EspressoIdiot.com
Welcome to the home of the Espresso Idiot, the antipodean espresso aficionado.
"A plant that gives so much to world, and asks so little. What a marvellous discovery it must have been for the first people to start sipping on this gift from the gods" .
Espresso Idiot, 29 September 2006.
The Espresso Idiot's History of Coffee
Coffee is a beverge prepared from the roasted seeds (normally referred to as bean) of the coffee plant mixed with water. Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world, second only to oil.
Coffee is thought to have originated in the highlands of Ethiopia and spread to the rest of the world via Egypt, the middle east, and then Europe. The use of coffee dates back to the 9th century but became more widespread in the 15th Century. The name coffee is thought to have come from the name of the Ethiopian region where it is thought to have originated, Kafe.
There are two main species of coffe plant that are used for making the beverage we have come to love. The first and most preferred species for making espresso, is known as arabica. This species is considered to taste better, however it is more susceptible to disease and is generally considered more difficult to grow.
The other species is known as robusta. This species contains more caffeine than arabica, however its flavour is considered less desriable. The advantage of robusta is that it can be grown where arabica cannot. It is thought that this species originated in Uganda. Robusta tends to have a weaker flavour and be bitter. It can be used to supplement the crema when making espresso with arabica, however it is normally utilised because it is very much cheaper than arabica and lowers the cost of providing espresso to consumers.
Coffees are now described by the country, region, and even the producer of the beans that are being sold. The particularisation has lead to a greater degree of analysis and a culture of specificity of coffee origin that did not previously exist. Some people even go so far as to distinguish the year and season the crop was taken, or use the lot numbers that the coffee has been sold under to identify a particular coffee.
Brazil is the largest exporter of coffee in the world. Coffee is produced in three main areas of the world, Central and South America, Asia Pacific, and East Africa/Arabia. Coffee is picked as a fruit, is de-fruited leaving just the seeds which then may be aged, or can be roasted and prepared into the form that most people are familiar with - roasted coffee beans. From this espresso is prepared.
Coffee has had a turbulent past, being banned at various stages and associated in Europe with rebellious activites, seeing it banned in England at one point. Coffee has also been banned in the past in Turkey, however it has also been used at various times as part of religious ceremonies. Certainly a colourful history and the above should be enough to give you a taste for some espresso and hopefully a desire to learn a bit more about it by way fo sampling!