Nuts About Coffee

The Plant

There are about 25 species of coffee plants that are generally clubbed under the family name of Coffea. However, the most cultivated coffee beans are Coffea Arabica and Coffea Robusta, while the other species are not grown commercially. Coffea Arabica contains less than 2 per cent of caffeine, while Coffea Robusta contains 2 to 3 per cent of caffeine. Robusta is a shrub type plant, which can withstand higher temperatures and pest attacks, and its beans are more bitter in taste as compared to Arabica. Coffea Arabica is a tree type of plant, which cannot withstand higher temperatures and pest attacks, and the taste of its beans is milder.

History

Ethiopia, situated in East Africa, is considered to be the country of coffee’s origin, and the plant draws its name from the region where it was originally grown, Kaffa. From Ethiopia, coffee beans traveled to Yemen, Turkey and North Africa. Similarly, another variety of coffee draws its name from the port city of Mocha, in Yemen, from where it traveled to Europe and later to Southeast Asia and the Americas. There are several myths on how coffee came to be consumed as a beverage. The most famous one is about the goat herder Kaldi, who observed a goat acting frisky after eating some berries. He ate the berries himself, and began acting like the goat. This was observed by the local monks, who later tasted the beans and began consuming them as the beans helped them in meditation by warding off sleep.

Geography

Coffee beans are grown in tropical regions situated at 25° latitude on both sides of the equator. It grows between the altitudes of 3000ft to 6,000ft; Robusta being grown at lower altitudes and Arabica being grown at higher altitudes. The main coffee growing countries in Africa are Ethiopia, Kenya, Angola and Madagascar. India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Yemen are the principal producers of coffee in Asia. The third geographical region, which produces large amounts of coffee, is in the Americas and consists of Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Colombia and Venezuela. Coffee plants are either grown under shade or in the open