Tea and coffee are both drinks which inspire passion. More than just simple beverages, tea and coffee are part of a cultural phenomenon filled with social meaning and ritual. They both have fairly long, extensive histories?here?s a short look at them.
As old time legends have it, the origins of coffee can be traced to Ethiopia, where it grows copiously, and in the wild. Shepherds were apparently the first to discover its stimulating effects after their flock nibbled on some and couldn?t settle down for the night. Another ancient tale tells of a man who was shipped out to the desert to starve to death. In the desert, the man could only find the coffee plant, so he took chance, boiled it and lived. He then made it to the neighboring town of Mocha; the locals there thought his survival was a miracle.
Historians believe that coffee was first drank around 1000 AD. In Yemen (southern Arabia), Sufi monks apparently brewed the drink within their monasteries. The drink traveled to Yemen and Egypt via Ethiopia. As with so many other inventions, we can credit the Arabians for introducing the roasting and brewing technique we are familiar with in these modern times. From the Middle East, the plant spread to Northern Africa by around 1450. It then took off in Europe by way of Italy; from there it spread to Indonesia and then eventually America.
Arabians apparently rendered their coffee export beans infertile by parboiling them so that no coffee would grow elsewhere. However one intrepid Indian man by the name of Baba Budan smuggled out fertile seeds by strapping them to his belly. These beans reached Europe via Venice and flourished there.
The Dutch began importing coffee in significant amounts, defying the Arab prohibition in 1616. They then took their crop to Java and Ceylon. Exports of Indonesian coffee to the Netherlands took place around 1711.
Today, coffee is ubiquitous. You really can?t go anywhere without seeing it. The art of brewing the perfect cup is something that is prided by many.
Tea has an equally colorful and varied history. It all starts back in old China. Some 5,ooo years ago, according to ancient tales, the wise emperor Shen Nung happened upon tea somewhat by accident. Shen Nung, being a wise emperor, required that all water be boiled before drinking. As the story goes, on a journey in a distant land, Shen Nung and his court were resting and water was to be boiled by the servants. Some dried leaves from a bush fell into the boiling water, rendering it brown. The emperor, a curious man, tasted the beverage and found it to be refreshing. Thus tea was born.
Tea became a staple in China. It became so entrenched in Chinese daily life that Lu Yu wrote a guide book about the beverage codifying cultivation methods and drinking traditions. The book became a classic amongst Chinese society.
The Japanese weren?t introduced to the beverage until the priest Yeisei brought it back to his homeland from China some years later. After that tea was big in Japan.
Europe was first introduced to the beverage via a Portuguese Jesuit monk in 1560. From there, the drink grew in popularity.
Damian Papworth adores the Krups 4 cup coffee maker. You can peruse the write up on the One Cup Coffee Makers site.