Coffee’s Journey in History
Coffee is very important for all of us in the world. We start a day better by drinking a cup of coffee. Everybody loves different types of coffee. For some people Turkish coffee is indispensable, for some – latte, for others – espresso. People consume coffee the most when talking with people they love.
Let’s take a look at the history of coffee, which is so indispensable all over the world.
For the first time, coffee appeared in Abyssinia, Ethiopia today. One day shepherd by name Kaldi noticed that his goats became active, full of energy. That was because goats ate coffee beans. He wondered what kind of plant this was and tried it himself. After a while he felt a great energy in himself, so that he even didn’t want to sleep.
At first coffee spread from Ethiopia to Yemen. At the next point coffee travelled from Yemen to the Middle East and then to North Africa. Özdemir Pasha, the governor of the Yemen in the 16th century, tasted coffee for the first time and liked it so much that he introduced the coffee to the sultan and to those, who lived in Palace.
Coffee, which was loved and consumed in the Ottoman State, quickly spread in Istanbul and Anatolia. Soon coffee shops were opened.
Italian traders, who took the coffee beans they bought in Istanbul to Italy, provided the love of coffee in Italy and a lot of traders opened coffee shops. Austria first met coffee, when the Ottoman Empire changed plans about the Vienna Siege. The Ottomans left coffee bags in Austria and it was discovered by Austrians and became a popular drink. This is about how coffee was brought to Europe.
As you can see, the coffee beans spread from the Ethiopian lands had a long trip all over the world and became a favorite drink of everyone.
Coffee is not only tasty, but also a healthy product. Every year mankind reveals more and more beneficial properties of coffee. Many of its components play an important role in enhancing the life of the body. One cup of coffee contains magnesium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, calcium and other beneficial elements. On average, coffee consists of 75 % fat, cellulose and water, and the remaining 25% is mineral salts, acids and alkaloids (caffeine, trigonellin). Caffeine and trigonellin are responsible fort the invigorating properties and aroma of coffee. The combination of caffeine with the acids in the grain has a good effect on digestion. The composition of grains may differ depending on roasting method.
First coffee roasting method was roasting in pans. People roasted coffee beans sitting above an open flame. This method was used in the Middle East, Africa an Europe. The next discovery about coffee roasting method was drum. People understand that drums can provide more even roast and get more tasty flavor. Nowadays coffee is a big industry. There are great amount of coffee roasters producing every single day and there are different coffee roasting machines in the market. Technology nowadays really make sense.
