Coffee (Coffea arabica）
My day starts with a cup of coffee. Black. If you also start your day with a cup of coffee, black or with sugar and cream doesn’t matter, you will agree with me that the genus Coffea is very important for human.
Coffee is an infusion from the seeds of the Coffea plant. The most popular and cultivated Coffea species are Coffea arabica (Arabian coffee) and Coffea canephora (robusta coffee).
People like Arabian coffee better because robusta has a strong, full-bodied taste with a distinctive earthy flavour, but usually with more bitterness than arabica. Besides, the caffeine content in robusta is higher. However, Coffea arabica is more susceptible to disease than C. canephora and cannot be cultivated in lower altitudes and warmer climates where C. canephora still can thrive. Therefore, about 40% coffee beans produced worldwide are robusta coffee[1], mostly grown in Vietnam.
C. arabica is endemic to the mountainous regions of Yemen and the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia while C. canephora can be found in Western and Central Africa from Liberia to Tanzania and south to Angola originally.
Several legends surrounding the discovery of coffee. One of them involved a goatherd named Kaldi. He was looking for his lost herd and was finding them feeding on the red cherries[2]. He tried them himself and noted their stimulating powers, then he passed the information to a local imam. Other legend involved a man named Omar who was condemned to die of starvation in the desert outside Mocha and the discovery of coffee saved him[3].
In history, coffee drinking was probably started in Yemen in the mid-fifteenth century. By 1470, coffee (in Arabic, qahwah) was used by the Sufis to ward off sleep during nocturnal religious ceremonies.
The use of coffee probably started with chewing berries, then drinking cooked liquid from ground powder was invented in Yemen. Infusion — simmering ground power in ‘tea bags’ - was invented by the French in 1710. Ottoman Empire has their first taste of coffee during their occupation of Arabia in 1505. Then it was spread to Cairo in 1510 and Istanbul in 1517, the latter by Selim I of Turkey. The Ambassador of Ottoman Empire, Suleiman Aga, brought coffee to France[4].
The first coffeehouse ( qahveh-khaneh) was opened in Mecca at the end of 15th century. It was said that the first coffeehouse in Vienna was opened by Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki(1640–1694) after the Battle of Vienna, 1683. More recent evidences suggested that an Armenian named Johannes Theodat did that in 1685[5].
The first Prohibition of coffee drinking took place in Mecca in 1511. Then in Mecca again in 1524 and in Cairo in 1539. All of them involved prohibition of sale and consumption of coffee, however all of them were short-lived. Similar bans would appear repeatedly in history, not only because people believed that coffee is bad for health. Coffeehouses had became hotbeds of gossip and political debate, and the authorities did not like that. In addition, tavern keepers and vintners were afraid of being putting out of business. In December 29, 1675, Charles II of England (1630-1685) issued a proclamation and ordered coffeehouse must be put down and suppressed. This proclamation, just like all of the previous attempts — failed[3].
Nevertheless, more and more people fell in love with coffee. Even when they tried to ask Pope Clement VIII’s opinion about coffee in 1605 — in hope that he would oppose this so-called “devil’s drink” — he tasted it and fell in love with it instantly. The famous musician J. S. Bach even wrote a Coffee Cantata when coffee become popular in Germany. In Coffee Cantata, the girl would give up anything just for three cup of coffee per day. When Frederick the Great of Prussia (1712-1786) got concerned about the impact of economy coming from consumption of coffee, he made coffee a royal monopoly and employed disabled soldiers to spy on citizens sniffing in search of illegally roasted coffee in 1781, still couldn’t make them give up drinking coffee.
Arabia was the only supplier of coffee until the end of 17th century. Dutch was the first who stole a cutting of Arabian coffee tree and developed into coffee plantation at Batavia in Java (now Jakarta, Indonesia) in 1690. Then a French naval officer, Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu, stole a cutting from the French Royal Garden and planted it in Martinique Island in 1723. Coffee plantations were established all over Haiti, Cuba, Costa Rica and Venezuela. Ultimately, Brazil became the dominant coffee supplier. In 2016, 9,221,534 tonnes of raw beans were produced from 10,975,184 hectares of land all over the world. Roughly one-third of the world’s coffee is produced by Brazil. The second largest producer is Vietnam and the third is Columbia[8].
Although British tried to grow coffee in India, they were no competition to Java. In order to protect their profit, the East India Company started to promote tea as a patriotic drink. This, together with Charles II’s wife Catherine of Braganza’s love for tea, moved tea up to the most popular drink in England.
Coffeehouse had became the 17th century internet. If a 17th century European businessman wanted to know the latest business news, all he had to do was walk into a coffeehouse. Coffeehouses were nicknamed as “Penny Universities” — with all you can learn just for the price of a cup of coffee. If you want to learn science, you can just go to Garraway’s to wait for Hooke, Pepys and Edmond Halley from Royal Society. If you are interested in business, you may want to go to Lloyd, which eventually becomes Lloyd’s of London (the world’s leading insurance market). The London Stock Exchange was New Jonathan’s coffeehouse originally. If you wanted to know people’s opinion about the latest play in Comédie-Française, you must go to Café Procope, which just right across the street (you might ran into Voltaire if you are lucky!). Some coffeehouses can even receive mails for their customers.
Apart from science and business, enlightenment thoughts was also brewing in the coffee cup. Strongly influenced by John Locke (1632-1704), people started to believe that all men were born equal and were intrinsically good. He also claimed that all men are entitled to the pursuit of happiness and no man should interfere with another’s life, health, liberty, or possessions. These thought were like wildflowers blooming everywhere in Europe, especially in France.
In France, the aristocracy and clergy enjoyed the tax exemptions but they have the political power. On the afternoon of July 12, 1789, Camille Desmoulins (1760-1794) told the people in Cafe de Foy, “To arms, citizens! To arms!” and the Bastille was stormed by an angry mob two days later.
Despite so many people went to coffeehouse daily, coffee remained an expensive drink until 1820. With the establishment of coffee plantations in Dutch, French and British colonies flourished, the price of coffee dropped significantly and civilians can finally enjoy the real coffee, not the bland infusion from used coffee grinds recycled from the rich.
Coffee and America
American colonists immigrated from England preferred tea originally. When British government passed Stamp Act in 1765 , they argued that they don’t have any representative in the House of Commons. The Tea Act in 1773 caused even more resentment and the Sons of Liberty threw the tea chests from the cargo ship into the Boston Bay(Boston Tea Party). To protest, more and more colonists started drinking coffee from this year. Revolutionists discussed their plans in Green Dragon, King’s Head and Indian Queen coffeehouses. The Declaration of Independence was first pronounced in public at Philadelphia’s Merchant’s Coffee House[2]!
Coffee become a necessity in Americans’ lives. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), coffee is included in the soldiers’ basic rations. Average Americans consume 8.5 pounds of coffee per year, which is six time as much as Europeans, with most of it from Brazil.
The cultivation of coffee in Brazil started around 1807 when Napoleon invaded Portugal. The Portuguese royal family fled to Brazil and established many institutions. After the Portuguese royal family went back to Europe in 1820, the King left his son and heir prince Dom Pedro as regent, who declared independence in 1822.
The cultivation of sugarcane and coffee pushed Brazil to import more slaves from Africa. In 1828, one-third of the population in Brazil is slaves. The slavery in Brazil was put to an end by British government when they use battleships to ban the slave ships in 1850.
Brazil moved to tenant farming system quickly. The coffee plantation owners paid for the travel expenses to get more Europeans coming to Brazil to work. Because the tenant farmers cannot leave Brazil until they pay back all of the travel expense by law, resulting in protests among Swiss and German farmers. The coffee plantation owners persuaded Brazilian government to pay so the tenant farmers can go home when needed. During 1884 to 1914, over one million Europeans came to Brazil to work, in hope that they will own an sugarcane or coffee plantation, but most of them just earned enough money to went back Europe broken-hearted.
French cultivated sugarcane in Haiti ( Saint-Domingue) originally. Coffee cultivation started in 1734 and slavery were also practiced here. In 1785, 90% of the population are black slaves and 50% of the coffee produced in the world was by Haiti. Inspired by French Revolution of 1789 and the principles of the rights of man, the revolution of Haiti broke out in 1791. Although Napoleon tried to send three commissioners with troops to re-establish control, they lost and Haiti declared independence in 1803. During this time, coffee production was replaced by Java.
Coffee in Taiwan
The earliest record of coffee cultivation in Taiwan was in 1883. Tait Marketing & Distribution Company (英商德記洋行) imported coffee seeds from Manila, Philippines and planted them in Sanxia (三峽). During Japanese occupation period, there are many coffeehouses in Taiwan and people also liked to discuss politics there. One of them, Tianma Tea House (天馬茶房), was established in 1934 by a famous orator and lyricist Zhan Tianma (詹天馬). The Feburary 28 (二二八) incident took place right outside of it.
The oldest coffee serving place in Taipei that still in operation is Bolero Restaurant(波麗路西餐廳). Established in 1934, the founder was an avid art supporter, holding many art exhibitions in the restaurant.
The Cafe Astoria (明星咖啡館) was established in 1949 in Taipei by six Russian immigrants and Archiybold Chien. It is the first Western-style bakery in Taiwan with a cafe on the second floor. Many artists liked to stay and work there, including the famous dancer, writer, choreographer, and founder of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre (雲門舞集) of Taiwan, Lin Hwai-min (林懷民).
The genome of Coffea canephora was sequenced in 2014. It consisted of 22 chromosomes. The size of genome is 710 Mb with 25,574 genes. Half of the genome is transposable elements[6].
How many cups of coffee should one drink per day? The biggest consumer is the Dutch with an average 2.4 cups. In Taiwan, the annual consumption of coffee is 122 cups per year roughly in 2015[10]. Recent research suggest that 4 cups a day (roughly 400 mg of caffeine) should be safe for most healthy adults [7].
Climate change has an impact on the production of coffee. While most of us coffee addicts don’t think too much while we enjoy our daily energy source, we certainly could do more for the environment if we bring our own cup or go to environmental-friendly coffeehouse to get recharged.
Literature Cited.
[1] Coffee: World Markets and Trade . United States Department of Agriculture — Foreign Agricultural Service. June 16, 2017.
[2] Bill Laws. 2010. Fifty plants that changed the course of history. Quid Publishing. ISBN 9781554077984.
[3] Tom Standage. 2006. A History of the World in 6 Glasses. Walker Publishing Company. ISBN 9780802715524
[4] 3/9/2014. Searching in History. Louis XIV and Coffee.
[5] Wikipedia. Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki.
[6] Victor A. Albert, Patrick Wincker, Philippe Lashermes,et. al., 2014. The coffee genome provides insight into the convergent evolution of caffeine biosynthesis. Science. 345（6201）: 1181–1184
[7] Mayo Clinic. Caffeine: How much is too much?
[8] FAOSTAT http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home
[9] Mark Pendergrast。2000。咖啡萬歲：小咖啡如何改變大世界。聯經出版。ISBN 9570821310。
[10]2017/4/19. 台灣1年喝掉28.5億杯 揭露「好咖啡」的5大條件！聯合晚報。
