These were some of the amazing and amusing facts our popular guest speaker Jennipher Marshall-Jenkinson delivered at our Rotary meeting at Desborough Bowling Club last Monday. We can thank Ethiopia for the beloved beverage. Legend has it that a 9th century goat herder named Kaldi discovered the uplifting impact the coffee bean had on his goats. After eating the beans they appeared to dance! Whether this is true or not – Ethiopia is the birth place of coffee. Coffee trees have grown wild there since before the existence of man and today 12 million Ethiopians make their living from coffee. | There are two varieties of coffee beans – Arabica and Robusta – that produce all the world's coffee. However, there are 50 coffee producing countries with Brazil leading the way before Vietnam. The most expensive coffee is Kopi Luwak due to its unique production method. The Palm Civet, a cat-like animal that lives in the jungles of South East Asia, eats the fruit but can only digest the outer fruit pulp. The hard inner seed (the coffee bean) passes through mostly intact. When the beans are excreted they are gathered, cleaned, dried and roasted. Voila – you have Kopi Luwak, sold at Harrods @ £2000 a kilo! The simple coffee bean has come a long way since it was drunk with dates by the side as a sweetener (as it otherwise was too harsh). Today we have fashionable Latte, Cappuccino, Espresso, Americano, Macchiato, Mocha, Affogato, Flat White and dozens of barista variations, plus iced coffees, and those with additional alcohol, like the firm favourite Irish Coffee. |
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