Coffee Time

The coffee percolator was patented on this date 140 years ago today.

Robert's note: The percolator is one of the worst methods of brewing coffee, but man, does it make a great coffee aroma. I have fond childhood memories of waking to the sound and aroma of my mom's percolator.

The documented history of coffee begins circa 1000 in Arabia, where roasted beans were first brewed. In 1615 a Venetian merchant brought coffee beans to Europe and a year later a Dutch trader brought a coffee plant. In 1696 the Dutch founded the first European-owned coffee estate, on colonial Java.

About 30 years later, Brazilian Lt. Col. Francisco de Melo Palheta spirited some seedlings away from French Guiana and within several decades, Brazil was one of the world's greatest coffee empires.

Quote of the Day: "The morning cup of coffee has an exhilaration about it which the cheering influence of the afternoon or evening cup of tea cannot be expected to reproduce." – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.


Word of the Day: demitasse: small cup of very strong black coffee; demitasse is often served after a meal.