Thank Yemen for that java
In just about any northwestern town, it seems the most prominent business model is the coffee shack.
Today is International Coffee Day. And whom can we thank for this precious, bitter brew? Arabs.
It’s no coincidence that “Arabica” is what we call today’s dominant variety. Robusta is the other, less flavorful but strong and typically found in most coffee-can products.
Called a “bean” more for its shape than its nature (it’s actually a fruit pit; looks like a cherry), modern coffee is mostly produced in hot climes such as Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and Indonesia.
But that’s not where this story began. Coffee was born in the Middle East.
According to Scottish historian, linguist and lawyer John McHugo, coffee was “properly” cultivated around the 15th century in Yemen, although the Ottoman Empire had some version of it centuries before. Yemenis named it “qahwa,” (sounds like gah-wha, which probably morphed into java), meaning wine in old Arabic.
Why name it after wine? Well, caffeine does bring on a bit of a buzz. And at first, that was meant to be a mystical one.
Sufi mystics in Yemen used coffee as an aid to concentration, for religious study and as a spiritual intoxicant while chanting the name of God. By 1500, coffee-drinking had spread to Mecca and Egypt from the Yemeni port of Mocha.
Catch that? Mmm … mochas.
Clusters of coffee houses (for men) sprouted in Cairo, followed by Aleppo in Syria and Istanbul by 1554. Just like the East’s popular tea houses of today, in 16th century coffee houses men gathered to talk, listen to poets, and play chess or backgammon.
Coffee houses were the locus of intellectual life.
Ironically, while coffee started with one religion, others tried to ban it. (Java does tend to excite. I’m tempted to stop this right now and grab a cappuccino.)
Muslim scholars of old likened coffee’s effects to alcohol, which is forbidden in Islam (aptly named for wine then, wasn’t it?). But a minority even considered coffee worse than wine, warning coffee houses could easily become “dens of sedition.”
How I love my dens of sedition. Especially paired with an apple croissant.
Luckily that was the minority opinion and coffee-drinking flourished, including in the Arab world where it has practically risen to an art form. If you’ve never had a cup of Arab-style coffee, don’t pass up an opportunity. It’s quite different, strong and exotic with a touch of cardamom or saffron. (Many thanks to friend and reader Abdul, for making it for us).
Before I leave religion, Christians should know coffee is literally blessed. Around 1600, Pope Clement VIII reportedly so enjoyed a cup that he baptized it.
International trade brought coffee to Europe from the Ottoman Empire by land, and from the port of Mocha by sea. Both the English and Dutch East India Companies, who eventually brought it to us, were regular buyers at Mocha.
Different soils and climates make different flavors, as do roasting temperature and time – the latter also determining caffeine concentration. To make decaf, pits are soaked in water with a caffeine-attracting enzyme. Once drained, the beans have roughly 3 percent of their original caffeine.
Finally, a tidbit about colors: Darker means less caffeinated. Which makes white coffee the most, um, seditiously intoxicating.
I think it’s about time for another hit.
"Without my morning coffee I'm just like a dried-up piece of roast goat." - Johann Sebastian Bach.
Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network who’ll probably have a heart attack between morning coffee and afternoon tea. Contact her at Sholeh@cdapress.com.