soaking the green seeds in hot water (often called the "Swiss water process") or steaming them, then using a solvent to dissolve caffeine-containing oils. Decaffeination is often done by processing companies, and the extracted caffeine is usually sold to the pharmaceutical industry.
Storage
Coffee is best stored in an airtight container made of ceramic, glass, or non-reactive metal. Higher quality prepackaged coffee usually has a one-way valve which prevents air from entering while allowing the coffee to release gases. Coffee freshness and flavor is preserved when it is stored away from moisture, heat, and light. The ability of coffee to absorb strong smells from food means that it should be kept away from such smells. Storage of coffee in the refrigerator is not recommended due to the presence of moisture which can cause deterioration.
Brewing
Coffee beans must be ground and brewed to create a beverage. The criteria for choosing a method include flavor and economy. Almost all methods of preparing coffee require that the beans be ground and then mixed with hot water long enough to allow the flavor to emerge but not so long as to draw out bitter compounds. The liquid can be consumed after the spent grounds are removed. Brewing considerations include the fineness of grind, the way in which the water is to extract the flavor, additional flavorings such as sugar, milk, and spices, and the technique to be used to separate spent grounds. Ideal holding temperatures range from 85–88 °C (185–190 °F) to as high as 93 °C (199 °F) and the ideal serving temperature is 68 to 79 °C (154 to 174 °F).
The roasted coffee beans may be ground at a roastery, in a grocery store, or in the home. Most coffee is roasted and ground at a roastery and sold in packaged form, though roasted coffee beans can be ground at home immediately before consumption.
The type of grind is often named after the brewing method for which it is generally used. Turkish grind is the finest grind, while coffee percolator or French press are the coarsest grinds. The most common grinds are between these two extremes: a medium grind is used in most home coffee-brewing machines.
The espresso method forces hot pressurized and vaporized water through ground coffee. As a result of brewing under high pressure (ideally between 9–10 atm), the espresso beverage is more concentrated (as much as 10 to 15 times the quantity of coffee to water as gravity-brewing methods can produce) and has a more complex physical and chemical constitution. A well-prepared espresso has a reddish-brown foam called crema that floats on the surface.
Cold brew coffee is made by steeping coarsely ground seeds in cold water for several hours, then filtering them. This results in a brew lower in acidity than most hot-brewing methods.
Caffeine and headaches
Caffeine alleviates headaches acutely and is used medically for this purpose, generally in combination with a painkiller such as ibuprofen. However, chronic caffeine use and withdrawal can cause headaches. Research has consistently linked caffeine withdrawal to headaches, even in those who drink coffee in moderation. Additionally, studies have suggested that those that drink four or more cups of coffee a day experience headaches more often than controls, even without discontinuing their coffee consumption.
Withdrawal effects - Caffeine withdrawal causes consistent withdrawal effects.
Caffeine content - The caffeine content of a cup of coffee varies depending mainly on the brewing method, and also on the variety of seed.
According to an article in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, coffee has the following caffeine content, depending on how it is prepared:
Serving size Caffeine content
Brewed 7 oz, 207 ml 80–135 mg
Drip 7 oz, 207 ml 115–175 mg
Espresso 1.5–2 oz, 45–60 ml 100 mg
While the percent of caffeine content in coffee seeds themselves diminishes with increased roast level, the opposite is true for coffee brewed from different grinds and brewing methods using the same proportion of coffee to water volume. The coffee sack (similar to the French press and other steeping methods) extracts more caffeine from dark roasted seeds; the percolator and espresso methods extract more caffeine from light roasted seeds.
Light roast Medium roast Dark roast
Coffee sack – coarse grind 0.046 0.045 0.054
Percolator – coarse grind 0.068 0.065 0.060
Espresso – fine grind 0.069 0.062 0.061
Espresso has more caffeine per unit volume than most coffee beverages, but because the usual serving size is much smaller, the total caffeine content is less. Although the actual caffeine content of any coffee drink varies by size, bean origin, roast method and other factors, the caffeine content of "typical" servings of espresso vs. drip brew are 53 mg[1] vs. 95 to 200 mg.