Coffee as we know it, originated in Ethiopia and came to the world via cultivation in Yemen.
In Ethiopia coffee grows wild, in Yemen it was cultivated.
From Yemen, spread to the coffee houses of the Middle East.
The Dutch East India Comany aqured the coffee seeds, at the time closely guarded
The Dutch East India Comany and the East India Company, marked the beginning of capitaism.
The Dutch East India Company took coffee to Indonesia. From the seeds of one coffee plant in Amsterdam, coffee spread to Latin America.
The coffee houses in London was where the merchants met with bankers and money lenders, the beginning of the Stock Market, papers were to be read whilst relaxing with what nowadays would be seen today as a very disgusting brew, ground coffee boiled for hours in the pot.
The big technical inovation was the espresso machine. Italians know nothing about coffee, but they did invent the epsresso machine. Water forced through ground coffee beans at high pressure.
In the US, coffee bars were where poets hung out in London coffee bars where the Teds hung out.
Not to be confused with coffee shops, where those with more refined tastes drank their coffee, oten a roaster and importer.
Stokes of High Bridge in Lincoln still exists, the coffee shop at the top of Guildford High Street sadly long gone.
The next Innovation the aerpresso machine. Designed by an aerodynamics engineer who also designed the ring frisbee.
Commodity coffee v speciality cofee. Commodity coffee, low quality, price determined on international markets. Specialty coffee, quality coffee, atracts a premium.
Every coffee has a story to tell.
A Peruvian grower who walks four hours to tend his crop growing on a 45 degree slope hillside. When his beans are processed, he treks across the Andes with a 60kg sack.
Coffee with its narrow genetic base is at risk from climate change.
Keithpp's Blog 
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