Meet Kaldi and the Coffee Bean Eating Goat

Coffee was first discovered in Eastern Africa in an area we know today as Ethiopia. A popular legend refers to a goat herder by the name of Kaldi, who observed his goats acting unusually frisky after eating berries from a bush. Curious about this phenomena, Kaldi tried eating the berries himself. He found that these berries gave him a renewed energy. The news of this energy laden fruit quickly spread throughout the region.

Monks hearing about this amazing fruit, dried the berries so that they could be transported to distant monasteries.They reconstituted these berries in water, ate the fruit, and drank the liquid to provide stimulation for a more awakened time for prayer.

Coffee berries were transported from Ethiopia to the Arabian peninsula, and were first cultivated in what today is the country of Yemen.

From there, coffee traveled to Turkey where coffee beans were roasted for the first time over open fires. The roasted beans were crushed, and then boiled in water, creating a crude version of the beverage we enjoy today.

Coffee first arrived on the European continent by means of Venetian trade merchants. Once in Europe this new beverage fell under harsh criticism from the Catholic church. Many felt the pope should ban coffee, calling it the drink of the devil. To their surprise, the pope, already a coffee drinker, blessed coffee declaring it a truly Christian beverage.

Coffee houses spread quickly across Europe becoming centers for intellectual exchange. Many great minds of Europe used this beverage, and forum, as a springboard to heightened thought and creativity.

In the 1700's, coffee found its way to the Americas by means of a French infantry captain who nurtured one small plant on its long journey across the Atlantic. This one plant, transplanted to the Caribbean Island of Martinique, became the predecessor of over 19 million trees on the island within 50 years. It was from this humble beginning that the coffee plant found its way to the rest of the tropical regions of South and Central America.

Coffee was declared the national drink of the then colonized United States by the Continental Congress, in protest of the excessive tax on tea levied by the British crown.

Espresso, a recent innovation in the way to prepare coffee, obtained its origin in 1822, with the innovation of the first crude espresso machine in France. The Italians perfected this wonderful machine and were the first to manufacture it. Espresso has become such an integral part of Italian life and culture, that there are presently over 200,000 espresso bars in Italy.

Today, coffee is a giant global industry employing more than 20 million people. This commodity ranks second only to petroleum in terms of dollars traded worldwide. With over 400 billion cups consumed every year, coffee is the world's most popular beverage. If you can imagine, in Brazil alone, over 5 million people are employed in the cultivation and harvesting of over 3 billion coffee plants.

Sales of premium specialty coffees in the United States have reached the multi billion dollar level, and are increasing significantly on an annual basis.

Want to Know More about your favorite?  Match up these terms with your experience and stand amongst the best coffee drinkers!!

While tasting the coffee, you should try to discern whether the flavor, body, acidity and aroma of the coffee is pleasant, or unpleasant. Here are the criteria that most tasters use to judge coffee:

Acidity
Acidity is a desirable characteristic in coffee. It is the sensation of dryness that the coffee produces under the edges of your tongue and on the back of your palate. The role acidity plays in coffee is not unlike its role as related to the flavor of wine. It provides a sharp, bright, vibrant quality. With out sufficient acidity, the coffee will tend to taste flat. Acidity should not be confused with sour, which is an unpleasant, negative flavor characteristic.

Aroma
Aroma is a sensation which is difficult to separate from flavor. Without our sense of smell, our only taste sensations would be: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. The aroma contributes to the flavors we discern on our palates. Subtle nuances, such as "floral" or "winy" characteristics, are derived from the aroma of the brewed coffee.

Body
Body is the feeling that the coffee has in your mouth. It is the viscosity, heaviness, thickness, or richness that is perceived on the tongue. A good example of body would be that of the feeling of whole milk in your mouth, as compared to water. Your perception of the body of a coffee is related to the oils and solids extracted during brewing. Typically, Indonesian coffees will possess greater body than South and Central American coffees. If you are unsure of the level of body when comparing several coffees, try adding an equal amount of milk to each. Coffees with a heavier body will maintain more of their flavor when diluted.

Flavor
Flavor is the overall perception of the coffee in your mouth. Acidity, aroma, and body are all components of flavor. It is the balance and homogenization of these senses that create your overall perception of flavor. The following are typical flavor characteristics:

General flavor characteristics

  • Richness—refers to body and fullness
  • Complexity— the perception of multiple flavors
  • Balance— the satisfying presence of all the basic taste characteristics where no one over-powers another

Typical specific desirable flavor characteristics

  • Bright, Dry, Sharp, or Snappy— (typical of Central American coffees)
  • Caramelly —candy like or syrupy
  • Chocolaty— an aftertaste similar to unsweetened chocolate or vanilla
  • Delicate— a subtle flavor perceived on the tip of the tongue (typical of washed New Guinea arabica)
  • Earthy— a soily characteristic (typical of Sumatran coffees)
  • Fragrant— an aromatic characteristic ranging from floral to spicy
  • Fruity— an aromatic characteristic reminiscent of berries or citrus
  • Mellow— a round, smooth taste, typically lacking acid
  • Nutty— an aftertaste similar to roasted nuts
  • Spicy— a flavor and aroma reminiscent of spices
  • Sweet— free of harshness
  • Wildness— a gamey flavor which is not usually considered favorable but is typical of Ethiopian coffees
  • Winy— an aftertaste reminiscent of well-matured wine (typical of Kenyan and Yemeni coffees)

Typical specific undesirable flavor characteristics

  • Bitter— perceived on the back of the tongue, usually a result of over roasting
  • Bland— neutral in flavor
  • Carbony— burnt charcoaly overtones
  • Dead— see "flat"
  • Dirty— a mustiness reminiscent of eating dirt
  • Earthy— see "dirty"
  • Flat— lack of acidity, aroma, and aftertaste
  • Grassy— an aroma and flavor reminiscent of freshly cut lawn
  • Harsh— a caustic, clawing, raspy characteristic
  • Muddy— thick and dull
  • Musty— a slight stuffy or moldy smell (not always a negative characteristic when in aged coffees)
  • Rioy— a starchy texture similar to water which pasta has been cooked in.
  • Rough— a sensation on the tongue reminiscent of eating salt
  • Rubbery— an aroma and flavor reminiscent of burnt rubber (typically found only in dry-processed robustas)
  • Soft— see "bland"
  • Sour— tart flavors reminiscent of unripe fruit
  • Thin— lacking acidity, typically a result of under brewing
  • Turpeny— turpentine-like in flavor
  • Watery— a lack of body or viscosity in the mouth
  • Wild— gamey

A Bit of History for us

  • The first coffee shop opened in Constantinople in 1475.
  • The cafe started as a bar-room. Or actually, a room off the bar where the minds of the day went to discourse on the current events. The first one opened in 1652, and charged a penny for admission and a cup of coffee. Some of the poorer elements of society went there just to listen, and the coffee house became known as the "penny university".
  • Edward Lloyd opened his coffee shop in 1688, which later became Lloyd's of London.
  • The first coffee house in Paris opened in 1672.
  • This was followed by Vienna in 1683; 1721 in Berlin; and Rome in 1750.