Coffee History

Coffee legend that coffee was discovered by Kaldi, an Ethiopian goat herder, who noticed that his goats were excited after eating red berries from a shrub. After trying the cherries himself, Kaldi discovered that the berries had a stimulating effect. Word of the berries spread quickly and they were soon being used by monks to stay awake during extended times of prayer. This discovery is said to have occurred around c 850.

Since then the growing of and consumption of coffee has evolved rapidly. The first coffee plants were grown in the Arabian peninsula. Arabs would roast and then boil the coffee to make a drink they referred to as “qahwa”. It is said that the first coffee shops were opened in Constantinople around 1475.

Coffee first entered Europe through the port of Venice, where it was introduced in Italy. Coffee is very popular in Italy to this day, where people like it very strong. Italy is the home of the “dark espresso shot”. The first coffeehouse in Italy was opened in 1654. After Italy, coffee spread to England where Edward Lloyd’s coffeehouse is first opened in 1688. Between 1650 and 1720, coffee consumption and coffee houses spread to Paris, Turkey, Dutch, and Germany. The Dutch were the first to truly commercialize coffee. Coffee was transported illegally from the Arab Port of Mocha to East Indies for cultivation.

Coffee was first introduced in the Americas in the 1720’s. It was introduced by a French Naval officer to Martinique, an island on the eastern Caribbean Sea. Martinique is one of the twenty-six regions of France. Soon, thereafter seeds smuggled out of France make their way to Brazil, starting what today is one of the largest coffee producers in the world.

By the 1800’s coffee is a large industry. Venice had more than 2500 coffee shops by 1800 and the production and consumption of coffee had started to generate other industries such as the manufacturing of roasting machines and brewing machines. By 1880, espresso coffee was a known art and coffee roasting was becoming more and more sophisticated. Coffee was mostly roasted using natural gas and hot air.

In the 1900’s a series of inventions change coffee consumption. The world’s first drip coffeemaker and coffee filter are invented. Melitta Bentz invented the filter using blotting paper. The first automatic espresso machine is also invented by a Doctor (surprise!). In the 1930’s, the Nestle Company seizes on an opportunity created by surplus coffee production by Brazil to introduce its line of instant coffee - Nestle instant coffee. Later in the decade competition in the coffee consumption intensifies as coffee marketers aim to capitalize on the increasing consumption of coffee.

Over the last 30 years, the evolution of the specialty or gourmet coffee has taken coffee consumption and marketing to another level. Today, coffee is the most popular beverage in the world. A remarkable 400 billions cups of coffee are consumed every day. Coffee as a commodity is only second to oil.

Coffee Growing

From its origins in Africa, coffee growing has spread east and west in between the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the south. Coffee is a delicate plant and needs ideal conditions to thrive. Coffee growing regions have steady temperatures of around 70oF (20oC). Above these temperatures photosynthesis slows down and frost damage can occur if the temperatures drop to 0oC. Coffee growing regions also have a moderate amount of rainfall. Approximately 2000 mm of rain over a period of nine months is ideal for coffee farming. Harvest times require a dry season. Some countries that have more than one rain and dry season will have more that one harvesting season.

Coffee is the main income earner of dozens of countries. It is estimated that coffee economically supports approximately 25 million people who rely on coffee farming as their only source of income. Coffee is grown in approximately 21 countries. Brazil is by far the largest coffee producer, with over 27 million 60 Kg bags harvested every year.

Below is a list of the 21 coffee producing countries:

The Coffee Plant

Coffee belongs to the Rubiaceae family of plants. Rubiaceae is a family of flowering plants. The coffee tree is a perennial (lives for more than 2 growing seasons) woody evergreen dicotyledon (flowering plant whose seed typically contains two embryonic leaves or cotyledons). The coffee tree grows to a height of 10-12 feet. It is woody with several branches that carry the coffee berries.

Coffee Plant and Development

Coffee planting is very labor intensive and requires a lot of attention. Coffee is planted from dried coffee seeds. The seeds are typically pre-germinated by spreading them on a sand bed or in polythene bag. After 5 to 8 weeks, the tiny plants reach the surface. When the first small leaves emerge, the coffee seedlings are planted in nursery beds or polythene bags. The seedlings are typically set 20 to 25 cm apart. In approximately 6 months, the seedlings grow to 30 – 40 cm and are planted in the coffee fields. The young plants are planted under trees that shade them from intense sunlight.

After planting in the coffee fields, coffee plants take 3-4 years before they start producing sweet smelling flowers and fruit. Following nine months after the first flowers appear; the coffee berries turn from green to red in color and are ready for harvesting. Some of the newer varieties of coffee trees begin to bear fruit from the 3-4 year and produce ripe coffee berries for a period of up to 10 years. Some the older coffee plants take longer to start producing flowers, but go on to produce coffee berries for up to 20 years.

Harvesting Coffee

Coffee is harvested during the dry seasons when the coffee berries are bright red. This can be once a year, several times a year, or throughout the year depending on the seasonal climate in a coffee growing region. Colombia is a good example of a region where coffee is harvested throughout the year.

There are several methods of harvesting coffee; hand-picking, strip-picking, and Mechanical harvesting. Coffee harvesting is complicated by the fact that coffee trees do no uniformly produce ripe berries and unripe and ripe berries can be found even on the same coffee branch.

Hand-picking is mostly used to pick higher quality Arabica beans. This is a more expensive and labor-intensive coffee harvesting method, but it ensures that only the ripe coffee beans are picked. Coffee pickers walk between the trees with buckets on the back picking the ripe berries. Coffee pickers can harvest up to 100 kg of coffee in a day. They typically have to pick each tree several times to take all the red berries because they ripe ones become overripe if they stay on the tree for several days. Some countries, such as Kenya, which have very high coffee farming and harvesting standards, exclusively use the hand-picking method of harvesting coffee.

Strip-picking is often used to pick Robusta coffees in Africa and Indonesia. This method is also used to pick coffee in Brazil. Strip-picking of coffee is a lot cheaper and faster than hand-picking. Strip-pickers, strip coffee branches of both ripe and unripe berries allowing the berries to fall to the ground onto laid clothes. The harvest is later gathered. This coffee picking method may result in the tainting of coffee flavors as the stripped coffee usually falls to the ground with leaves and twigs. Strip-picking is generally associated with lower-quality coffee and Robusta coffee.

Mechanical Harvesting involves shaking the coffee trees until all the berries fall to the ground. This method is used in large coffee plantations in Brazil.