A Short History Of The Coffee Bean

Nobody knows for sure where or when coffee was discovered and put to use. Additionally, more speculation surrounds when the magic bean moved from a food source to a popular drink.

However, coffee is known to have been discovered by the west through the travels of European explorers and researchers. First noticed in Ethiopia on the African continent, farmers noticed their goats were grazing on coffee berries. The Ethiopians found out that by pounding the berry and mixing it with animal lard, they could turn them into moist little pellets.

The Ethiopians discovered this mixture provided an incredible energy source and became a staple in their diet. This new found energy boost became especially popular in wartime when it gave their fighters some extra stamina. These particular cherries would have also been eaten whole and uncooked, and the pulp was known for its sweetness in addition to the caffeine.

There is also proof that these berries were used in the processing and manufacturing of wine. In addition, coffee was used as a food in Arabia, a region just the north and east of Ethiopia. They didn’t use coffee to drink until much later however.

The earliest form of coffee being used as a beverage came well before 1000 A.D. The method was to soak coffee hulls in cold water. After some softening, the hulls were fire roasted and then boiled in water. The end result was a pale yellow liquid that could be used ingested as a stimulant.

By the 1000′s, coffee making still remained pretty much the same, involving soaking the coffee beans and hulls.

More advanced techniques did not appear until the 1400′s, when drying the beans before brewing was discovered. Beans were dried by laying them in the sun and let the rays do their job. The motivation behind this discovery was trying to find ways to store coffee beans better.

After that, they learned how to roast and smash them up into small granules and then mix with hot water. That is how brown and flavorful coffee was born. Now, in the 21st century, the same techniques make coffee what it is today. Not only that, but it is the most popular drink in the world, and its value as a trading commodity is second only to oil. What a long way away we are from eating slimy coffee balls.

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