An Ode to Coffee
Kaldi, the old goat herder, walked along the well-worn paths of his ancestors, intuitively knowing the right mixture of sternness and tenderness needed to get goats from point A to point B safely and efficiently.
The lines in the old man’s skin, weathered from years under the sun, seemed to tell their own stories of ancient traditions. These traditions made life manageable and predictable.
On one particular day, as the sun lazily dipped beneath the horizon, Kaldi noticed something that made him stop in his tracks: one of his goats was jumping up and down, bouncing here and sprinting there. These were decidedly un-goatlike behaviors.
He noticed another dancing goat, and then another. Here was one jumping up onto a rock; here was one running around erratically. Kaldi’s calm and docile herd had transformed into a mosh pit of excess energy!
His experienced eyes scanned the grazing ground, seeking an explanation amidst the familiar terrain.
One question consumed our goat herder: why?
And then he saw it: a small tree bearing curious red berries, its leaves glistening in the dimming light. Was that a little goat-slobber on the shrub? Did Kaldi have to wait until the goats pooped to know for sure that they had eaten these hard, tiny berries?
These answers are lost to history, and this story is probably just entirely made up (although not by me!). The apocryphal tale goes on to describe how Kaldi brought the berries to monks in his village, but they threw them onto the fire in disgust (clearly, they were the work of the Devil).
One clever monk who frequently fell asleep during prayers got the idea to make a beverage from the roasted berries, and the rest is history (although everything before this certainly is not).
Actual History
“Rich and dark” is often a very good way to describe coffee. Here, it’s a great way to describe its history. And, while the playful tale of Kaldi and his lively goats offers an enchanting origin, the real story behind coffee is every bit as interesting.
The earliest credible accounts of coffee drinking trace back to the mid-15th century Yemen, as described by Ahmed al-Ghaffar. Here, the seeds of the coffee plant were first roasted and brewed, not unlike the method we recognize today. It was particularly favored by Sufi circles, who consumed it to remain awake during their nocturnal religious rituals.
I can’t help but speculate that the 9th-century monks we talked about earlier are one and the same as the 15th-century Sufi fakirs, with today’s history frequently morphing into myths of yore.
At any rate, how coffee got from Ethiopia—if in fact, it originated there—to Yemen remains subject to debate. There is some evidence to support an Ethiopian origin, whether from the aforementioned Sufi monks, or via trade, but we’re just not sure today.
Regardless, coffee was a huge hit in Yemen, where the port of Mocha on the Red Sea became known around the world over the centuries.
Coffee had begun its steady march toward shaping the modern world.
In spite of restrictions within Yemen, coffee had a funny way of sneaking out. By the dawn of the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire—the preeminent superpower of the day—had integrated coffee into cultural rituals, including (once again) keeping the faithful awake during prayers. It is speculated that coffee aided the spread of Islam to an enormous degree.
Incidentally, the word "coffee" comes from the Arabic phrase qahhwat al-bun, which means "the bean's wine." This was shortened over time to just qahwa, which eventually morphed into coffee.
With the Ottomans increasing business with their main trading partner, Venice, it was inevitable for coffee to begin storming Europe for the next couple of centuries, taking its potential to influence global events up another huge notch.
Europe, Briefly
It wasn't long before “Satan’s brew” had been given a papal blessing: Pope Clement VIII even joked that he should baptize the bitter bean water, making it acceptable for Christians everywhere, and ensuring coffee’s rapid spread across the continent.
I’ve long been fascinated by an intriguing possibility: that the Industrial Revolution was ultimately fueled by coffee. Once this stimulative nectar had reached London by way of Pasqua Rosee, an Armenian-born servant of a British merchant, it was as though a starting gun had been fired: the race was on.
“Penny universities”—coffee shops—began to spring up everywhere in the city. Think about that terminology for a second here: these were places to gather and think. The contrast with pubs, the dominant mainstay, could not have been more stark.
These places were more epicenters of social interaction, political discourse, and business deals than places of leisure, although plenty of Londoners enjoyed relaxing with coffee. People from across the social divide, at least insofar as possible, would gather together to exchange ideas and perspectives.
While it's a stretch to credit coffee alone for the enormity of the Industrial Revolution, its introduction undeniably coincided with a seismic shift in work habits, intellectual pursuits, and the explosive growth of the industry in England.
While tea was on the rise in England and coffee on the relative decline, Americans across the pond started to make up for the downfall, and then some.
While the global dynamics of coffee shifted, it's the personal experiences and science behind it that truly fascinate. And, with that, I’m going to turn the keys over to my co-author, Michael, who has a very different sort of story to tell. For those unaware, Michael and I collaborated in the past on Beware the Binary (bookmark that for later reading if you’d like, and be sure to check out
when you get a chance).The Science of Coffee
Just like a lot of us, my introduction to coffee was the standard Folgers grinds that were ubiquitous until recently. I (Michael) was exposed to something even worse though; Army coffee.
In fact, it wasn’t until I got out of the Army that I actually started to dabble in consuming coffee regularly. What was available wasn’t much better as it was factory coffee on a manufacturing floor at Honeywell where I was a manager. This resulted in me consuming it with flavored creamers.
That all changed when I ran into a fellow who was leaving for the day and carrying one of those multi-liter carafes that pump coffee. I made a quip about having enough for the day and he shared that he roasts and brews his own and invited me to stop by the next day.
Truth be told, I’d never had good coffee before and boy was I in for a shock of what I had been missing! This co-worker would source bulk green beans (unroasted) from around the world and then hand-roast them, mix and match, and then brew the coffee for the day.
Every day it was different. Sometimes it was Sumatran or Ethiopian, Java, Brazil, Hawaii, Fiji, Columbian, Peruvian, and an endless list more. Of note, within these different regional beans, each affected by the local climate and soil, there are two main subcategories of coffee beans; Arabica and Robusta.
The Arabica bean is loved for its more nuanced, balanced, and less astringent flavor leading to it representing over 60% of all coffee production even though it’s a harder cultivar to produce crops from. These beans are normally found in higher-end and craft coffee producers due to their much broader and smoother-tasting flavor profile. They are more challenging to produce commercially yet their quality makes up for it.
Robusta is a hardier and more robust plant that can grow in a larger variety of places, specifically the higher humidity of South America. Companies like Folgers leveraged this strength to mass produce coffee and make it a large part of their marketing campaigns for years. Robusta has a higher caffeine content yet is considered harsher in flavor which is why, for decades, you rarely consumed coffee without cream and sugar. Robusta is, however, often mixed into espresso blends for its sharper flavor and ability to hold the foamy head called crema.
As much as the different locales of each bean affect the flavor of my co-workers coffee, so too did his art in roasting and blending them. As you can see in the photo below, you can take the same bean and roast it through many stages and extract unique flavor profiles at each step.
(If you want to know why Starbucks Coffee is actually quite bad when it’s served unpolluted (black), it’s because they overroast everything so that some coffee flavor can break through your Pumpkin Spice Latte that’s so thick with fats and sugars it boggles the mind)
Yet prior to roasting, we have to address how to get those beans out of the little red cherry fruits that those goats loved so much.
Processing
Coffee processing is the removal of the layers that surround the coffee bean (seed). A coffee cherry consists of several layers, including skin, fruit, mucilage, and parchment. After the cherries are picked, they undergo processing to remove these layers.
And yes, the coffee bean is the seed of a coffee cherry fruit just like an almond is the seed of a fruit in the apricot family. This means the coffee seed must be processed away from the bulk of the fruit for our coffee enjoyment.
This leads us to three different processing methods:
Natural (Dry Process): The oldest method involves spreading the freshly picked cherries in thin layers to dry in the sun. The cherries are turned regularly to prevent mold or rotting. Once dry, the skin and dried fruit flesh are mechanically removed, and the green coffee is stored before export.
Washed (Wet Process): In this method, all fruit flesh is mechanically removed from the coffee beans before drying. A machine called a depulper is used to separate the fruit from the beans. The beans are then dried.
Honey Process: Also known as pulped natural, this method involves removing the skin and pulp mechanically but leaving some or all of the sticky mucilage intact during drying. The mucilage imparts a honey-like sweetness to the beans. This is the rarest processing but you can find sources online.
Each processing method can influence the flavor characteristics of coffee. Natural processed coffees tend to have fruity and sweet flavors, while washed coffees often have cleaner and brighter flavors. The choice of processing method can be crucial for coffee farmers or producers as it affects the quality and value of the final product.
The incredible varieties of coffee, the nuances of processing, and the diversity of roasting lead to a nearly unlimited number of coffee blends that can be experienced by the aficionado or the novice just looking for variety. With all this adventure in flavors also comes some pretty surprising health benefits.
Health Benefits
Coffee can help increase energy levels, promote weight management, enhance athletic performance, and protect against chronic diseases. It’s also a source of nutrients and antioxidants that protect cells against damage. In fact, this last aspect of coffee is something I learned while doing a ten-day fast last year, namely that it helps promote autophagy, a five-dollar word for the body trimming damaged cells or pre-cancer cells.
Some additional health benefits of coffee include:
Support for brain health: Some research suggests that coffee may help protect against certain neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Protection against liver damage: Coffee provides antioxidants that may have a protective effect on the liver and reduce internal inflammation.
Needless to say, as with anything, moderation, and balance are key to these benefits. Yet it’s an impressive array of health benefits that’s so much more than the jolt of caffeine to get you moving in the morning.
Back to Culture
Now that we’ve looked at all the unique idiosyncrasies of the coffee bean we can weave it all together into a more holistic and, dare we say, respectful admiration of coffee. This final step is to appreciate the history and culture of coffee consumption in a way that we can go from downing caffeinated motor oil to truly appreciating the sophistication of the bean and begin to establish a ritual of appreciation in our consumption.
First, coffee was to the Middle East as Tea is to England. In fact, prior to the British colonization of that region, tea was almost unknown. Their preparation style is also completely different. The closest extant form is Turkish Coffee which is similar to the Italian Espresso.
Truth be told, most of the coffee-consuming world looks askance at our large volume, watered-down coffee in America. Never mind that we take the delicacy of frothed milk and pervert it with sugared fill and whipped cream.
When we pause and look around the world we realize that so many places have a culture of consuming coffee in a social setting, with specific service rules, and a respect for the long-term cultural implications not unlike an East Asian Tea Ceremony.
The cultural implications are much too deep for this foray but we hope that by just stepping back slightly to appreciate the history, the science, and the culture of coffee you can look at that ubiquitous black beverage and appreciate what’s behind it a bit more.
How do you drink your coffee? Tell us in the comments!
 | A guest post by
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The story of Kaldi and his dancing goats is a charming and imaginative origin tale, even if it may be more myth than reality. It's a testament to the enduring fascination with coffee and its power to captivate our imagination. Thank you for sharing this delightful journey with us.
Coffee professional here- impressed at how much you were able to fit into a single post! As for how I drink my daily coffee? Kalitta wave pour over. Without adulterants. Roasted by my friends and coworkers.