Coffee Time
- Lifestyles
- Special Interest
Author: Britney B.
Released 12 July 2003
Some weeks ago I attended a very interesting Adult Education evening class in Dhahran on making traditional Arabic coffee. The class lasted about one and a half-hours and was taught by Khadijah Al-Bahlky, who explained the history and geography of coffee in the Arab world, how coffee beans are selected and roasted, and the etiquette of coffee in different regions of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. We were given a practical demonstration on how to prepare and serve the coffee, and tasted different types of coffee made with saffron, cardamom, ginger and cloves. At the end of the class we were each given packs of ground coffee, cardamoms and dates. If you, like me, are a coffee lover and would like to try making the very different tasting Arabic coffee, then I recommend you take one of Khadijah’s classes.
People have enjoyed caffeinated beverages since ancient times. As long ago as 2,700 BC the Chinese were drinking hot brewed tea. It is believed that coffee originated in the fifth century in East Africa when, legend has it, a goat herder observed his goats acting unusually frisky after eating berries from a bush. Curious about this phenomena, he tried eating the berries himself and found that they gave him renewed energy. The news of this energy providing fruit quickly spread and monks began drying the berries so they could be transported to distant monasteries. They reconstituted the berries in water, ate the fruit, and drank the liquid to provide stimulation for their busy lives. Coffee berries were transported from East Africa to the Arabian peninsula and then to Turkey where the beans were roasted for the first time over open fires. The roasted beans were crushed and then boiled in water, creating a crude version of the beverage we enjoy today. Coffee first arrived in Europe by means of Venetian trade merchants and coffee houses spread quickly, becoming centers for intellectuals to meet. In the 1700's, coffee found its way to the Americas by means of a French infantry captain who nurtured one small plant on its long journey across the Atlantic. This one plant, transplanted to the Caribbean Island of Martinique, became the predecessor of over 19 million trees on the island within 50 years. It was from this humble beginning that the coffee plant found its way to the rest of the tropical regions of South and Central America.
The western world seems to have a love/hate relationship with coffee due to conflicting opinions as to its effect on health. The principle psychological effects are due to caffeine, an alkaloid that acts as a mild stimulant. Caffeine is naturally occurring in the leaves, seeds or fruits of more than 63 plant species worldwide, the most commonly known being coffee and cocoa beans, cola nuts and tea leaves. An ordinary cup of coffee contains about 150 milligrams of caffeine. Depending on the amount consumed, caffeine can be a mild central nervous and cardiovascular system stimulant. It does not accumulate in the body over the course of time since it is usually and normally metabolized and eliminated within several hours of consumption. Therefore, the pharmacological effects of caffeine are usually brief, passing within hours, though people differ greatly in their sensitivity to caffeine and this may also change with advancing age. With regular use, tolerance develops to many of the effects of caffeine. For example, a person who consumes caffeine on a regular basis may drink several cups of coffee in a few hours and notice little effect, whereas a person who isn’t a regular coffee drinker may feel some stimulant effect after just one serving. Some people may experience feelings of nervousness if they consume more caffeine than they are accustomed to. When regular caffeine consumption is abruptly stopped, some people experience symptoms, such as headaches, fatigue or drowsiness. These effects are typically temporary, lasting for a few days, and may be avoided if caffeine cessation is gradual.
So love it or hate it, coffee now grows in more than 50 countries and is the second largest export in the world after oil (in dollar value), and over 20 million people are employed in the coffee industry. It’s big business.
If you want to read more about coffee, particularly about it’s effects on health, visit The Coffee Science Information Center website at www.cosic.org.