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There are a lot of stories...
telling how coffee, as we know it today, originated and how it was discovered. The most common of these stories is one of a shepherd called Kaldi. The story says that he was fending to his animals when he noticed that they were acting strangely. He soon realized that they had been eating the cherry-red beans of a nearby shrub. It is said that the animals were jumping and leaping around for the whole night. Kaldi then tried the berries for himself and found that they made him feel more awake also.

Apparently around this time a monk was visiting from a nearby monastery. The shepherd met up with him and told him about the plant. The monk tried the effects of the plant himself by crushing a few berries together and pouring boiling water over them to make a drink. This was the first cup of coffee. He was so impressed that he took some coffee beans back to the monastery. It soon spread from monastery to monastery and became much in demand with Muslims. The believed it to be a divine gift brought from heaven and given to the faithful.

Coffee wasn't to be roasted or discovered by the outside world until much later. Unfortunately there is no real evidence to show when or where coffee was truly discovered. It seems that it may have originated in Abyssinia (now known as Ethiopia) and it was definitely around the Red Sea by about 700 A.D

The actual drinking of coffee was most likely spread to Arabia from there through Arab traders. By the end of the 9th Century a drink known as "Qahwa", meaning, "that which prevents sleep", was being made by boiling the beans. It has been known to have been drunk by Muslims during prayers, in the mosques, at the Holy Temple at Mecca and before the Tomb if the Prophet.

It was not until after coffee had been consumed as a food product, a wine, and a medicine that it was discovered that by roasting the beans what a delicious drink could be made. This did not happen until sometime between 1000 A.D and 1200 A.D, probably in Arabia. Coffee was first cultivated in the Yemen area of Africa between 1250 A.D and 1600 A.D when extensive planting occurred.

 

 

 

Coffee bought in the supermarket is all well and good, but it can contain major debris so be careful what you choose. It also often contains a blend of Arabica and Robusta beans, while most coffeehouses sell only Arabica beans. Arabica beans are usually flavour rich while Robusta beans have more caffeine, less flavour and are cheaper to produce. If you want fresh coffee vacuum packed containers with expiry dates are your best bet. Supermarket coffee will almost definitely not be fresh, especially as it is preground. Coffee is at its best after only 12-24 hours.

 

 

 

 


Coffeehouses have many advantages over supermarkets in the world of coffee. The main advantage is that it is much fresher because it should have been roasted that day.

 

 

 

 

 

 


Having your own grinder at home is almost essential to having fresh coffee. Avoid purchasing ground coffee, unless it was roasted and ground very recently and you are going to use it all within a few hours. By the next day it will be stale. The best way to ensure fresh flavour is to grind coffee, as you need it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The most common way...
in the world of spelling espresso is "espresso." This is shortened from the original Italian name of "caffe espresso."

Some English language dictionaries list "expresso" a variant spelling. This is does not mean that it is an equally common spelling. The spelling "expresso" is in existence, but is found to be far less common than the spelling, "espresso."

The spelling "espresso" is the form used by the New York Times, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, The Wine Spectator, The Wall St. Journal, The LA Times, Time, Newsweek, and just about every other major or minor newspaper or magazine, general or food related, in the English speaking world.

In 1994 there was a great debate over "espresso vs. expresso." During this it was pointed out that the Italian Alphabet does not contain the letter "X," which is not true. It has, however, been pointed out that there are two Italian alphabets. One (il tradizionale) with no X, Y or Z, and another with all the letters of the English alphabet.

It was also discovered that at least three dictionaries contained incorrect definitions of the word "espresso."

The American Heritage Dictionary: "A strong coffee brewed by forcing steam under pressure through darkly roasted powdered coffee beans."
The Oxford English Dictionary: "Coffee brewed by forcing steam through powdered coffee beans."
The Webster New World Dictionary" "Coffee prepared in a special machine from finely ground coffee beans through which steam is forced"

Espresso is in fact a strong coffee brewed by quickly forcing hot water through darkly roasted, finely ground coffee beans.

(Some espresso machines do use steam, but only to force the hot water through the ground coffee. The steam never touches the coffee. Most espresso machines use no steam at all; instead they use either a pump or a piston to force the hot water through the coffee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How much caffeine is in decaf?  
history of coffee | supermarket coffee | coffee houses | grinders | spelling espresso


In the U.S. federal regulations require that in order to label coffee as "decaffeinated" that coffee must have had its caffeine level reduced by no less than 97.5%.

When 97% of the caffeine has been removed only .0408% of the coffee weight is caffeine. At this level it is labeled "decaffeinated." However, the way that roasters label their coffee is another matter. Suppose two lots of coffee that were exactly the same in every way got distributed to two roasters. One roaster labels his decaf "97% Caffeine Removed". The other says his is "99+% Caffeine Free" One of them seems to be using false advertising, but they are essentially saying exactly the same thing.

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