American Coffee History

The Drink of reason, coffee, seems to not have changed much culturally to this day, as when it is brought to the table over 250 years ago (pg. 170). Coffee remains to be the drink over which people meet

Colombia’s history is full of conflict as well as coffee. Greater Colombia, consisting of today’s Colombia, Panama, Venezuela and Ecuador, was created in 1819 when it gained independence from Spain. This entity lasted until 1830, when both Venezuela and Ecuador gained their independence. Colombia’s first civil war started in 1899 and ended in 1903, when Panama became an independent country, but Colombia’s conflict-ridden history didn’t start to extensively affect the coffee industry until 1949 when Colombia had a second civil war, called La Violencia (The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with

Coffee had lots of demand, but little supply. The country that could grow and export the most coffee had a substantial economic advantage over other countries in terms of commerce.

A) Coffee originated in Yemen, Arabia where it was viewed as a religious beverage. Over time it spread to Mecca and Cairo, where it became a recreational drink to be drunk in a social manner in large coffee houses. It also became a popular substitute for alcohol, which was banned under Islam. Europeans traveling in the Middle East came upon coffee and coffeehouses and commented on their popularity. But it wasn’t until 1652, when an Armenian servant named Pasqua Rosee opened the first coffee house in London, that coffee transformed from a little known novelty into a wide spread phenomenon. When, in 1658, Cromwell died and public opinion swung in the favor of a new monarchy, coffee houses became central in political debates and commercial business. The trend quickly caught on and coffee houses became fashionable throughout Europe.

Members of the Coffee Cult, the drinkers, battled the likes of the tea, hot chocolate and soda drinkers for land and power since the beginning of time. In fact, the coffee cult was the most victorious among beverage worshipers. Because all pure beans have a bit of caffeine, the crusaders were able to stay awake longer than all the other thirsty ones. The coffee crusades took place over 100 years to conquer the holy lands of South America, where the sacred bean first flourished. Since then, the

Coffee increases awareness, and gives you energy. Also, the production cost of coffee was lower than the production cost of alcohol.

The caffeine in coffee become an ethical increase over alcohol and have become a fashionable social beverage. It was interesting to see how it started off as this very exotic drink only for the upper class and then turned into what it is now. Coffee is a very fashionable drink that does not cost much that many have led their days with in today’s society.

Coffee originated from Ethiopia and quickly spread to Arabia Felix; which is known today as Yemen.

The earliest consumption of coffee is believed to have been by the Sufi Muslims around mocha in Yemen. The coffee beans were harvested and brewed just like the way they are prepared today. From this area, it spread across the Middle East, Europe and finally to North Africa by the 16th century. (Pendergrast,

We can understand the relation between commodity and trade development through the study of coffee and it’s origins. Over about 90% of coffee is produced in the South, and consumed in the North. Or a long time Latin America has provided most of the world’s coffee. Coffee comes from a cherry produced by a tree that requires a warm climate without any sudden temperature shifts or frost and it needs plenty of rain. This climate is ideal for coffee between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. During the movement of coffee from harvest to export the first step is to separate the coffee bean from the skin and the pulp of the cherry, this results in what is called “green” coffee. Before it is exported the coffee is cleaned and sorted into lots that have different quality attributes, something like the grain elevators. The lots vary as they go from country to country based on the size, the shape shape and the deficiencies it might have or the way it is processed. At this point in the process the coffee still has it’s individual quality and value.

Ever since the first coffee bean tree was discovered in Ethiopia, the bean became a pleasurable commodity that spread quickly to Yemen and other Asian countries. It wasn’t long before it came to Brazil, becoming one of the largest coffee producing countries in the world today. Throughout time, people came up with brewing systems and coffee-making machines that made it easy to manufacture coffee but it wasn’t like that in the early 1800’s. Slaves came into Brazil and were forced to work in difficult labor conditions to collect and roast coffee beans.

The tea industry was able to take note of the effect coffee had on society, and could then target how best to be integrated into people’s daily lives. In addition, Europe at this time was entirely male-influenced, and men were infatuated with the discovery of coffee. Naturally, coffee became the drink of choice, leaving tea in the dust.

Out of all the countries to be introduced to tea, the United Kingdom was one of the last nations to be familiarized to it. By the mid-1600s, “Americans” were already drinking tea. Tea was being brought back from the Portuguese who were living in the East as traders and missionaries. But it was not the Portuguese who were the first to transport; it was actually the Dutch. Which soon had established teas as its popular drink.

There’s not clear information about how coffee arrived in Colombia. The historic archive says that the Jesuits brought the seeds around 1730. The tradition says that the seeds arrived threw the east of the country, and the harvest where registries in Giron, Santander and Muzo, Boyacá. In 1835 the first commercial production produced 2560 bags and they were exported from Cucuta’s custom. Then the coffee extended to the center and west of the country in the departments of Cundinamarca, Antioquia and the zone of old Caldas. The consolidation of coffee as a product for exportation was from the second half of XIX century. The great expansion of the world economy in that period made that the Colombian peasants find an attractive opportunities in the International market. Between the end of 70s of the XIX century and the start of the XX century the annual production of coffee passed from 60.000 bags to 600.000 bags, this was made in the main big farms of the departments of Santander and Cundinamarca, having at the end of XIX century, 80 percent of the total coffee national production. There was a decline in the international prices in the first years of the XX century; this made a big change in the Colombian coffee cultivation. It can be concluded that in the period between

The film highlights the fact that coffee is the most valued word commodity, second to oil. The beginning of the film shows the process in which coffee is made- from bean harvesting by workers in Ethiopia who make next to nothing, through several intermediated stages, and into the market. Although we spend countless amounts of money on coffee without thinking twice, the price that coffee farmers who produce this commodity are getting paid, is disgustingly low. Some of them have even been forced to walk away from their fields. There is no better place to see this