Coffee use can be traced at least to as early as the 9th century, when it appeared in the highlands of Ethiopia. According to legend, Ethiopian shepherds were the first to observe the influence of the caffeine in coffee beans when the goats appeared to "dance" and to have an increased level of energy after consuming wild coffee berries. The legend names the shepherd "Kaldi." From Ethiopia, coffee spread to Egypt and Yemen. It was in Arabia that coffee beans were first roasted and brewed similarly as they are today. By the 15th century, it had reached the rest of the Middle East, Persia, and northern Africa.

From the Muslim world, coffee spread to Italy. The thriving trade between Venice and North Africa, Egypt, and the Middle East brought many goods, including coffee, to the Venetian port. From Venice, it was introduced to the rest of Europe. Coffee became more widely accepted after it was deemed a Christian beverage by Pope Clement VIII in 1600, despite appeals to ban the "Muslim drink". The first European coffee house opened in Italy in 1645. The Dutch were the first to import coffee on a large scale, and they were among the first to defy the Arab prohibition on the exportation of plants or unroasted seeds when Pieter van den Broeck smuggled seedlings from Aden into Europe in 1616. The Dutch later grew the crop in Java and Ceylon. Through the efforts of the British East India Company, coffee became popular in England as well. It was introduced in France in 1657, and in Austria and Poland after the 1683 Battle of Vienna, when coffee was captured from supplies of the defeated Turks.

When coffee reached North America during the colonial period, it was initially not as successful as it had been in Europe. During the Revolutionary War, however, the demand for coffee increased so much that dealers had to hoard their scarce supplies and raise prices dramatically; this was partly due to the reduced availability of tea from British en.wmerchants. After the War of 1812, during which Britain temporarily cut off access to tea imports, the Americans' taste for coffee grew, and high demand during the American Civil War together with advances in brewing technology secured the position of coffee as an everyday commodity in the United States.

Noted as one of the world’s largest, most valuable, legally traded commodities after oil, coffee has become a vital cash crop for many Third World countries. Over one hundred million people in developing countries have become dependent on coffee as the primary source of income. Coffee has become the primary export and backbone for African countries like Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and Ethiopia as well as other Central American countries.

The Coffea plant is native to subtropical Africa and southern Asia. It belongs to a genus of 10 species of flowering plants of the family Rubiaceae. It is an evergreen shrub or small tree that may grow 5 meters tall when unpruned. The leaves are dark green and glossy, usually 10–15 centimeters long and 6 centimeters wide. It produces clusters of fragrant, white flowers that bloom simultaneously. The fruit berry is oval, about 1.5 centimeters long, and green when immature, but ripens to yellow, then crimson, becoming black on drying. Each berry usually contains two seeds, but from 5 to 10 percent of the berries have only one; these are called peaberries. Berries ripen in seven to nine months.

The two main cultivated species of the coffee plant are Coffea canephora and Coffea arabica. Arabica coffee (from C. arabica) is considered more suitable for drinking than robusta coffee (from C. canephora); robusta tends to be bitter and have less flavor than arabica. For this reason, about three-quarters of coffee cultivated worldwide is C. arabica. However, C. canephora is less susceptible to disease than C. arabica and can be cultivated in environments where C. arabica will not thrive. Robusta coffee also contains about 40–50 percent more caffeine than arabica. For this reason, it is used as an inexpensive substitute for arabica in many commercial coffee blends. Good quality robustas are used in some espresso blends to provide a better foam head and to lower the ingredient cost.

Most arabica coffee beans originate from either Brazil (where 1/3 of the world’s coffee is grown), Central America (Columbia, Costa Rica, etc.) and Caribbean (Cuba, Jamaica, Mexico, etc.), eastern Africa, Arabia, or Asia (Indonesia, India, Vietnam, etc.), . Robusta coffee beans are grown in western and central Africa, throughout Southeast Asia, and to some extent in Brazil. Beans from different countries or regions usually have distinctive characteristics such as flavor, aroma, body, and acidity. These taste characteristics are dependent not only on the coffee's growing region, but also on genetic subspecies and processing. Varietals are generally known by the region in which they are grown, such as Colombian, Java, or Kona.

General Rules for a perfect cup of coffee

Preparing a good cup of coffee should be easy - you're simply combining ground beans with water until the brew is drinkable. The variations in technique are, however, infinite and the quality depends on sure-handed knowledge. There are, however, a number of rules that you can apply to almost any method of making coffee. If you follow these rules you will ensure that a consistently good cup of coffee is made:

Coffee beans are naturally sweet in flavour and that distinctive bitterness comes from extraction when hot water is added. As a general rule, the longer the coffee is brewed the more bitter the taste - as caffeine is extracted last of all. Prior to this there is an acidic flavour, which is why coffee made too quickly tastes thin and sour.

1.	Make sure that any equipment you are using is thoroughly cleaned. Leftover residue, oils and grounds will leave strange flavours in your brew. Ideally, you should clean your coffee maker thoroughly at least once a week with a mixture of water and vinegar to remove the oils.
2.	Buy and start with fresh, quality coffee beans. No matter how good the coffee is, if it is stale it will be very flat.
3.	98% of a cup of coffee is water. Bad water means bad coffee. Use fresh, clear water to prepare your coffee.
4.	Always grind your coffee, if possible, immediately before brewing. This will give a fresh taste and avoid bitter or stale flavours in the coffee.
5.	Make sure that the grind of the coffee that you are using matches your method and taste.
6.	Use the right amount of coffee. The most common mistake often made is that not using enough coffee, resulting in a thin cup that lacks depth of flavour, and does not have the distinctive qualities that help make each coffee unique. A good rule of thumb to make an excellent cup is 2 level tablespoons for each 180g. cup of coffee. For non-coffee drinkers this is strong, but everyone should start from this point, then make adjustments to your taste.
7.	Coffee should be brewed "just off the boil", between 90-93°C. If the coffee is brewed with boiling water, delicate flavours will be lost. If the water is not hot enough you will not extract all of the flavour from the coffee, ending up with a thinner cup.
8.	Warm your cup before pouring the coffee in; this keeps the coffee hot longer.
9.	Before serving, stir the coffee. Heavier oils and inconsistent extraction will cause differences in the consistency of the coffee.
10.	If you are making more than you intend to drink, store the coffee in a quality thermos. Leaving the brew in the coffee warmer will slowly destroy its flavour.
11.	Drink your coffee freshly brewed. Never reheat coffee, or let it sit on a warmer for more than 20 minutes. At best, it will taste dull and stale; at worst, it will develop a bitter, acrid flavour.

 

Greek Coffee

This way of making coffee is very popular in the Mediterranean. Traditionally, the very finely ground (pulverised) coffee is placed in an 'ibrik' with water and a spoonful of sugar and brought to the boil. The moment it boils, it is taken off the heat, then put back until it has just boiled again, then removed and the process repeated - usually three times. Finally, a few drops of water are added to the pan to make the dregs fall to the bottom.

The coffee should be served very hot and frothy - coffee that does not have foam indicates bad preparation and/or bad quality of beans. Some grounds will settle at the bottom of the cup. As it is completely unfiltered, the resulting coffee is extremely strong.

 

Cafetiere (French press or Presspot)

After all these years, this continues to be the most popular brewing method because it is an easy way to make great-tasting coffee. It allows you to control the entire extraction process, including water temperature and steep time. And it enables you to fully extract the flavor from the beans, since it directly infuses all of the coffee grounds for the entire brewing process.

1.  Use coarsely ground coffee
2.  Use water just off the boil (92-96C)
3.  Let brew for 4 minutes then slowly press down the plunger
4.  Enjoy!

 

Espresso

Espresso is a strong black, Italian style coffee that literally means "made on the spot for someone who orders it". It is served in a small cup, and is produced on a machine designed just for that purpose. Coffee is placed into an espresso machine and hot water is forced through the coffee at very high pressure - extracting all the flavour possible.

Over the years brewing espresso has certainly been made easier with the advancement of more automated and sophisticated machines. However, preparing the "perfect" cup of espresso is still an art that must be learned. If your espresso has been perfectly brewed, the surface will be covered with a thick, foamy, golden brown crema. A sign of good crema is that when you pour sugar in your espresso it will float on the surface for a few seconds. Any error in grinding or in the percolation phase, such as temperature or extraction level mistakes is immediately shown by the colour, texture and persistence of the crema.

Espresso Stove Top Maker

Another way of preparing espresso –stove top espresso makers.

1.	Remove the top part of the espresso maker.
2.	Remove the filter funnel insert
3.	Fill the lower part of the stove top espresso maker with cold fresh water. Do not fill past the safety valve!
4.	Fill the filter funnel with fine ground espresso coffee. You can also use a medium blend to make a milder tasting coffee for breakfast. Experiment with the degree of your grind for different taste characteristics.
5.	Put the filter funnel back into the lower part of the espresso maker.
6.	Screw the top part back onto the lower part firmly (don't force).
7.	Place espresso maker onto stove top (boil setting)
8.	Remove espresso maker from stove immediately once the top part of the espresso maker is full with coffee (careful, the espresso maker is hot!)
9.	Enjoy the freshly brewed espresso.

 

The Drip Filter

Just about everyone is familiar with automatic and pour-over drip brewing methods. Here’s how to get more out of your drip coffee.

 

This is the one of the most popular of all brewing methods.

 

In this machine a filter (either paper or metal screen) is placed in a (usually) plastic cone-shaped holder and filled with medium to fine ground coffee and hot water drips through.

 

This is a very satisfying way of brewing as it produces a clear cup of coffee with the minimum of oils and sediment and maximum of flavour.