December 2006
Monthly Archive
Exploring Irish Coffee
Posted by admin on 16 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: All aboute coffee, Recipes
Like Samuel Beckett, Phil Lynott, U2, Riverdance, and Guinness - all famous exports of Ireland - the classic Irish Coffee is a true child of Ireland: born on Irish soil, created with Irish ingredients. It all began in Foynes Airport, Ireland, in 1942…
And about the coffee… in the original recipe, Bewley’s was used. Bewley’s is a coffee roasting company in Ireland; I’ve visited the roastery in Dublin while I was there. If you don’t happen to have Bewley’s on hand, any freshly ground and brewed coffee will do - we were using Intelligentsia Coffee Roaster’s Ojo de Agua Nicaraguan Microlot coffee in the press pot, and their Oromo Blend in the americanos with great results.
read more - the recipe and step by step guide …
Coffee in the Arab world
Posted by admin on 05 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: All aboute coffee, History
Coffee beans were first exported from Ethiopia to Yemen. Yemeni traders brought coffee back to their homeland and began to cultivate the bean.
The earliest mention of coffee may be a reference to Bunchum in the works of the 9th century CE physician Razi, but more definite information on the preparation of a beverage from the roasted coffee berries dates from several centuries later.
The most important of the early writers on coffee was Abd al-Qadir al-Jaziri, who in 1587 compiled a work tracing the history and legal controversies of coffee entitled “Umdat al safwa fi hill al-qahwa”. He reported that one Sheikh, Jamal-al-Din al-Dhabhani, mufti of Aden, was the first to adopt the use of coffee (circa 1454). Coffee’s usefulness in driving away sleep made it popular among Sufis. Al-Jaziri’s manuscript work is of considerable interest with regards to the history of coffee in Europe as well. A copy reached the French royal library, where it was translated in part by Antoine Galland as De l’origine et du progr?¨s du Cafe. The translation traces the spread of coffee from Arabia Felix (the present day Yemen) northward to Mecca and Medina, and then to the larger cities of Cairo, Damascus, Baghdad, and Istanbul.
The 19th-century orientalist Antoine Isaac Silvestre de Sacy edited the first two chapters of al-Jaziri’s manuscript and included it in the second edition of his Chrestomathie Arabe (Paris, 1826, 3 vols.). Galland’s 1699 work was recently reissued (Paris: Editions La Bibliothque, 1992).
Consumption of coffee was outlawed in Mecca in 1511, and in Cairo in 1532, but in the face of the drink’s immense popularity, the decrees were later rescinded. In 1554, the first coffeehouse in Istanbul opened.
The Origin of Coffee
Posted by admin on 05 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: All aboute coffee, History
The history of coffee has been recorded as far back as the ninth century. During that time, coffee beans were available only in their native habitat, Ethiopia, but, when the Arab world began expanding its trade horizons, the beans moved into northern Africa and were mass-cultivated. From there, the beans entered the Indian and European markets, and the popularity of the beverage spread.
The word “coffee” entered English in 1598 via Italian caff?¨. This word was created via Turkish kahve, which in turn came into being via Arabic qahwa. This last is a word of uncertain etymology, which can mean both “coffee” and “ass”.
There are several legendary accounts of the origin of the drink itself. One account involves the Yemenite Sufi mystic Shaikh ash-Shadhili. When traveling in Ethiopia, the legend goes, he observed goats of unusual vitality, and, upon trying the berries that the goats had been eating, experienced the same vitality. A similar myth attributes the discovery of coffee to an Ethiopian goatherder named Kaldi.
One possible origin of both the beverage and the name is the Kingdom of Kaffa in Ethiopia, where the coffee plant originated (its name there is bunn or bunna).
Coffea Canephora (Robusta Coffee)
Posted by admin on 05 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: Beans
Coffea canephora (Robusta Coffee; syn. Coffea robusta) is a species of coffee which has its origins in western Africa. It is grown mostly in Africa and Brazil, where it is often called Conillon. It is also grown in Southeast Asia where French colonists introduced the crop to Vietnam in the late 19th Century and now has exports second to Brazil. It is easier to care for than Coffea arabica and hence is cheaper to produce. Since arabica beans are considered superior, robusta is usually limited to lower grade coffee blends as a filler. It is however included in instant coffee, and in espresso blends to promote the formation of “crema”. Robusta has about twice the amount of caffeine compared to arabica. Approximately one third of the coffee produced in the world is robusta.
Coffea Arabica
Posted by admin on 05 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: Beans
Coffea arabica is a species of coffee indigenous to Ethiopia. It is also known as the “coffee shrub of Arabia”, “mountain coffee” or “arabica coffee”. Coffea arabica is believed to be the first species of coffee to be cultivated, being grown in southwest Arabia for well over 1,000 years. It is considered to produce better coffee than the other major commercially grown coffee species, Coffea canephora (robusta). Arabica contains less caffeine than any other commercially cultivated species of coffee. Wild plants grow to between 7-12 m tall, and have an open branching system; the leaves are opposite, simple elliptic-ovate to oblong, 6-12 cm long and 4-8 cm broad, glossy dark green. The flowers are produced in axillary clusters, each flower white, and 1-1.5 cm diameter. The fruit is a berry 10-15 mm long, maturing bright red to purple, containing two seeds (the coffee ‘bean’).
Coffee Plants
Posted by admin on 05 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: All aboute coffee
There are two main species of the coffee plant, Coffea arabica being the older one. Coffee is thought to be indigenous to south-western Ethiopia, specifically from Kaffa, from which it may have acquired its name.
While more susceptible to disease, it is considered by most to taste better than the second species, Coffea canephora (robusta). Robusta, which contains about 40-50% more caffeine, can be cultivated in environments where arabica will not thrive and probably originated in Uganda.
This has led to its use as an inexpensive substitute for arabica in many commercial coffee blends. Compared to arabica, robusta tends to be bitter and has little flavor, with a telltale “burnt rubber” or “wet cardboard” aroma and flavor. Good quality robustas are used in some espresso blends to provide a better “crema” (foamy head), and to lower the ingredient cost. In Italy, many espresso blends are based on dark-roasted robusta. The large industrial roasters use a steam treatment process to remove undesirable flavors from robusta beans for use in mass-marketed coffee blends. Other species include Coffea liberica and Coffea esliaca, believed to be indigenous to Liberia and southern Sudan respectively.
The History of Coffee
Posted by admin on 05 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: History
The history of coffee dates at least as far back as the 9th century. It originated in the highlands of Ethiopia and spread to the rest of the world via Egypt and Europe.
The word coffee is believed to be derived from the word Kaffa, a region in Ethiopia where coffee is believed to have originated. The substance’s Arabic name, ???????© qahwa, was borrowed into Ottoman Turkish as kahve, which in turn is the source of the first borrowings into European languages. In the 15th century, Muslims introduced coffee in Persia, Egypt, northern Africa and Turkey, where the first coffeehouse, Kiva Han, opened in 1475 in Constantinople. The stimulant effect of drinking coffee caused it to be forbidden among orthodox and conservative imams in Mecca in 1511 and in Cairo in 1532 by a theological court. In Egypt, coffeehouses and warehouses containing coffee beans were sacked. But the product’s popularity, particularly among intellectuals, led to the reversal of this decision in 1524 by an order of the Ottoman Turkish Sultan Selim I.
From the Muslim world, coffee spread to Europe, where it became popular in the 17th century. Dutch traders were the first to start the large scale importation of coffee into Europe.
What Is Coffee
Posted by admin on 05 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: All aboute coffee
Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world. It is prepared from the roasted seeds ??? commonly referred to as beans ??? of the coffee plant, and is usually served hot but can also be served cold. A typical 7 fluid ounce (ca. 207? mL) cup of coffee contains 80-140 milligrams of caffeine, depending on the method of preparation. Coffee represents 71% of all the United States caffeine consumption followed by soft drinks and tea. Coffee, along with tea and water, is one of the most frequently-drunk beverages, its volume amounting to about a third that of tap water. In 2003, coffee was the world’s sixth largest agricultural export in terms of value, behind wheat, maize, soybeans, palm oil and sugar.