The growing love of coffee is so fascinating!
Coffee and snacks, Coffee and friends, Coffee and work make it a favourite choice!
Even if you are a hesitant coffee drinker, you will become a fan by adding sweeteners, and syrups to it of your choice.
Arabia is famous for coffee and the word ‘KAVA’ is used for the coffee drink, which means hunger-free. Later it was changed to coffee.
In the 9th century, in Kaffa ( a region in Ethiopia ) a shepherd found his goats were eating a different berry-shaped fruit and got the energy. So he tasted it and found that it gave energy and ecstasy. This is the first ever consumption of coffee by mankind.
In Yemen, Shek Umar found the coffee beans and tried them, but it was bitter. He tried to taste again and he failed again. So he filled in the jar of beans with water and found out that the water colour changed immediately. This time got the tastiest way to consume it.
- From Ethiopia, coffee was said to be spread to Egypt and Yemen.
- Coffee has been introduced to Yemen (Mocha) through trade across the Red Sea.
- In the 16th century, coffee reached the Middle East, Persia, Turkey, and northern Africa.
- Coffee then spread to Italy, Indonesia, America, and the rest of Europe.
- In 1616 - the Dutch invaded India through Malabar, and they brought coffee beans to plant here.
- Going back to around 1600 AD, Baba Budan, an Indian Sufi Saint smuggled 7 coffee beans from Mecca to India and planted them near Karnataka.
Baba Budan made a journey to Mocha a port city in Yemen it is popularly known for its mocha coffee beans. He discovered coffee in the form of a dark and sweet liquid called “Qahwa”. As the drink was refreshing, he secretly brought back 7 coffee beans, since the Arabs were protective of their coffee industry. In those days, the word “smuggled” was considered illegal to transport coffee beans.
Baba Budan planted seven coffee beans in his courtyard in Chikmagalur, Karnataka. Later, the coffee plants spread as backyard plantings and onto the hills now known as Baba Budan Hills.
Coffee was cultivated long before tea!
- Coffee cultivation thrived in India when the British set up ‘Arabica Coffee Plantations’ in the hill regions of South India where they found that climatic conditions will be apt for the crop.
- In the 1800s - coffee became popularized in Southern India by a British Manager named J H Holly, and on realizing the conducive climatic condition for growing the crops, convinced the King of Mysore to give 40 acres of land to grow coffee.
- In the mid-1940s, coffee gained popularity nationwide, with the Coffee Board of India establishing the Indian Coffee House.
- Since 1947, coffee cultivation and plantation have expanded rapidly in India in areas like Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam, and Odisha.
Indian filter coffee is also known as degree coffee, filter coffee, Kumbakonam degree coffee, or Mysore filter coffee. Its name depends on the method used to make it. There is something that strikes my mind when I drink filtered coffee.
- Let me recall my mother's techniques for making filter coffee:
- Before all these electronic coffee machines, my mother would make the coffee powder and then decoction. First, she will roast the coffee beans and grind them in the mixer grinder till the coarseness of the coffee powder. Then she will add a small amount of this powder into the coffee filter.
- By continuing then, she pours hot water and the decoction would percolate. Finally, this will make a perfect cup of filter coffee.
- It's just beyond the taste!
- The term degree comes from the usage of decoction. The first decoction before mixing it with milk is “first-degree” coffee” which is strong and rich in flavour. A degree is nothing but the quality of the milk used for the coffee.
With so many different ways to drink coffee, coffee has gained popularity. There is a fascinating backstory behind a cup of coffee. Whether you are drinking your coffee hot or cold, history will make you learn more about the drink you love. Now it’s time to brew your cup of coffee!
Share this with your friends who are coffee lovers. If you liked the blog then share your thoughts in the comments section.
Written By: Nivetha
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