Coffee
Today coffee is grown in a multitude of countries around the world. Whether it is Asia or Africa, Central or South America, the islands of the Caribbean or Pacific, all can trace their heritage to the trees in the ancient coffee forests on the Ethiopian plateau.
The origins of coffee drinking are unclear. Stories have passed down through the generations of an Ethiopian goatherd who, upon noticing his charges were full of life after eating the beans of the tree, made a drink from the berries. Most historians believe that coffee originated in Ethiopia and was smuggled into India, where it came to the attention of European traders. The French Sun King Louis XIV is credited with planting the first coffee tree in Western Europe, which is claimed to be the progenitor of modern Arabica coffee trees in the region. Arabica and Robusta are the two main types of coffee bean grown today. The Arabica bean offers a rich aroma and flavor and is usually used in more expensive coffee blends whilst the Robusta is typically used to make instant coffee. The production of coffee is labor intensive. Coffee berries are picked from the tree (often by hand) and then the pulp is removed to expose the bean, which is then dried before roasting. It is during the roasting stage that the bean takes on a dark brown color and the oils emerge to give coffee its unique, tantalizing flavor. The main coffee growing countries in the world are located in Central and South America (Costa Rica, Colombia and Brazil), Africa (Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia) and the Far East (Vietnam and Indonesia). Trading in coffee is big business and the beans are considered a tradable commodity on the world’s stock markets. Over the past decade, there has also been a substantial growth in the production and purchase of fair trade coffee. Fair trade offers coffee growers a pre-determined price for their coffee beans, which tends to be higher than the price for commercially grown coffee. The growers form co-operatives to decide on how the money from the coffee harvest will be spent and invested in the community. Today, the majority of high street coffee chains actively promote, use and sell fair trade coffee beans.
