Coffee Month

When you want to learn about something it’s best to start from the beginning…

The Discovery of coffee dates back to a time even before 1000 A.D. Coffee has a very fascinating history. The story of coffee is riddled with incidents of political conspiracies and quests for power. One story about coffee takes us back to prehistoric times when an Ethopian Shepard Kaldi observed its unusual effects on sheep. He observed that sheep became extremely active when they ate red cherries from a particular plant while grazing. After eating few red cherries himself, he became vigorous and energetic just like his herd. Moreover, this story suggests a presence of nearby monk who abhorred him for eating coffee beans. He accused Kaldi for eating what he considered as devil’s fruit. Sooner monks themselves learnt that this amazing fruit from sparkling green plant can keep them awake for long night’s prayers.

Yet a different story implies that in old times coffee was called mocha. This story takes us back to adventures of a marooned Arabian. He was forced to live in a desert with a group of his followers. In times of deprivation, Omar came to know of this mysterious fruit. He and his friends boiled and ate it. This mysterious fruit was coffee. It proved very promising. Highly nutritious coffee beans saved their lives and helped them in becoming a legend. Their amazing story of survival had spread to people of town located close to them. This town was known as Mocha. Therefore, this plant and the associated drink were named after this town. Amazing birth of Mocha took place in Arabian deserts to honor survival of legends who cheated death by eating fruits of coffee tree.

The coffee plant traces it origins to Ethopia. It was first cultivated in fertile soils of Ethopia. However it found its way to Arabia where it became a monopoly. You would be fascinated to learn that Ethopian used coffee in their conquests. An Ethopian tribe called Galla used coffee as rich source of energy. When ever they planned their invasions, they would prepare a nutritional food for themselves. That consisted of coffee beans filled in animal fats. Coffee also has been a favorite drink of Turks. They prepared coffee by adding extra spices in it. These spices included anise, cinnamon, cardamom and clove.

Moreover, coffee also spread in territories outside of Arabia. There it remained as a delicacy and highly secret entity. However, Coffee passed through many countries and cities all around the world to become a popular beverage. Today coffee has become a drink of choice for every household and is considered suitable crop by small scale farmers in third world countries.

What I am drinking now: Boca Java’s Jamaican Blue Mountain Reserve

Tags: Coffee //