There are a lot of fascinating facts about gourmet coffee. First, gourmet coffee started out as food, not a drink, in East Africa. Coffee berries were mixed with animal fat, forming a sort of energy ball not unlike the energy bars sold today.
From East Africa, this practice found its way to the Arabian Peninsula where it was made into a drink. This was the official birthplace of coffee as a drink around 1000 A.D. During the 13th century, Muslims began drinking coffee frequently.
Islam spread and so did coffee. However, the Arabians were not about to tell their secrets of coffee making to anyone. Until the 1600’s, there weren’t many fertile coffee seeds or other areas in the Middle East where coffee beans could be grown.
There is another version of gourmet coffee history. This version states that it was in India where gourmet coffee really began. An Indian smuggler named Baba Budan left Mecca. With him were precious bags of fertile coffee seeds. He planted the seeds when he reached India.
Elsewhere, European traders who returned from Turkey heard of coffee. In the race to acquire this drink, the Dutch came in first. They got coffee seeds from India and made coffee plantations in Java, Indonesia which was controlled by the Dutch at that time in 1616.
Yet, another version of coffee history explains the rise of gourmet coffee. This story stated that the emperor of Brazil asked a spy, Lieutenant Colonel Palheta, to bring coffee beans back to the country. Palheta traveled to French Guiana where he seduced the governor’s wife. As a farewell gift when it was time to return to his country, the woman gave him a bouquet. Under the arrangement of flowers was a large supply of fertile coffee beans.
Today, Brazil is the biggest manufacturer and exporter of gourmet coffee.
In the US, only in the state of Hawaii is coffee grown. The volcanic soil in Hawaii is perfect for growing coffee.
Truly, gourmet coffee is just as fascinating as its taste. Perhaps, that is why this fascinating drink still evokes a sense of mystery, excitement and satisfaction when we partake of it.
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