What Is Coffee? History, Benefits, Varieties, And Fun Facts

So that we’re all on the same page, let’s start with the definition. The term “coffee” refers to a drink prepared using extremely hot or boiling water, as well as coffee beans that are already crushed and roasted.

The beans for coffee are extracted from coffee plants, members of the botanical genus Coffea. They are found in the fruit of the plant. The fruit is called a cherry; it takes about one year for a cherry to mature and ripen so its bean is able to be picked.

They (which are actually coffee trees trimmed to reduce their size) require moderate temperatures, adequate shade, and plenty of rainfall. This is why they can only be productively grown in temperate areas of the globe that lie between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. They are located in the Western Hemisphere, that’s between Central Mexico in the north and the Amazon rain forest in the South. This area is called “the belt of beans” or the coffee region.

It’s slightly acidic and slightly bitter. It’s believed to be a health-enhancing drink, it’s also a mild stimulant because of its caffeine content. is the second most consumed beverage worldwide (right next to tea, but without water).

We’ll look at these qualities in greater detail following a brief look at the background of coffee.

These are the two most often-told stories of the discovery of coffee.

Ethiopia

The coolest story involves a goat herder from the Ethiopian region called Kaffa. (Hmm…Kaffa? Coffee? This is already cool.) Supposedly his goats unearthed an old coffee plant. He experimented with chewing beans and was amazed by their stimulant effect, so took them to a monastery in the area.

Monks who were unhappy threw the beans into the fire to eliminate them however they were enthralled by the aroma of the coffee beans after they were roasted. They rescued them by throwing the beans into hot water to keep them. Eureka! Coffee!

In truth, it’s believed that Ethiopians had been chewing coffee beans for centuries before they started to use coffee. It appears they’d grind the beans and mix them with animal fat or ghee, then take the mix with them when they traveled long distances. The mixture was used to boost energy and stimulate.

In the 1100s, some Ethiopian tribes made a mixture of porridge and coffee, and later, they started making wine using beans or boiling them to create coffee. This story isn’t as exciting as the goat-herder version but it’s much more plausible.

Yemen

The story of the origins of Yemen is also quite fascinating. An ordained priest (who was also a doctor) was removed from a Yemeni desert cave that was on the edge of dying from starvation. Either he discovered the plant of coffee – or in a cooler version of the tale, a bird brought him an elm branch from a coffee tree.

Being unable to tolerate the bitterness of the cherries to drink raw, he dumped them into a fire to make them cook, but that caused them to be too difficult to chew. He then cooked them, and you’ll be able to guess the remainder of the story. His exile lifted, and he brought coffee beans home, and everyone lived happily ever after. The clergyman was declared a saint, and the monastery was established on his behalf.

Great story. What we do know about certain things, however. Coffee beans were brought by Ethiopia and then to Yemen during the fifteenth century. Sufi monks consumed these to keep them awake during their long prayer times. They also had the Yemeni city of Mocha (hmmm…mocha! Interesting!) Also, it became a central distribution center for the coveted Mocha beans that were grown in the mountains of this region. The beans were shipped to Europe and other ports starting in the 17th century.

Therefore, we can confirm for a fact that many thousands of years ago individuals were still drinking coffee on the Arabian Peninsula and in the Middle East, and with a coffee subscription you can drink it too.