Some Coffee History * Where Coffee Beans are Grown * Enjoying Coffee

Some Coffee History

Many people believe that coffee had it's beginnings in Ethiopia, where the Coffea Arabica plant still grows wild. Coffea Arabica is the coffee tree that produces the seeds we know as specialty coffee beans. The Ethiopians evidently used Coffea Arabica for medicinal purposes and carried it with them into the Southern Arabian Peninsula when they invaded and occupied what we now know as Yemen. Eventually the Yemenis started cultivating Coffea Abraica for it’s use as a beverage. When Yemen started exporting coffee the beans took on the name of the port of their departure, Mocha, a name that today is associated with a drink made with coffee and chocolate. It is thought that from this single location the Coffea Arabica tree was carried by explorers and other travelers, to all other parts of the world. One such place in Indonesia was the island of Java, which gave us not only Java coffee beans but also the first and still popular Mocha-Java blend of coffee.

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Where Coffee Beans are Grown

Coffee beans are grown in a narrow band around the Earth a few hundred miles either side of the Equator. The Coffea Arabica tree, which produces the finest beans, are grown at altitudes of 3000 feet or more, the higher, the better. Since it can't tolerate freezing temperatures cultivation is only possible within a few hundred miles of the equator. There are three main growing regions that include Africa, Indonesia, and the Americas.

Africa is the region most commonly thought of as the birthplace of coffee. It is said that Coffea Arabica still grows wild in Ethiopia. African coffees seem to have a more pronounced flavor than many beans. Our Kenya and Ethiopia beans come from this region.

Indonesia is made up of several groups of islands between China and Australia. The beans from this region are full of flavor. Our Celebes, Sumatra, and Papua New Guinea are all from Indonesia.

The Americas region includes the southern regions of Mexico, Central America, the northern regions of South America, and the islands that surround those areas. Most of Granny's beans come from this region, and are considered to have the most balanced flavor.

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Enjoying Coffee

Coffee is enjoyed by millions of people around the world in almost as many ways as there are people. In the United States the most popular method of enjoying coffee is by drip brewing, although espresso drinks are catching up rapidly. As you can imagine the first known method was to boil the grounds in water. Simple but not the best. Boiling coffee can vaporize essential oils and cause coffee to be bitter. Evidently the French were the first to start steeping coffee, which is a much better method of brewing since the grounds remain in contact with the hot water for a shorter period of time. At Granny’s we use drip (automatic and manual) and plunger pot methods at our shop and manual drip at home. Click here for more coffee brewing methods.

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Colombia
Supremo

Colombia
Decaf

Guatemala
Huehuetenango

Papua
New Guinea

Sumatra
Mandheling

Tanzania
Peaberry