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A Coffee Break From The Cares Of Life
There are times the world weighs down on you. And the city screams into your ears. When every hour seems like the rush hour and life passes by in a haze. Times when you know you've got to take your foot off the pedal. And find some place where your...
Coffee, A Brief Overview
The coffee plant has two main species. There is the Coffea Arabica, which is the more traditional coffee and considered to be superior in flavor, and the Coffea Canephora known more commonly as Robusta. Robusta tends to be higher in caffeine and...
Coffee …Most Popular Beverage Of All Time
Long ago it is said that a lone shepherd and his flock came across a strange and mysterious plant growing upon a secluded and forgotten hillside. Before he could stop them some of his herd had began to gnaw away at this unusual berry. After about...
Coffee : Poison or Health Elixir?
---------------------------------------------------------- Permission is granted for the below article to forward, reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website, offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as long as no changes are...
Diabetes and the Preventive Power of Coffee!
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is one of the most rapidly accelerating diseases today in terms of number of people afflicted. Theories abound as to why this is the case; however, scientists are now looking at new ways to improve the overall health of...
Gourmet Coffee Beans - a Brief Overview
The coffee plant has two main species. There is the Coffea Arabica, which is the more traditional coffee and considered to be superior in flavor, and the Coffea Canephora known more commonly as Robusta. Robusta tends to be higher in caffeine and can...
History Of The Coffee And Espresso Machines
A large percentage of the population loves to drink both gourmet coffee and espresso drinks. We are all aware of the fact that coffee and espresso provide a boost of energy and they also warm your body up on those cold winter days. Most, however,...
Nicaragua Coffee History
In Nicaragua coffee cultivation began early but it did not dominate the economy as in Guatemala and El Salvador. Coffee cultivation began in the lands in the southern uplands in earnest in the 1860’s where the transition from other commercial...
Product Review: Perfect Pot Coffee from Gabby Goodies
I had the pleasure of trying two flavors of Gabby Goodies Perfect Pot Coffee from Patty King (http://www.mygabbygoodies.biz/501). They are called perfect pots because the packages contain the perfect amount of coffee for one pot. Of course, you...
The Local Coffee Shop
Many musicians complain about the lack of gigs they have, but when I ask them to look closely at the type of venue they are searching, the repeated pattern seems to be clubs, stadiums, concert halls and pubs. What I would like to share with you is...
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History of Arabica Coffee
As you may have guessed, Arabica coffee gets its name from Arabia, the land of kings. When it comes to coffee, Arabica is definitely king. As legend has it, a goat herd named Kaldi discovered coffee on the Arabian peninsula around 500-600 A.D. He observed his goats excited behavior after eating the red cherry-like berries of a coffee plant.
Hence the name Arabica, however, scientific evidence indicates that coffee first grew in Kaffa, what is now Ethiopia, in Northeastern Africa and was transported shortly afterwards across the mouth of the Red Sea to Yemen.
One could assume that the name coffee comes from the word Kaffa which would support the evidence that coffee first appeared in this region. Semantics aside, it is accepted that Arabia was the origin of commercial coffee trade so Arabica coffee is appropriately named.
Of the more than forty species of plants in the Coffea genus only two are suitable for making coffee, Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora the latter of which is more commonly known as Coffea robusta. Of the two, Arabica is definitely the premium bean.
Many factors determine the quality of the end product. Such as, where the coffee is grown, soil, climate and elevation, not to mention harvesting, processing and roasting of the mature beans. However, one fact is undisputed, the finest coffees in the world come from Arabica coffee plants.
Arabica coffee accounts for about 80% of all coffee produced in the world. It prefers higher elevations and drier climates than its cousin C. robusta.
The
tropics of South America provide ideal conditions for growing Arabica coffee which grows best between 3,000 and 6,500 feet but has been grown as high as 9,000 feet. Generally, the higher the plant is grown the slower it matures. This gives it time to develop the internal elements and oils that give coffee its aromatic flavor.
Within the C. arabica species there are three main varietals; Typica, Bourbon and Caturra. Each has subtle differences that add character nuances to body, acidity, balance etc… that are detectable to the discerning palate.
More importantly, the sub-species of Arabica coffee have been bred to adapt to a specific growing region to be resistant to certain afflictions such as fungus, parasites, insects etc… that differ from region to region.
Interestingly, C. arabica, is self-pollinating as opposed to C. robusta, which is not. This might explain why Arabica coffee is more abundant throughout the world. Also why it does well at higher elevations where bees might be less active due to cooler temperatures and why Robusta prefers lower, hotter, climates where bees are more plentiful. Just a theory but food for thought.
© Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.
About the Author
Randy has more articles on coffee such as Colombian Coffee, Coffee and Alzheimers and Coffee Breaks.
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