A Short History Of The Coffee Bean

By Gale Catholic


There is considerable argument as to how and when coffee was discovered. Many theories contradict and vary depending on who we talk to.

Ethiopians started eating raw coffee after they noticed how grazing goats would get a buzz from eating them. They eventually found that if they smashed these little berries and mixed them with animal fat, a pasty little coffee pellet could be formed.

These pellets were eaten and provided a simple and easy to store energy supplement. They were especially useful in giving soldiers energy during times of conflict. These little pellets became an every day staple in the diet of Ethiopians. The coffee berries could also be eaten whole, and the pulp inside was loaded with caffeine and sweet tasting.

There is even evidence that Ethiopians used this tasty berry to make wine. Coffee was also found to be used on the Arabian peninsula for food as well. It wasn't until later that Arabs started drinking these little energy bullets.

The earliest form of coffee being used as a beverage came well before 1000 A.D. The method was to soak coffee hulls in cold water. After some softening, the hulls were fire roasted and then boiled in water. The end result was a pale yellow liquid that could be used ingested as a stimulant.

By the 1000's, coffee making still remained pretty much the same, involving soaking the coffee beans and hulls.

More advanced techniques did not appear until the 1400's, when drying the beans before brewing was discovered. Beans were dried by laying them in the sun and let the rays do their job. The motivation behind this discovery was trying to find ways to store coffee beans better.

They took the dried beans and roasted them. After that, the beans were pounded into small pieces and mixed with hot water. For the last 600 years or so, this has been the basic way coffee is made. Now coffee is a hugely popular drink throughout the world, and is the second largest traded commodity next to oil.




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