The history of coffee is peppered with details ranging from serendipitous events to deliberate actions, from intriguing truths to incredible legends.  All stories form part of people’s love affair with coffee, an affair that has transcended geography and time to form part a global coffee-drinking culture.

The use of coffee has been traced back to as far as the 10th century in Ethiopia.  Before the 1000AD, the members of the Galla tribe consumed the coffee berries with animal fat and experienced a boost in energy from the recipe.  How the Galla tribe came to make use of coffee is unknown except for a legend saying a sheep herder named Kaldi noticed changes in his herds behavior after the animal ate the red cherries from the tree.

It was in 1000 AD that Arab traders began cultivating the crop in their homeland. It was also the Arab who started to brew coffee into drinks they called ‘qahwah’. The Arabs kept coffee a deeply-guarded secret.  Coffee was illegally brought to India by an Arab named Baba Budan.

It was in 1453 when coffee was first introduced to Constantinople by Ottoman Turks. In 1471, the first coffee house was opened in Instanbul, the establishment was named Kiva Han.

In Europe, Venetian merchants introduced the drink to the members of society. They had gotten the coffee from Muslim traders from North Africa and Egypt. In Italy, in 1600, advisers of the Pope advised the Pope to banish the popular Ottoman drink then believed by some Christian as the devil’s brew.  Pope Vincent III decided to baptize the drink after trying it himself.  It wasn’t until more than four decades later when a coffee house first opened in 1645.

It is believed that it was Captain John Smith who brought coffee to North America in 1607.  In 1652, a coffee house opened in England, the coffee became part of forums and discussions, much like how people discuss business and issues over coffee today.  The coffee houses were dubbed as “penny universities” (a cup of coffee went for a penny at that time) for stimulating discussions among educated and non-educated people.

In 1668, Edward Llyod opened his coffee house in England. The establishment frequented by maritime insurance agents, became the predecessor for the company Lloyd’s, a business conglomerate that today offers maritime insurance, stages maritime events and others.

In 1675, after Turkish army left a sack of coffee in Vienna, Franz Georg Kolschitzky, a Viennese opened his coffee house and started the practice of filtering coffee, adding milk and sweetening it.

In 1727, the coffee industry in Brazil started. By 1907, much of the coffee production worldwide came from Brazil. In 1938 Nestle invented the process of freeze-drying to make use of Brazil’s production surplus.

It wasn’t long before coffee spread throughout other parts of the world. The Dutch began transporting coffee commercially in Ceylon and Java. It was seedling from the Dutch that started the whole coffee industry of France. In 1886, Joel Cheek named his coffee blend Maxwell House, a brand that exists up to this day. The Hills Bros started selling packed coffee in 1900. By 1901 the soluble instant coffee had already been invented.

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Hawaii has strict rules on it’s coffee industry.  To be called by the name “kona” the beans have to be from the specific part of the region where the beans are currently grown.  Some lower cost versions of Kona coffee are mixed with Arabica beans from Columbia and Brazil.  While these Kona coffee blends are still full of flavor, they are not the true variety hat has brought such renown to this delicious bean.

The coffee plant was originally brought to Hawaii by a Brazilian man in the 1800′s.  It never really came of any significance until the coffee market crash of the 1890′s.  During this time, the land owners leased the land to the farmers, who began to grow sugar cane.  Japanese farmers came to the island for work, and began to grow coffee again in the same area.  They refined the process of growing the plant, which led to an amazing improvement in the reliability of the coffee crop.

The Kona blend gets it’s unique flavor from the climate and weather conditions of the Hawaiian Islands.  A combination of sunny mornings, strong, short storms, and mild nights combine for optimum growing conditions.

The cherries that are picked from the plan ts go through a strict process to get to their premium texture.  They are removed from their pulp and placed in a fermentation chamber for 12-24 hours, depending on elevation.  Then, they are placed on a table to dry.  The building that they are in has a retractable roof to cover the beans in case of rain.  After that, they are placed in a parchment to prepare for shipment.  It takes between 7-9 pounds of cherries to get a pound of coffee.

The flavor is of extremely high strength and quality, and the result of the climate is delicious. Full flavored Kona coffee beans are certainly among the finest tasting coffees in the world.

The Arabica bean is legendary for having brought the concept of human consumption of coffee to light.  The story goes that Ethiopean farmers noticed there goats behaving in a caffeinated manner.  When they found the culprit, a coffee plant, they made a stew out of the berries.  The drink was so delightful that they presented it to their leader, who anointed it a delicacy in his kingdom.

Since that time, Arabica beans have been cultivated worldwide, all year round.  They are rather difficult, temperamental plants, and they take great care to get the best results.  The plant itself needs to be constantly pruned to keep it to a height that makes picking the berries a possibility.  It also has to be pruned in such a way that the perfect amount of berries grow on the bush.  Too few, and the yield is not ideal; too many and the berries will seep into the soil and hurt the plant.

There are other factors that affect the plant as well.  It needs near constant mild temperatures.  While it thrives in 68 degree heat, it will die in frost.  Arabica plants need mild shade for the berries growth to be optimum.

Once the berries have grown to a deep red, they are harvested.  The real yield is the bean inside the berry, which has to be removed of it’s skin to use.

These plants are carefully watched over by farmers worldwide.  They take great care to make sure that the coffee that is reaped is of the highest caliber.  This just goes to show that the gourmet coffee bean actually does not just grow on trees.

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