A Little Sip of Coffee History

Posted by Sandi on 5/21/2013 to General

                            

 

Woodshed Roasting – Laconia, NH  

A little sip of coffee history.

Coffee was introduced to civilization around the 15th century, made from the roasted seeds (called “berries”) of the Coffea plant.  These seeds are cultivated mainly in Latin America, Southeast Asia, India and Africa.   However, the Arabs were the first to cultivate and trade in coffee beans.

It has been rumored that a goat herder named Kaldi discovered the coffee bean after noticing that after his goats ate the berries from a certain tree that they didn’t sleep.  Kaldi made a drink from these berries and noticed that it had the same effect on him and kept him alert during evening prayers.  He eventually shared his discovery with monks and the discovery spread.

The rash of "tea parties" in 1773 after the Tea Act threatened Colonial rights and created an East India Company monopoly on the tea industry, which had an impact on coffee. Coffee eventually took tea's place as the primary hot beverage in America.

Coffee is one of the most consumed drinks in the world.  The 2 most common varieties of coffee are the “robusta” and the “arabica”.  Arabica has a slightly sweeter taste than robusta and is a bit more costly.  There’s 3 types of coffee roasts; dark, light and medium.

Most connoisseurs of the coffee world recommend that the first step to a good cup of coffee is to buy whole beans.  Grinding your own coffee beans releases oils from the beans which can be lost if you store coffee grounds for too long a period.  These oils are a very important part of good coffee flavor and create an entire new flavor and complexity to the beverage.

Visit http://www.woodshedroast.com to order.  We offer only Specialty Coffee from around the world. This is the top 20% of the crop. We have Certified Fair Trade Coffee, Certified Organic Coffee, Bird Friendly Coffee, Shade Grown Coffee, Rain Forest Alliance Coffee, Water Process Decaf Coffee, we also have flavored coffee's. We purchase the finest coffee available.