Coffees ‹ Introduction ‹ Origins of Coffee
The story of Coffee probably began in Ethiopia. There are many legends about its discovery and how the fruits of the trees were made into a beverage. Commercial cultivation seems to have begun in the Yemen province of Arabia, some say as early as 575 AD. The industry was highly developed there by the 15th century, with Mocha as its main port. Travellers to Arabia discovered the local population drinking coffee in the coffee houses and having sampled it themselves, wanted to introduce coffee into their own countries. Many were keen to grow the plant and produce their own coffee so, from being the product of one country and culture, coffee growing and consumption began to spread, and soon achieved international importance. It is now an industry that spans the globe having become the second item of International Trade. The social, economic and political history of many countries, including the United Kingdom, has been influenced by the discovery of coffee.
Coffee is, grown within the tropical zones 28° North and 30° South of the Equator, from sea-level to around five thousand feet above sea level. The coffee bean is the seed of the coffee tree. The tree produces attractive flowers which have a scent like Jasmine. Following the flowering, two beans begin to develop in an outer casing we call the cherry (sometimes nature only produces one bean which is classified as Peaberry). The cherry ripens to a bright red when it is ready for harvesting. After harvesting, the beans are removed from the cherry and prepared for export.
Coffee can be divided into two major species. Coffee Arabica and coffee Canephora Robusta. Both play an important part in satisfying world demand. Like other natural products coffee displays great individuality with a wide choice of flavour, and although there may be an underlying character to a coffee from a particular origin, there will also be a lot of interesting variations. Quality is usually recognised immediately, and is reflected in the price. Some very fine flavours are quite rare, and the demand always exceeds the supply.
If you are studying our list for the first time, a host of interesting discoveries await you. Even customers of long standing still find variations of flavour they have not previously experienced.