Coffee Bean Facts

Coffee is really a fruit. Coffee branches form delicate white, jasmine-like blossoms that last for a little more than a day. These blossoms give way to coffee "cherries" that are red and round and very much resemble our own native cherries.

It takes 3 to 5 years for the plants to begin producing and that is possible only with the proper combination of climate, rain, sunshine and shade. Arabica coffee plants do best in nutrient rich volcanic mountain soil. Higher elevations cause the coffee bean to grow more slowly, which in turn leads to a more aromatic and flavourful coffee.

Cultivation

Harvesting is done either by handpicking or by machine stripping. When done by hand, cherries are picked off the tree or from the ground. Since only the ripe coffee cherries are picked, each tree can be picked numerous times during a season. The stripping method strips the tree of all its cherries at once and is done when most of its cherries are ripe, giving way to inconsistencies in the quality of the coffee. Thankfully, most coffee is still picked by hand. A worker generally gathers between 100-200 pounds of cherries a day. One healthy plant produces only about one pound of coffee a year!

The Origin of Coffee

Lore has it that coffee was discovered by an Ethiopian goat-herder named Kaldi. He was searching one afternoon throughout the rainforests seeking to herd his flock. Upon hearing wild bleating in the distance, he ran, only to discover his goats were engaged in a wild dance of frenzy. Apparently, the unsuspecting beasts were devouring the red berries of a coffee plant they had stumbled upon in search of food. These berries sparked Kaldi's curiosity and after nibbling on the curious fruit, he too was dancing excitedly with his lively goats. Word quickly spread of this magical concoction that battled fatigue and enlivened the spirit. Coffee soon became a cornerstone of Ethiopian diet and culture.

Ethiopians proceeded to conquer Arabic lands in Yemen during the Sixth century AD and started farming the beans on large coffee plantations. The Sufi monks of Arabia embraced the new libation as a gift from heaven as it allowed them to stay alert during midnight Prayers.

What began in the mosques soon flowed out onto the streets as coffeehouses began popping up throughout medieval Arabic towns. During the Sixteenth century, the Ottoman Turks occupied Yemen and coffee consumption spiked as it became popularized all over the Ottoman Empire. Dutch Traders did a brisk coffee business with the Turks and by the late 16th century, Europeans were sold on the brew as an elixir of maladies. Even Pope Clement Vlll found it "delicious" and baptized the brew to "make it truly a Christian beverage!" The Western World was hooked on the brew ever since!