Morning Wake Up!

When I was a kid I could never understand the lure of coffee to those habitual drinkers. Every time the Folgers commercial came on the television, parents smiling as they crawled out of bed from hearing the sound of the steady trickle of the dark drink filling the coffee pot, I would think, “Seriously, that doesn’t make you smile.” And the ending phrase, “The best part of waking up, is Folgers in your cup,” well I thought they were for sure off the mark.

Oh how wrong I was. Now, I don’t think Folgers is the best thing to fill my mug, I’d much more prefer the grocery store’s Starbucks, Gevalia, or Dunkins. But after I crossed over into adulthood, I quickly discovered that my distaste for any caffeine had suddenly became a necessity.

 

While in college, I avoided getting hooked on coffee, espresso, latte, or whatever. Occasionally, on the late nights while studying hard or working on lesson plans, I caved and ran by Poet’s on the Square to get whatever sounded good (something with a shot of flavor). But it wasn’t until I graduated, got married to a caffine-aholic, and started working that I realized “coffee is man/woman’s best friend.”

Now I understand the smile on those faces from the Folgers commercial. When my alarm goes off in the morning and I head to the shower, all I can think about is how I can’t wait for the aroma of the roasted bean to pierce through the veil of sleepiness. That invigorating odor is just as wonderful as the energy supplying drink.

It’s crazy to think that in just a short time I have gone from anticoffee to procoffee. And it doesn’t just end with one morning travel mug as I walk out the door to work. No, as soon as I leave school I’m heading home to either fix another pot or pulling through a drive-thru to get my second shot of caffeine for the day. And since I have become a coffee lover, my interest in the roasted-beans-drink’s history has grown.

Amazingly, the history of coffee goes all the way back to the thirteenth century. There are several “crazy” myths that surround the origins of coffee. One story in particular retells the tale of the 9^th century Ethiopian goat herder, Kaldi, who noticed his flock nibbling on some red berries from a bush. Interested, Kaldi tested them out for himself and decided to take the “berries” to a Monk nearby. But the religious men disapproved of berries and threw them into the fire. A tantalizing aroma billowed from the hearth, which drove the monks into investigation. Quickly the beans were raked from the fire and roasted into a liquid – the first cup of coffee. This story in particular is first known to appear in 1671, and is not known to be actual truth.

 

In 1582 the English word “coffee” enters the world. It is derived from the Dutch word koffee, borrowed from Turkish kahve, swiped from Arabic qahwa, meaning “wine of the bean.” I like that – wine of the bean. Fits perfectly, especially when you discover how the coffee bean is made.

When I first read the story of Kaldi, I was completely confused. Berries? I thought coffee was made from a bean. Well, actual both berry and bean are correct.

Coffee plants put off a red or purple fruit that resemble cherries. The “coffee bean” is actually the pit inside the berries, the seeds that are actually what we call the coffee bean. If you haven’t figured out by now, they are only called a bean because of their true bean appearance.

The most laborious part of the coffee bean production is harvesting. Coffee plants (trees) can  have both ripe and unripe berries at once, so the harvester must continually pick the tree. Before entering our coffee shops and grocery stores, the bean has to go through a second piece of processing. There are two options: wet processing and dry processing.

Central America and Africa are more known for using the wet processing. Similar to wine, the seed or bean of the berries is separated from the flesh and is left to ferment in water for around two days, dissolving any remaining pulp or sticky mess. Then they are washed and dried.

The cheaper and easier route is using the dry processing method. Brazil and Africa use this process on their lower quality seeds. For 2-3 days the berries are laid in the sun on brick or concrete. Afterwards, the dried pulp is then removed.

The last bit remaining is for the husks to be removed and the beans to be roasted. The finished product is what we see – dry, varying shades of brown beans.

Now, I know this is just a short bit of information for all you coffee lovers out there. But as I dug into the beans history, discovering that it is indeed a seed, it made me want to learn more about what I’m drinking two to three times a day. There is plenty of information out there to dive into. When my husband and I visit the coffee shop Kaffeeklatsch, the smell of its warm, comforting aroma bursting through the enormous roaster and brushing against my face as we purchase freshly roasted beans to grind at home, I’m going to have new found appreciation for the hard work put into restoring my energy with just a hot mug. And to all you baristas out there, like those at Angel’s Island Coffee, thank you for taking the time to prepare my favorite latte. Your service to restore my depleted energy is very much appreciate!