History

Many are the stories, histories and legend that surrounds the enigma by the discovery of the coffee. One of the most defended by the historians, and perhaps most romantic, is the history of Kaldi, a goatherd abisinto.

 

Being a day seated on a rock in the slope of a mountain, Kaldi observed that their goats, habitually docile, gave sudden samples of an extraordinary animation. When approaching, it discovered that there were been mordisqueando the red berries of a near plant. Without thinking it to it, it proved he himself the berries and, after moments, for its surprise, it began to feel extraordinarily animated and fortified.

 

Convinced that one was a miracle, it ran to a next monastery and, prey of great emotion, told its history to the abbot, to the time that showed berries to him that had brought in the chaff. The abbot, fearing who outside builds of the demon, threw the berries to the fire, after which a magnificent and exotic aroma spread by the stay.

 

Convinced then that it was work of God, the abbot ordered that the grains immediately were rescued of the fire. Next, they mixed them with water so that all the monks of the monastery could share the miracle.

 

The nomadic tribes of Abyssinia and Arabia, where the coffee grows in wild state, already ate it before century X. They had discovered the stimulating properties of the coffee.

 

The mature fruit of the plant of the coffee was crushed, was mixed with greasy animals and it was kneaded in form of balls, that always took with himself and chewed from time to time in the course of their trips.

 

Later it began to take itself drunk, although of way different from as we took it today. The berries mixed themselves with cold water and they were let rest before drinking it. The grains did not begin to grind themselves until more delayed date and, at least until year 1000 d.c., when the Arabs discovered how to boil the water, the coffee like hot drink did not begin to take itself. The popularity of the coffee spread quickly.

 

The Arabs felt tremendously proud of his just discovered drink and kept the secret jealously. Nevertheless, being so many the travelling ones that they visited his earth, were inevitable that sooner or later spread, the secret of this concoction.

 

Some of these travelling ones took fertile green seeds to their countries of origin and in a moment they began to bloom trees of the coffee or coffee plants in the surrounding regions. In just a short time the coffee grain, and the infusion, extended to more distant climates.

 

 

The Arab monopoly had itself definitively broken. In century XIII, the coffee already comprised of the daily life of the Arab town. It was then when khaneh- in the cities and towns of Arabia arose the coffees - qahveh. Its number was multiplied quickly as the popularity of the coffee grew. These qahveh khaneh were local plenty of animation, with music, game and an informal and relaxed atmosphere. Philosophers, politicians and businessmen pleased to meet in them to comment the events of the day and to interchange ideas. This popularity brought great headaches to the governors of then. They feared that there they were woven you intrigue against the established power, reason for which in repeated occasions they solicitd that the coffees were prohibited. Everything was useless; the coffee and the atmosphere that surrounded it were too popular.

 

With this even increasing popularity, the coffee was introduced in the houses, where sometimes it became one elaborated ceremony. When growing in Arabia and Turkey the coffee consumption, many travellers and retailers proved the concoction and, naturally, they took the news from he himself to its places of origin. Like consequence, the fame of this delicious infusion arrived at Europe. The first shipment of coffee arrived at Venice coming from Turkey in 1615. The drink arrived soon at Rome, where, once again, she was the condemned by the clergy for being a demonic concoction. These commentaries grew in such a way that Pope Clemente VIII wanted to prove the concoction with the intention to finish once and for all with them. A simple one I suck served to him to verify that the coffee was a delicious drink and included/understood that would be absurd to eliminate it for always of the Christian world.

 

With the blessings of the Pope, the consumption of the coffee was guaranteed in Italy and it did not spend long time before the first coffees were opened in Europe.

 

 

 

The first reference to the coffee which we have certainty in England dates from 1637, year in which a called industralist Jacob, Jew coming from Turkey, opened a coffee in Oxford. Shortly after a certain Pasqua Rosee, immigrant perhaps of Armenian or Greek origin, opened the first coffee in London. An ambassador of Mohammed IV presented the coffee the cut Luis XIV France. The first public coffee of Paris was opened in Saint Germain in 1672 by the Armenian Pascal. One of the first coffees public of Spain it seems to be the one of Pombo of Madrid, in the streets of Carts and San Ricardo. Until end of century XVII almost all the coffee came from Arabia. The Arabs tried to maintain their iron control on the coffee provision, prohibiting to remove from the country seeds that were not toasted.

 

This measurement theoretically guaranteed that it would not leave the country any seed that had germinativa capacity. By all means, final it was prohibited that the foreigners visited the plantations. Nevertheless, as it would be possible to hope of a so special and popular drink, in a moment it was impossible to maintain this control. After countless attempts, Dutch spies were able to rob plants of Arabia and began to cultivate them in Java with great success.

 

 The monopoly so iron defended by the Arabs had arrived at its aim. From then, the coffee was cultivated in Dutch conservatories and thence it was distributed freely by all Europe. In 1723 a young captain of the called French Navy of Clieu decided to take with himself esqueje of coffee plant to Martinica, where he was destined. After to have robbed a plantita of robust aspect, on board raised it with extreme care, ignorante of the risks that were going to run in so risky trip. Only two days after weighing anchor, a Dutch agent tried to sabotage the plant feeding it with contaminated water, but the captain of Clieu took to him with the hands in the mass. Later the boat was assaulted by the pirates and, in case outside little, one violent storm to average day of the port of destination exploded. Surpassed all these possible disasters, of Clieu it planted so valuable esqueje in the warm and fertile Earth of Martinica.

 

The brave but cautious captain put to three of his men of permanent guard around the solitary plant. Everything came out well and the efforts of this man saw widely compensated when the plant bloomed and it was multiplied with extraordinary rapidity, so that before 1777 already there were 18 million coffee plants in the island.

 

Around year 1748 it introduced the coffee in Cuba Don Jose Antonio Gelabert, who brought the seed of Santo Domingo. Before the French Revolution, Santo Domingo, the Martinica and Bolivia most of produced the coffee that was consumed in Europe. An border dispute between the French and Dutch Guayanas, main producers of coffee, allowed Brazil to take control of some esqueje of so appraised plant. In order to mediate in the dispute, Brazil sent to a young official of Palheta name, that, thanks to its natural enchantment with the women, not only dissolved the confrontation but that seduced the wife of the governor to obtain of her some esqueje of the coveted plant. In a banquet offered in her honor, the wife of the governor flattered to him with a branch of flowers before the there present guests. A gesture as much more delicate whatever than hidden between the flowers was some green bushes of coffee plant. Here one was born of the greater empires in the coffee production. The coffee arrived at North America by courtesy from the Dutch, concretely of Nueva Amsterdam, in 1660. Four years later the British took possession from Nueva Amsterdam and they gave the name him of New York. At that time the coffee infusion already had pierced deep between its inhabitants.

 

The first coffees of New York arose to image from the Londoners. In fact they were more like taverns; they had rooms to rent, they served meals and they sold wine, chocolate and tea, in addition to coffee. One went away extending the custom about which the men dealed with businesses in the coffees and happened later to the tavern to amuse themselves once reached an agreement. At the outset, in New York the coffees were reserved to the most influential members of the society. On the other hand, the tea was much more popular and had a little while in which it seemed to please gain the all estates of the society in damage of the coffee. Nevertheless, the coffee had to become the national drink, category that continues maintaining in today. It is impossible to affirm that the perfect cup of coffee must to a concrete method of preparation. It is a question of pleasures. As everybody knows, whatever it is the used method, the coffee can taste excellent or horrible. Everything depends on the cares with which it has been stored, ground and prepared. Such grain of coffee they provide a flavor different according to the preparation method that has been used. The taste not only varies from a person to another one, but that can happen that the coffee preferred for the breakfast is not it for the tablecloth. Really, the perfect cup of coffee can depend on the moment of the day. The preparation methods that we enumerated next will allow him to prepare the best cup of coffee.