The traditional way of grinding coffee in the Middle East.

History of Coffee

Today, coffee is the second most traded commodity worldwide. It has been an important economical resource since historical times. Coffee is a very popular drink that many people depend on in the morning before work, or to help get them through the day. But, where does coffee originate? And, what is the history of coffee that brought it to where it is today?

Here’s a brief history of coffee and how it has become as popular as it is today.

The beginning origins of coffee

While the actual date of the discovery of coffee was never actually recorded, it is believed that coffee had its origins in the province of Kaffa in Ethiopia. Coffee was being cultivated in Yemen before the 15th century. Arabs had tried to stop coffee beans from being exported to other countries but the Dutch successfully exported coffee beans to Holland in 1616. After this the production and exportation of coffee spread to the Dutch colonies in Indonesia.

In the 1600’s coffee was used for its therapeutic purposes both as a health remedy and drink. The first coffee house appeared in Oxford, England in 1650, but women were forbidden to enter the shops. Three years later, when a teahouse was opened, women found a place to converge.

Coffee in America

The first time coffee was recorded being used in America was 1668, but it wasn’t until the 1720’s that coffee cultivation began in America. Cultivation of coffee was introduced to the Americans by the Dutch. Today, the largest consumers of coffee are North Americans and Northern Europeans.

About Coffee

Coffee is a tropical plant which requires certain ecological factors to survive, including water, wind factor, soil quality, sunlight and the right temperature. Altitude levels also affect the prosperity and success of coffee.

Coffee belongs to the coffea genus and is a member of the Rubiaceae plant. The coffea species is usually an evergreen tree that grows to be between 16 and 30 feet. It has a grey colored park with shiny, dark green leaves and very strong smelling flowers. Coffee comes from the coffee seed, or coffee bean.

Some popular species of coffee include:

• Coffea liberica (Liberica coffee) - cultivated in West Africa and Central Africa.
• Coffea canephora (Robusta coffee) – cultivated in South East Asia, Central Africa and West Africa.
• Coffea Arabica (Arabian coffee) – this coffee includes tico, bourbon, mundo novo. This coffee is cultivated in Latin America, East Africa, Indonesia and Central Africa

Interesting coffee facts

• Four out of five Americans drink coffee every day.
• Coffee is one of the world’s most popular legal “drugs”.
• Coffee contains caffeine which contains antioxidants which are important to help the body fight free radicals.
• Coffee is a stimulant. It dilutes the blood vessels and pumps blood faster through the body. , which makes the brain and heart work faster.
• Coffee is promoted as a beauty aid for women. Many have been using it as a body scrub to help fight cellulite.

One little plant started this giant phenomenon and now coffee is one of the most popular drinks worldwide.

Seattle's Social Coffee Scene

When it comes to meeting places in Seattle, cafes and coffee houses outnumber bars by a factor of 5 to one. Rumored to have more cafes per capita than any other city in North America, Seattle is home to large chains and small independent coffee houses alike. Each cafe has a distinctly different vibe and its own loyal coffeephiles.

Amid the clatter of china and the soothing hum of coffee machines, Seattle residents tend to gather for a communal cup of java or a reprieve. As one barista puts it, coffee drinkers fall into two distinct groups: solitary sippers and your social sippers. Among the solitary drinkers, a large proportion come for the free wireless internet. The non-solitary come for everything else.

Unlike New York City, where some cafes have banned laptops, there are cafes and even chains that cater to those in search of 24-hour wireless internet service like Short Stop Coffee. At many cafes, internet service is a key part of the operation where even small kiosks are designed with power plugs in the floor.

The social life of a typical Seattle cafe changes from hour to hour starting with the hung-over or the early-to-work crowd (depending on whether the cafe opens at dawn or is an all-nighter) followed by moms pushing strollers.

The mid-morning crowd is a motley collection of civic workers in dungarees on a coffee break to entrepreneurs and Lululemon-clad yoga enthusiasts. Later in the morning and throughout the day, you get retirees, office and retail employees on coffee breaks, and the ubiquitous laptop users. In trendy neigborhoods like Belltown, there are groups of poets, knitters, language learners and book club enthusiasts.

Even dog owners can find cafes which cater to canines such as the Stumptown Coffee in Capitol Hill, which offers free dog biscuits.

If Seattle is the coffee capital, two of the essential neighbourhoods for coffee are Fremont and Capitol Hill. Freemont is hip and eclectic, and welcomes visitors with a sign that says “Welcome to the Center of the Universe”. Capitol Hill has an interesting mix of shops, art-house theatres and trendy restaurants. Both neighbourhods are friendly and full of interesting local coffee shops.

While Seattle has an established reputation as a coffee capital, particularly thanks to Starbucks Coffee, many other cities in the Pacific Northwest also offer vibrant coffee scenes. Portland, San Francisco and Vancouver all offer great coffee scenes and the same kind of temperate, cloudy weather that makes sipping a coffee in a warm, friendly cafe so enjoyable.

Photo Credit: Benson Kua

An example of K-Cups.

An example of a coffee pod.

When it comes to single-serve coffee, there are a variety of solutions that let you say goodbye to fussing with filters, ground beans and left-over liquid sitting in the pot. Like coffee dispensing machines, K-Cups and coffee pods give you press-and-brew simplicity.

How do K-Cups work?

A K-Cup is a plastic container that resembles a creamer cup that contains ground beans sealed air-tight with plastic and a foil lid.

The Keurig brewer forces hot water through the K-Cup and into your mug or cup. There are two main manufacturers of K-Cups:  Green Mountain and Van Houte. K-Cup brewers have been on the market for over 10 years. Regardless of the manufacturer, each relies on micro-processor technology to control the temperature and the amount of coffee brewed.

When it comes to single-cup brewers, Tassimo gives you a choice of your cuppa: brewed coffee, cappuccino, latte, hot cocoa and even tea. Think auto-espresso with push-button simplicity at a fraction of the cost of what you’ll pay at your neighborhood Starbucks or competitor.

Keurig K-Cups offer single-origin coffees from Africa, Latin and South America including organic and fair trade coffees. You can also choose from a wide selection of blends and roasts including decaf. If you are a tea drinker, you can use the K-Cup with Bigelow, Cafe Escapes, Celestial Seasonings, Gloria Jean's Tea, Timothy's Tea and Twinings Tea. English Breakfast, Chamomile or Earl Grey decaf, Chai, Peppermint and Mango. Hot chocolate drinkers can revel in the fact that there are Ghirardelli Chocolate brands as well as Green Mountain, Café Escapes and Timothy’s.

What is a coffee Pod?

Coffee pods – also known as coffee pads in other parts of the world – are the coffee version of a tea bag and have been around for over 20 years. They contain ground beans inside a filter. Just like K-Cups, coffee pod brewers run hot water through the single-serve coffee pods. There are more manufacturers to choose from: Wolfgang Puck, Melitta, Senseo, Reunion Island, Fratello and many others.

Coffee pods offer the same simplicity and one-touch convenience as K-Cups.

Either way, you can forget about grinding coffee beans, measuring them, throwing in a filter, or cleaning up the subsequent mess. You can give away your grinder and forget about having to stock up on filters.

Regardless of whether you choose the pod or K-Cup, you still need to shell out for a specialized brewer.

And what you make up for in convenience you lose in terms of control. If you don’t like the richness or flavor, you can’t doctor it.

For those who are worried about plastic ending up in land fills, the K-Cup is less friendly to the environment. With coffee pods, all you throw away is the bag and its grounds, which can go into your compost heap.

When it comes to the price tag, coffee pod brewers can be half the cost of K-Cup brewers. Once you’ve shelled out for the brewer, you have to shell out for the coffee itself. In total, this adds up to more than the cost of buying and grinding your own beans.

For the occasional single-serving coffee drinker, both K-Cups and coffee pods provide the simplicity of instant coffee or a coffee dispenser but with a huge taste advantage. The bottom line is whether cost-savings trumps selection.

Image Credit (K-Cups): Randy Read

If you have ever tried to make your own espresso, you’ll realize that the term barista actually refers to a skill that requires the precise amount of water or coffee, turning the heat onto the precise setting and using the right timing.

As a home-based barista without training, I was happy to discover the easy, error-free way to make an espresso: using a coffee pod.

Coffee pods deliver the exact amount of ground espresso beans, often in a tea-like bag that you insert in a slot in a pod brewing machine. Espresso at the press of a button is instantaneous, clean, compact and predictable.

If you like espresso dark and bold, try the Reunion Island dark roast espresso pod.

Timothy’s Rainforest Alliance Espresso Blend is another pod that delivers a dark coffee taste that’s smooth and non-bitter while helping the rainforest habitat.

Tips On Brewing The Best Pod Espresso

Brewing up a pod espresso isn't hard to do with a quality pod espresso brewer.

• Start with the best water: purified, filtered or bottled.

• Dampen your pod before you insert it into the brewer.

• Add cream or milk to your cup before you pour the brewed coffee.

• To get the retail coffee experience, add a dash of flavored syrup and soy milk.

If you want the home barista experience, stock up on flavored syrups such as Torani used at coffee houses. A few squirts along with whipped cream and you’ll never leave to buy flavored Italian coffee again.

Tips On Storing And Maintenance For Your Pod Brewer

Keeping your pod espresso brewer clean is easy and hassle-free.

• Keep your coffee pod brewer clean of build-up. To flush out your brewer, run a cycle without inserting a pod. Clean it with vinegar and rinse to remove build-up.

• Don’t reuse pods. Coffee pods aren’t like tea bags.

• Don’t refrigerate pods.

Store your pods in an airtight container. The pods should be away from light in a cool, dry place. This will help ensure that each pod espresso that you brew will have the same fresh, quality taste. Thanks to new pod espresso brewing technology, you can enjoy a piping hot espresso whenever you like, at home or at your workplace.

Cool Off This Summer With An Iced Coffee

As the temperature rises, so does the market for iced coffee. From 7-Eleven to Starbucks, iced coffee sales soar to record highs every summer.

Most coffee retailers produce iced brews by mixing the same ingredients in your kitchen: strong coffee, sugar and cream served blended with ice.

You don't need to dent your budget or wait in line at a coffee retailer to enjoy an iced version of coffee. From a cool wakeup to a chilled nightcap, there are endless ways to whip up icy caffeinated beverages that will delight your family, guests and coworkers.

There are relatively few ingredients and supplies needed: ground coffee beans, water, milk, a source of sweetness (sugar, syrup, honey) and a coffee maker or kettle. Bonus points if you have a blender but you can do without.

Iced Coffee the Old-Fashioned Way

If you have the time to cold-brew coffee, you can avoid brewing altogether. Start by stirring 1 cup of coarse-ground coffee beans to 4.5 cups of water. Chill it overnight in the fridge and then remove the grounds: strain or filter it. The result is an icy coffee mixture ready to pour over ice cubes. (On rainy days, you can heat it up.)

Turn Cold-Brew Coffee into Iced Frappe

For an iced frappe, mix in cream and chocolate syrup using a blender. For every single cup of coffee, add ½ cup of cream and 1 tbsp syrup.

Creating Coffee Slushies

For a coffee slushy, hot-brew three cups of extra strong coffee and pouring it into a freezer-safe bowl. For ice cappuccino, start with dark roasted coffee.

Add a half-cup of sugar and leave it in the fridge until the mix is chilled. Then add a few teaspoons of vanilla extract, 2 cups of cream, 4 cups of milk, and freeze until solid.

For maximum effect, add heavy, high-quality cream and flavored syrup before you let the slushy chill. Once you are ready to serve, here comes the fun part: cracking the ice! Use a hammer or mallet to break up the frozen coffee. At this point, you can serve it or mix it in a blender to smoothen it up into a consistently smooth slushy. Serve this into chilled glass mugs or glasses.

Spiced Ice Coffee

For spiced iced coffee, add 1 teaspoon of orange spice along with 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon to the chilled mix before refridgerating. Serve with cinnamon sticks.

Vietnamese-style iced coffee uses condensed sweetened milk and chicory-flavored roast coffee.

Iced Coffee Dessert Drinks

As a dessert-style topping, dust with ground cinnamon and nutmeg or a swirl of whipping and a stick of chocolate.

To turn this into a cocktail, add a dash of Kahlua, rum or Amaretto.

Rum-flavored ice cubes also add a splash of fun.