Where was Arabica coffee first discovered? what are the native species of Arabica coffee trees?

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Arabica coffee originated in Africa.

The world's first coffee tree was found in the Horn of Africa. Local indigenous tribes often grind the fruit of coffee and knead it with animal fat to make many ball-shaped balls. These indigenous tribes use these coffee balls as precious food for soldiers who are about to go out to battle. At that time, people did not understand what it was all about when coffee eaters showed hyperactivity-they did not know that it was caused by the irritation of coffee. Instead, people regarded it as a religious fanaticism shown by coffee eaters. I think this drink is so mysterious that it has become a special product for priests and doctors.

So far, there are two main stories reflecting the discovery process of Arabica coffee.

A story says:

A sheep herdsman noticed that his sheep became particularly excited after eating the fruit of a wild coffee tree. Out of curiosity, he also tasted the coffee. After a taste, because of the role of coffee beans, he also began to dance like those banging goats. The scene that happened to the herdsmen was hit by a group of monks. As a result, whenever it was necessary to hold religious ceremonies at night, the monks boiled coffee beans into soup and drank them in this way to keep themselves awake.

Another story goes like this:

A Muslim mendicant monk was driven into the desert by his enemies. In a state of insanity, he heard a sound prompting him to eat the coffee fruit around him. He put the coffee fruits in the water and wanted to soak them soft. because the coffee fruits were too hard, he did not succeed. As a last resort, he had to drink the water soaked in coffee beans. In the end, the mendicant monk survived by this means. When the mendicant monk walked out of the desert, he felt that he could survive and that the magical energy he was able to gain was the result of Allah's help. So he kept telling the story to others and introduced this method of preparing drinks to others.

The rise of coffee all over the world

Coffee cultivation began in the 15th century. For hundreds of years, Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula is the only coffee producer in the world, and the market demand for coffee is very strong. In the Yemeni port of Moka, when coffee is shipped out, it often needs to be protected by heavy troops. At the same time, Yemen has also taken various measures to prevent coffee saplings from being taken out of the country.

Despite many restrictions, Muslim pilgrims on the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca secretly brought coffee saplings back to their hometown, so coffee soon took root in India.

At that time, in Venice, Italy, countless merchant ships traded perfumes, tea and textiles with Arab merchants. In this way, coffee spread to a wide area of Europe through Venice. Many European businessmen have become accustomed to drinking coffee. Later, small vendors peddling coffee appeared on the streets of many European cities, and coffee gained rapid popularity in Europe.

The strong demand for coffee has laid a solid foundation for the rapid expansion of coffee in areas other than its origin. In the 17th century, the Dutch introduced coffee to their colony of Indonesia. At the same time, the French began to grow coffee in Africa. Today, coffee has become the second largest trading product on the earth after oil!

The culture of coffee in different countries

1. Jamaica (Jamaica)

When it comes to Jamaica, we immediately think of "Blue Mountain" coffee. Rare and expensive blue mountain beans, originally from the Wallensford Coffee Garden, have now expanded to the Blue Mountains, which are more than 1,000 meters above sea level. as long as the tree species and treatment procedures of the estate meet certain standards, the government will issue a guarantee to allow the use of the name "Blue Mountain". It used to be the protagonist of coffee mythology, but many people think that the legendary characteristics-rich aroma, complete texture, perfect combination with even and palatable sour taste-are no longer there, and the beautiful sour taste that existed 15 years ago can only be found in memories. In spite of this, its price still goes up. In Taiwan, the retail price of guaranteed raw beans is usually more than 2000 yuan per kilogram. In the market for raw beans, which are commonly packed in gunny bags, blue mountain beans that insist on barrel packaging show their extraordinary price. The term "Jamaica High Mountain" refers to coffee beans grown in other mountains less than 1,000 meters on the island, which are of relatively ordinary quality and have a mild texture and sour taste. As for "Blue Mountain Blend" or "Blue Mountain Style" coffee, it is usually a combination of good Colombian beans, intended to imitate the taste of Blue Mountain, and has nothing to do with Jamaica. You won't find any real blue beans in Blue Mountain coffee.

two。 The Dominican Republic (Dominican Republic)

Beans from the Dominican Republic are often called "Santo Domingan" (their old country name), and the coffee plantations there are mainly around the mountains in the middle of the island. There are four kinds of washed alpine coffee on the market: Cibao, Bani, Ocoa and Barahona. The latter three are especially praised. The sweet taste of soft ripe fruit is very similar to that of Haitian coffee, while Balahona has a high acidity and a thick taste of typical Caribbean beans, which is close to the Jamaican mountains in quality and characteristics. Baking to medium depth best highlights their sweetness.

3. Cuba (Cuba)

Cigars, coffee and sugar cane, as the three major industries of the Republic of Cuba, enjoy a high reputation in the world. Cuban Crystal Mountain Coffee ranks among the top in the world. Crystal Mountain is adjacent to Jamaica's Blue Mountain Mountains and has similar climatic conditions, which is comparable to Jamaica's Blue Mountain Coffee. Similarly, the annual output of imported coffee from Crystal Mountain in Cuba is not high, so most of the time there is no market.

The most representative is the "Cubita Coffee" of the three major coffee in Cuba, which is known as the coffee with unique Caribbean flavor and has become the designated coffee of the Cuban embassy.

4. Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico

Beans, named after Yauco Selecto, are the best example of Caribbean beans. They are rich in texture, balanced in taste, gentle but complex and deep. Deep-baked Caribbean beans do not have the rough burning taste common in other deep-baked beans and are suitable for filter kettles (Plunger or French Press) and other cooking methods that have been soaked for a long time.

5. Yemen (Yemen)

The word Mocha has many meanings. Around 600 AD, the first coffee bean far from its hometown, Ethiopia, took root in the leaf gate on the other side of the Red Sea and started the coffee industry all over the world. Since the most important export port of Yemeni coffee in the early days was the port of Mocha (now silted up), the coffee produced in Yemen was also called "mocha" beans. Over time, some people began to use "mocha" as a nickname for coffee. The situation is similar to that in Java today. Later, because the aftertaste of mocha coffee resembled chocolate, the word "mocha" was extended to be a mixture of hot chocolate and coffee. Therefore, the same is "mocha", mocha beans, mocha pot and Italian coffee in mocha coffee, but represent three meanings. Today's Yemeni mocha (Yemen Mocha) is no different from its ancestors more than a thousand years ago, and is the most advanced traditional hand-dried bean-although it varies in size and contains a lot of impurities. The two most common producing areas are Mattari and Sanani; Matali beans have more texture, chocolate and sour taste, while Shanani beans are more balanced and fragrant. Generally speaking, the average size of mocha beans is small, with the wild and spicy smell of ginger, bright and unique taste, pleasant fruit acidity, and rich wine-like texture, no wonder it is known as the Bordeaux wine in coffee. In mixed coffee, mocha usually plays the role of high-pitched voice, responsible for stimulating and improving flavor.

6. Ethiopia (Ethiopia)

The highlands of Ethiopia are the birthplace of coffee. The traditional drying method is still used to produce mocha-Hara beans (Harrar,Harari,Harer or Harar) at an altitude of about 2,000 meters near Harrar in the east. Hara has a medium texture with a fruit wine-like flavor, and a good Hara is as wild as the best Yemenmoka. Dried beans from other regions, such as Gimbi or Ghimbi, Jima,Jimma or Djimah and Sidamo, are equally wild and wine-like, but less rich and slightly rough. The water-washed mocha from Jinbi in the west has the same sour wine as Hara, but it is packaged with a richer and balanced feel and a thicker texture. As for water-washed beans from the south, such as Sidamo and Gemma, they keep less sour wine and replace them with more gentle and delicate flavours of lemon and flowers. The best is produced in a high, narrow area of Sidamone, called Yirgacheffe, whose rich taste brushes the taste buds and leaves an endless aftertaste, while the slightly sour taste is similar to Sumatra, swimming in a rich texture; in addition, it adds a unique soft floral fragrance, which is really the only coffee in the world.

7. Tanzania (Tanzania)

Most of the Tanzanian beans are grown in Mr. Kilimanjaro and Mt, near the northern Kenyan border. The Meru area, often called "Clemangaro", is occasionally named after the distribution center Moshi or Arusha. In addition, on the southern side of the border, a little washed Arabica coffee beans are produced, named after the nearby big city Mbeya or the distribution center Pare. The grading method is similar to that of Kenya, distinguishing between sizes by the English alphabet. Most Tanzanian beans have typical African bean characteristics. The better Clemencaro, similar to ordinary Kenya, has a strong texture, is usually milder acidic than Kenya, and evenly stimulates the taste buds in the middle and sides of the back of the tongue. It tastes a bit like tomato or soda. As for southern beans, they are similar to secondary water-washed mochas, with soft and ingratiating weak acidity, round taste, and medium texture. Beans from neighboring Malawi (Malawi) also have the quality of Tanzanian beans.

8. Uganda (Uganda)

On the western slope of the Mr. Elgon, near the Kenyan border in the east, a pretty good Arabica bean, called Bugisu or Bugishu, is produced, with a flavor similar to that of Kenya, but with a thinner texture.

9. Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)

Zimbabwe is also a typical East African bean, good Zimbabwe has a medium texture, but its strong acidity and fruit wine can be compared with Kenya, with a hint of black pepper. The finest Zimbabwean beans are grown in the east near Mozambique (Mozambique). Classified by size, 053 is the most advanced.

10. Costa Rica

The coffee beans produced at the high latitudes of Costa Rica are famous in the world, full-bodied, mild in taste, but extremely sour. The coffee beans here have been carefully processed, which is why they have high quality coffee. The famous coffee is produced in the Central Plateau (Central Plateau), where the soil consists of successive layers of volcanic ash and dust.

According to the Kenyan Standard, global coffee prices continue to rise as major buyers continue to seek higher quality coffee, while coffee producers Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia are in harvest season. Industry insiders say East African countries are higher above sea level, coffee plantations are usually operated on a small scale, and African growers are better able to take care of coffee trees than large-scale plantations such as Brazil.

11. Kenya (Kenya)

Kenyan coffee is produced near the Kenyan Mountains in the central part of the country and is sometimes named after the capital Nairobi to guarantee its quality. Here beans are graded by size, the largest is AA, followed by An and B, and so on, which has nothing to do with the origin, so the quality and characteristics of the same AA beans may be quite different. With the exception of dry mochas in Yemen and Ethiopia, most coffee on the African continent is washed. Thanks to the support of the state, Kenya's washed Arabica coffee beans have a high average level and are handled very carefully. Good Kenyan beans not only have the same strong sour wine as mocha, irritating both sides of the tongue, it even has the rich texture that mocha lacks, and in African coffee, it can best brew a balanced drink.