Can you here the music? The hum of the percolator and the mild hiss of the steam. Can you smell something divine? The unmistakable aroma, the bitter-sweet bouquet that envelopes you. Ah! If there is anything that can give your mornings the much needed head-start or actually just make you prop your eyes up, it just has to be a few sips of coffee. Yes, we know your mind is drifting to that tumbler of `filter kaapi' (if you are a South Indian) or that frothy cup of espresso or cappuccino if you are a techie working night shifts. But here are some coffee facts and international gourmet brands that will take you a few notches closer to knowing your favorite booster beverage better. So that next time you are globe trotting or hosting guests from a `coffee growing' region, you know exactly what to ask for.
Bean there done that
If we have to give credit to someone who discovered coffee, then a herd of goats in Ethiopia wins hands ...er...homs down. Why? It was as early as 9th century A.D. when they gobbled up a few wild berries and want into a trance. Their shepherded spotted their weird behavior and tried some luscious reds himself, only to feel ecstatic. The monks then started eating these coffee berries and drinking its pulp for religious rituals to be able to be awake all night for prayers and slowly the whole Islamic world was captivated by thus magical potion. They aptly titled "Wine of Arabica". Thus coffee moved from Ethiopia to the Arabian Peninsula and then to Turkey, where the beans were roasted for the first time and made into a drink, a closer version of what we consume today. Travelers, traders and pilgrims from other countries were at once mesmerized by coffee and were only too eager to let their countrymen savor it. Dampening their spirits, the coffee growing countries refused to part with even a bean, thus inducing them to smuggle some out.
One would be surprised to note that India too kick-started its first coffee plantation with plants from Arabia. Legend has it that Baba Budan, an Indian pilgrim to the Mecca brought some coffee by hiding them in his belly.
Despite political turmoil and religious insinuations, coffee transformed from an `Islamic' drink to a popular beverage the world over (even the Catholic Church accepted it as a `Christian beverage') thus cutting across land, faith and race.
Coffee mania
The craze for coffee has been there ever since it's heady aroma and taste was savoured by at least two human sense organs. Coffee clubs, coffee lovers groups on social networking sites, scores of documentaries tracking its origin and varieties ... the things one can do for coffee!
Coffee houses later called cafes and coffee bars have sprouted dime a dozen all over the world and provide a rendezvous-platform for coffee lovers to meet, relax, sip their favourite drink and network. In fact, it was the international coffee chain Starbucks that started this concept by calling these coffee hubs "The Third Place" where one can spend time apart from office and home.
But this craze for coffee started centuries ago and was incorporated into the culture and rituals of communities.
It's interesting to note that in the ancient Arab world, Islamic women could divorce their men on the grounds that they couldn't keep the coffee pot of the home full. So much was the significance given to this drink.
Eritrean and Ethiopian communities conduct Coffee ceremonies when they have guests home, where they are made to first inhale the aromatic smoke of the• roasted coffee beans before they are traditionally ground and made into a piping hot cuppa, Incense is also burned when serving it to the guests.
Best brew, big bucks
The language of coffee is international. There has been many a coffee aficionado who has traveled the world over in search of the best as well as costliest coffees.
Kopi Luwak from Indonesia was unanimously titled as one of the world's rarest and most expensive coffee and can cost anywhere between US $120 to 600 per pound. However, did you know what gives Kopi Luwak as well some other coffee varieties that `exclusive' tag? It's said that the coffee berries are first eaten by the Asian Palm Civet, a cat-sized mammal, and the undigested beans pass through its digestive tract. These are picked up by locals who wash it and roast it for that exquisite flavour, In fact, the literal translation of Kopi Luwak is Civet Coffee.
The Jamaica Blue Mountain, which is grown on the Blue Mountains of Jamaica is also considered among the best and is known for its bitterfree, mild flavour. Bourbon Pointu, a rare hybrid coffee bean variety from Reunion, France, is also considered to be among the best. In April last year, it was sold in Japan for Pounds 45.90 per packet, three times more than the Jamaican Blue Mountain.
Kona coffee is also a popular gourmet coffee that is grown only in the island of Hawaii on the golden Kona Cost in family farms. The coffee beans produced here are said to be so authentic and pure that there is a difference in taste between two cups of Kona coffee.
Some coffees are so rare that companies actually sell them once year as a limited edition! Among them are the rich and deeply aromatic Toraja known to be the finest coffee from Indonesia, Maragogype, a smooth and fullbodied delight from Mexico, one of the best from Central America, a sweetish and complex coffee from Papua New Guinea and Ethiopia's feather on the cap, the dark chocolate and cinnamon flavoured Harrar.
Must-have Coffees
Coffee simply thrives in opposites as it can be experimented with so easily and wins hearts and palettes in any form. It can be teamed with a huge number of other flavours and ingredients and served piping hot or icy cold.
If you step into Starbucks you can't miss its famous trademark drink, Frappucino - a blend of cappuccino ( coffee with milky topping) and frappe (Greek for milkshake). Also, be an early bird and pick up its Black Apron exclusives, limited edition coffee from the best of regions. This season, it's time to savor the Colombia Narino El Tambo grown on small family fat nis on the upper slopes of Colombia's Volcan Galeras.
International gourmet brand, Lavazza's Caffe Di Roma in Italy too has some coffee specialties like the Pippo ( a Colombian of coffee, condensed milk and whisky) and Dolce Vita (coffee, Baileys, whipped cream, condensed milk and ground coffee).
The Massimo Zanetti Bebverage group, a biggie in the coffee industry too has a set of premium brands like Segafredo, Hills Bross, MJB Premium Coffee, Chock Full o'Nuts is specialized fir its Arabica premium roast and ground coffees.
With the constant back and forth debate on the health benefits of coffee and the negative effects of its caffeine content, de-caffeinated versions have also emerged. But like someone said, "De-caffeinated coffee is de-vil's blend".
But coffee sure rules!
