The genus Coffea belongs to the family Rubiaceae. This family comprises many genera including Gardenia, lxora, Cinchona (quinine) and Rubia.
The use of coffee as a refreshing beverage dates back at least 700
years although the first coffee house did not appear in London and Paris
until about 1650. Its use as a food and as medicinal stimulant is lost
in history.
Coffee originated in Arabia where the first roasted coffee beans were
brewed around A.D. 1000. By the thirteenth century, Muslims drank coffee
religiously and wherever the Islam went, coffee went too: North Africa,
the eastern Mediterranean and India.
An important milestone in 1727 was the planting of coffee in Brazil,
which is now the world’s dominant producer (at the beginning of the
1900s, Brazil produced 97% of the world’s coffee). In 1893, the coffee
from Brazil was introduced into Kenya and Tanzania, not far from its
place of origin in Ethiopia, 600 years prior, ending its
transcontinental journey.
The roasting of coffee beans to give the aroma and flavor, which is
universally recognized and appreciated, started during the 13th century
and the quality of the aromatic profile is still a matter of expertise
in carrying out this process.
Coffee is a large evergreen shrub of which Coffea Arabica, L. and C. robusta, L. are the most important commercial species existing in many varieties. Coffea arabica
is a valued species and has been grown and selected for several
centuries. It currently represents three-quarters of the world coffee
production. Coffea arabica originates from Arabia, and thrives in land that is rich in minerals.
Several other species are encountered but these are of less importance;
the flavor of these beans is generally considered to be less coarse,
bitter and much less acceptable than that of C. arabica.
Coffee and coffee beans
