Coffeehouses: “Penny Universities”

All strata of British society enjoyed coffee. The poor consumed hot coffee to replace a hot meal or to suppress hunger, while the rich drank it in their social clubs. Coffeehouses were called “penny universities,” where for the price of a coffee, anyone could engage in stimulating intellectual discourse. By the mid-17th century, London had over three hundred such places, each with a distinctive name. With industrialization, the British coffee industry began to take shape.

Coffee From Amsterdam

Up until the 17th century, European coffee had come from the Arabian Peninsula. The race was on amongst the imperial powers to begin their own cultivation. Dutch sailors were the first to pilfer Arab coffee tree cuttings, cultivating them in greenhouses in Amsterdam.

Mocha Java

The coffee bean plant was introduced by the Dutch to their colonies in the Indonesian islands of Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Bali. The Dutch combined Arabian coffee with coffee grown in Java, making the world’s first popular blend: Mocha Java.

Coffee Trees In The Americas

The journey of coffee to the Americas began with an unusual incident. In 1714, the mayor of Amsterdam gave a single coffee tree to King Louis XIV of France who then had it planted in the Royal Botanical Garden in Paris. In 1723, a young naval officer named Gabriel de Clieu obtained a seedling and after a grueling voyage that included stormy weather, a saboteur, and a pirate attack, he managed to transport it to Martinique. Coffee trees throughout the Caribbean, South and Central America originate from this stock.

Brazilian Beans

In 1727, the first coffee plantation in Brazil was established when Lt. Col. Francisco de Melo Palheta smuggled seeds from French Guiana. Brazil’s coffee industry had a virtual trade monopoly for many years in the 19th and into the 20th century. However, the country relied heavily on slave labor from Africa to work its plantations until the abolition of slavery in Brazil in 1888. Brazil remains the largest coffee beans producer, averaging around 28% of world output.

Vietnam – 2^nd Largest Coffee Producer

A high-price policy soon opened opportunities to other nations, including Columbia, Guatemala, Indonesia and Vietnam. In Vietnam, large-scale production began after normalization of trade with the US in 1995. It is now second only to Brazil as the major world coffee producer.

Australia

Australia’s coffee history started in 1880 when the first acreage was developed in an area between northern New South Wales and Cooktown. Low labour costs overseas led to the demise of the Australian coffee industry. Despite recent advances in irrigation and the introduction of a mechanical harvesting system invented in 1981, the Australia is a minor coffee producer, remains a minor player globally.

Two Main Varieties: Arabic And Robust

Coffee Beans only grow in tropical and sub-tropical regions. There are two main varieties: arabic and robust. Arabic coffee makes up three quarters of world production, requires higher altitudes and is deemed superior in quality. Robust is grown at lower altitudes, mostly in central and western equatorial Africa, in Southeast Asia and to a lesser degree in Brazil, Mexico and Ecuador. It is considered lower in quality but because it is more resistant to pests and climatic variations, it is easier to produce. Africa’s Ivory Coast is one of the world’s largest producers of robust coffee beans, used frequently in espresso blends. Vietnam also cultivates robust as well as highly productive varieties of arabic.

The World’s Most Popular Beverage

In the last three centuries, the coffee industry has expanded around the globe. As a source of foreign exchange, it is often second in value only to oil. Millions of people around the world are employed in the coffee industry. Over 400 billion cups of coffee are consumed each year, making it the world’s most popular beverage.