Do you know how coffee was discovered?

Coffee like many other discoveries throughout history was discovered by chance. The Coffee tree comes from Abyssinia, a province of Ethiopia. The legend of the discovery of coffee tells the story of an Ethiopian shepherd. He had a herd of goats that walked daily in the mountains. One day he observed how his goats behaved differently after having eaten some red berries. The goats behaved more energetically.

Seeing this, the shepherd ate the coffee berries. After spending a while, he found that the berries had the same effect on him. Then he decided to take those berries to the monastery to check that they were not witchcraft. The monks cooked the berries out of curiosity and when they tasted the drink it tasted so bad that they decided to spit it out. At that moment one of the spit berries fell into the fire, where it began to roast and give off that delicious aroma of roasted coffee. It is how one of the monks came up with the idea of ​​roasting the brown berries before cooking them. And it is exactly how coffee was discovered.

Where does the coffee come from? 

As per Phoeberose.co.nz The word coffee comes from Arabic. The coffee probably arrived in Arabia through African prisoners of war, who carried the coffee in a kind of paste that they ingested to obtain more strength. There are many kinds of coffee trees and consequently many types and varieties of coffee. There are many factors that affect its growth such as altitude, the sun and the wet and dry cycles.

What is the Coffee Fruit like?

The coffee fruit is known as the Coffee Cherry for its reddish color and oval shape. It may remind us of what a wild berry looks like. The coffee cherry inside contains a seed. This seed is what commonly known as Coffee. The Coffee Cherry is made up of several parts –

• Skin: It takes a green color when growing.
• Pulp: It plays a decisive role in the taste and aroma of coffee.
• Seed: It is the part of the fruit that we will use to make coffee after roasting.

There are more than 120 species of coffee? 

In the world there are more than 120 known varieties of coffee and it is very safe that we are unaware of many of them. Two of the 4 main existing species are mostly known – Arabica and Robusta. Only Arabica and Robusta coffee varieties are marketed. We do not know how to roast the other varieties since they are not marketed.

Arabica and Robusta coffee

Arabica coffee represents 70% of world production. Arabica coffee beans are considered of higher quality due to the varied range of flavors and aromas offered. It is a coffee with a mild and pleasant flavor with lower levels of caffeine. Robusta species of coffee is the second most produced and commercialized in the world. It represents 30% of world coffee production. This variety is much more resistant and easy to grow although it has a stronger flavor.

Clare Louise