What Is Coffee?

Coffee is the one beverage most people claim to start their day with. People say that coffee has something that helps them kick-start their day with that crucial coffee buzz. It is a known fact that it is because of the caffeine in it. But there is not much known about its origin, naming, and history of coffee.

The Coffee Bean and Coffee Plant

Most people can recognize a coffee bean, and we have seen it in raw form locally in stores where it is processed further and packaged. But most coffee drinkers can never identify a coffee plant. They roast the coffee beans that come from a coffee cherry from a coffee plant. The coffee tree is a nine-meter tall tree with a waxy appearance. It covers the tree with thick waxy green leaves which grow in pairs opposite to each other. A peculiar yet fantastic thing about the coffee plant is that you can see the green fruit, ripe fruit, flower, and leaves on this tree all at the same time. It takes almost six months for a coffee cherry to mature and produce coffee beans. The coffee tree is most productive at 7 to 20 years. However, it can live up to 100 years with proper care and pruning of the tree.

They grow coffee trees in different parts of the world along the coffee belt. The principal areas include Ethiopia, Sudan, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Comoros.

The Coffee Bean and Coffee Plant

Once the coffee cherry is fully ripe, the beans are extracted from it, and they are roasted and then brewed to make coffee.

Inside the cherry, it covers the coffee beans in a parchment which is scientifically known as the endocarp. It is the outer envelope and inside it; it places two coffee beans opposite each other. Now, there is another protective covering on the beans, which is commonly known as the silver skin.

There are 5% coffee cherries in which there is only one bean. It is a natural mutation, and we know this bean as peaberry. They are sweeter than the standard coffee beans, so they are manually sought after for sale.

Classification of Coffee

Coffee belongs to the genus Coffea and for this genus, there are around 6000 species. All these are not coffee beans. The coffee experts believe that coffee has about 25 to 100 types of the coffee plant. Though there is so much variety, the most commonly used ones commercially are two types; Arabica and Robusta.

Coffea Arabica — C. Arabica

Coffea Arabica is derived from original trees in Ethiopia. These coffee beans are flatter and aromatic, and they account for 70% of the world’s coffee production. They are lower in caffeine content as compared to Robusta.

Their trees grow on higher altitudes between 2000 to 6000 feet higher and areas that receive an annual rainfall of 60 inches. Though they grow on higher altitudes, they are near the equator, and too much frost can kill the trees. A temperature between 59 – 75 degrees Fahrenheit is suitable for the growth of trees and fruit ripening.

They require care and attention and can be costly to cultivate, but they are less disease-prone as compared to Robusta.

Coffea canephora — C. canephora var. Robusta.

They grow Robusta in central and western Africa and some parts of Southeast Asia. They are smaller, and rounder than compared to Arabica, and they account for only 30% of total coffee production. They have almost 50 to 60% more caffeine content in it.

They grow on altitudes slightly lower than Arabica, but they should have an annual rainfall of 60 inches. They can grow in warmer climates with a temperature range of 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit, and they are more disease and parasite resistant.

History of Coffee

If the story is to be believed coffee was first found on the Ethiopian plateau by Kaldi, a 9th-century Ethiopian goat herder. When the goat herder who observed that discovered it; the goats became high on energy after eating that plant. After that, they grew it more in that area, and it flourished.

In Africa, they found it in the African peninsula, which is present-day Yemen. In the 15th century, they introduced it in Syria, Turkey and Egypt, and Persia. The drink was served here in the “kehvah khanay”. These were the places where wise men came and sat for the exchange of information. The Mediterranean and Arabic men had a meeting and then eventually the pilgrims took it to Arabian land in Makah. By that time, it was common in Europe, and they later brought it to America. Though the actual rage over coffee started in the 18th century and it lasts till this date.

How Is Coffee Usually Served?

Coffee bean, when brewed with water, is dark and bitter. Some people like to have it this way while some prefer it served with milk, sugar, cream, salt, egg, and butter. They usually do it hot or cold as in the form of iced coffee. However, there has been a rising change in having coffee at room temperature. Coffee is, by nature, acidic because of its caffeine content.

In some areas, they brew coffee when it is still green to give it a fresher taste and an aroma of the coffee flower.