Yemen: the abandoned home of coffee

By Ahmed Al-Zurqa
Aug 6, 2005 - Vol. VIII Issue 31

SANA'A - To Europeans Yemen has always been known as a land of high quality coffee. The city of Mokha from where coffee departed, gave its name to a type of coffee, Mocha, a bean with a chocolaty hint that gave birth to the much-loved mocha. Mokha is still the main port of export for the Mocha bean and the current exports are valued at YR 3.114bn annually.

Homeland of Coffee

No one knows if Arabs really were the first people to drink coffee. Certainly the English word ‘coffee’ comes from the Arabic ‘qahwa’, which itself comes from the word for wine ‘khmora’.

There is some debate about where the plant originated. Some say that it was transferred from the Arabian Peninsula to Ethiopia, but others believe it first appeared in the Kafa region of Southern Ethiopia.

An expedition from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization sent to investigate the history of the tree in Ethiopia, in 1924, found no concrete evidence to support the belief that coffee originated in Ethiopia. The study said that it was possible that the tree could have been successfully transferred from Yemen to Ethiopia, due to the similar environmental conditions required for coffee production in both countries.

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Coffee: Good to the Last Drop?

By Anthony Wild
The Globalist

While coffee bolstered the emergence of capitalism, the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots in our globalized economy is exemplified by the growing inequalities in the coffee trade. In "Coffee: A Dark History," this week's Globalist Bookshelf selection, Anthony Wild argues that coffee has always marched hand in hand with colonialism through the pages of history.

Once known as the “Wine of Araby,” trade in coffee was an important component in the creation and consolidation of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century.

The effect of caffeine itself ensured that there were always likely to be lively, well-informed debates and intense, original exchanges.

It was first consumed in the late 15th century as a sacred ritual amongst the Sufis in Yemen, from where it quickly spread through Islam.

In that religion, despite some initial opposition, it was considered an acceptable stimulant because, unlike the reviled alcohol, it never left the drinker incapable of distinguishing a man from a woman or the earth from the heavens.

The popular coffee houses of Cairo and Constantinople attracted the attention of the first European visitors to the Orient.

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Sydney wakes up and smells the coffee, and orders a double ristretto

SYDNEY, (AFP) - Of the many myths about coffee, the most pervasive is that Australians turn their noses up at it in favour of tea -- a cultural hangover passed on from the British along with cricket and the monarchy.

But Sydney's burgening coffee bar scene is evidence to the contrary and, with coffee consumption rapidly rising over the past decade, a new generation has emerged which is as well informed about their choice of bean as it is about the choice of grape in Australian wines.

Scott Callaghan, coordinator of Sydney's Gourmet Coffee Institute says it's now possible to hear people walk into a coffee shop and say: "I'll have a double ristretto of your Sumatran Mandheling."

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Coffee Buzz

By Jeffrey Miller
Korea Times Columnist

Every morning when I go into school at 6:40 there is at least one thing I can count on before my class begins _ a long line at the coffee vending machine.

Ever since our previous antiquated vending machine with 150 won-priced coffee was replaced last year with the more fashionable and choice-filled ``Supremo Coffee,'' it has been a big hit with students and teachers who can now choose from a variety of coffee selections, from Cafe Latte to Cappuccino.

Here in Korea one thing is for certain if you like coffee: you are never too far from you favorite cup of java whether it's served hot or cold from a vending machine or enjoyed in one of the countless coffeehouses which dot the urban landscape.

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Puerto Rico's little secret: coffee

Some of the world's best beans never get off the island

Abby Goodnough, New York Times

Adjuntas, Puerto Rico -- Long before Starbucks and even Sanka, the coffee produced in this cool mountain region was internationally beloved -- so much that Puerto Rico, barely the size of Connecticut, was among the world's largest, proudest coffee exporters. The cafes of Vienna, Paris and Madrid served Puerto Rican coffee in the 19th century, as did European monarchs and even the Vatican.

But while short and sturdy coffee trees still flourish on parts of the island, it is hard to find Puerto Rican coffee anywhere now.

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Some LSU students upset by plans for library Starbucks

BATON ROUGE, La. Some L-S-U students say a university library is no place for business, let alone a coffee shop.

Louisiana State University planners say it's a done deal: Starbucks will set up shop on the first floor of the Middleton Library, as well as two other sites on campus.

Graduate student Jessica Ketcham says more than a hundred students had voiced concern about the project by Friday, in respose to her e-mail campaign.

Concerned faculty also have encouraged students to e-mail protests to the chancellor and other leaders.

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