A Brief History of Coffee& It's Grouth.

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There is a general Habit found among devotees to the Mahakshetrams of Kerala who make visit for an early morning Darshan that they do take a cup of coffee after the Darshan as a matter of Routine& I am not an exception to this Habit and instead in fact a typical example to it.this habit is generally found more among devotees from Tamilnadu. In my case it is a habit formed from early childhood when I used to accompany my Mother to Guruvayoor Temple every morning.I am not sure whether my faith ,unlike my Mother ,was more to the God or to the Breakfast that followed Invariably with coffee. The origin of the most popular drink in the world the Coffee has a legend behind it which can not be totally ignored & instead should be believed as there is some substance in the legend. The legend is related to a Goatherd by name Kaldi of the Ethopian Highland It is said that he one day noticed that His goats after eating berries from a plant became so spirited that they did not sleep at night.He truthfully reported the matter to the leader of the local monasty .He on hearing this Made a drink with the Berries and discovered that it kept him Alert for long hours of Evening Prayer.Soon he shared his discovery with other monks at the Monestery,and ever so slowly,the knowledge of the energizing effect of the berries began to spread.As words moved east the coffee reached the Arabian Penisula.It then began a journey to spread it's reputation across the Globe. Today Coffee is grown In a multitude of Countries around the World.Whether it is Asia or Africa,Central or South America,The Islands of Carreabean or Pecific all can trace their heritage to the trees in the Ancient Coffee forests on the Ethopian Plateau. The Arabs were the first not only to cultivate coffee but to begin it's trade as well.By the fifteenth Century,coffee was beinggrown in the Yemeni District of Arabia.&by the sixterenth centuryit was well known in Persia,Egypt,Syria&Turkey. Coffee was not only drunk in homes but extended to Coffee Houses which began to appear in the cities across the near East.The popularity of Coffee houses became unequated&people started frequenting them for all kinds of social activities.Not merely they had as cup of coffee during conversations but also listened to Music,watched performers,played chess &other gmes and kept current on the news of the day. In fact,they quickly became such an important center for thev Exchange of information that the C offee Houses were often referred to as "Schools of the Wise" With thousands of Pilgrims visiting the the Holy City of Mecca each year from all over the world,word of the "wine of Arabs was beginning to spread far beyond Arabia.In an effort to maintain it's complete monopoly in the early Coffee trade,the Arabians continued to closely guard their Coffee production. Europian travellers to the near East brought back stories of the unusual dark black beverage.By the Seventeenth century,Coffee had mde its way to Europe &was becoming popular across the continent.Opponents to this trend,were very cautious callingb the Beverage"The Bitter invention of the Satan".With tyhe coming of Coffee toVenice in 1615,the local Clergy condemned it.The controversy was so big that Pope Clemen v111 was asked to intervene. Before making a decision ,however,he decided to taste the Beverage for Himself.Hev found the drink so satisfying that he gave it Papalapproval. inspite of such controversy,in the major cities oEngland,Austria,France,Germany&Holland Coffee Houses were quickly becoming centres of social Activity&Communication.In England,"Penny Universities" sprang up,so called becaise for the price odf a penny one could purchase a cup of coffee &engage in stimulating conversation.By the middle of 17th Century,there were over 300 coffee houses in London.,many of which attracted patrons with common interests such as Merchants,Shippers,Brokers&Artists. Many Businesses grew out of these specialised coffee houses.Lloyds of London,for example,came into existence at the Edward Lioyd's Coffee House. In the middle of 1600 coffee was brought to New Amsterdam,a location later called New York by British. Though Coffee Houses rapidly began to appear,yea continued yo be the favoured drink in the New World until 1773. when the colonists revolted against a heavy tax on Tea imposed by King George.The revolt known as Boston Tea Party ,would foeever change the American drinking preference to coffee. The demand for the Beverage continued to spread.There was tense competition to cultivate Coffee outside of Arabia.Though the Arabs tried hard to maintain their monopoly,the Dutch finally succeeded in the later half of 17th Century to obtain some seedlings.Their first attempt to plant them in India failed but they were successful in their efforts in Batavia on the Island of Java in what is now called Indinesia.The plants thrived&soon the Dutch had a productive and growing tyrade in Coffee.The soon expanded the cultivation to Sumatra&Celebs. The Dutch,however,did a curious thing.In 1714,the Mayor of Amsterdam presented a gift of a youngb coffee plant to King Louis X1v of France.The King ordered it to be planted in the Royal Botanical Garden in Paris.In 1723,a youngnaval officer,Gabriel deClieu btained from the King's Plant.Despite an ardous voyage, complete with Horrendous weather, a saboteur who tried to destroy the seedlings and a pirate attack,Gabriel managed to transport it safely to M artinique.Once planted r the seedling survived &thrived to and is credited with the spread of over18 million coffee Plants on the Island of Martinique in the nextv 50b years.It was alsothe stock from which Coffee Plants throughout the Carreabeans,South &Cental America originated. Coffee is said to have come to Brazil in the hands of Francisco de MelloPalheta who was who was sent by the Emperor to French Guiana for the purpose of obtaining coffee seedlings.Butthe French were not willing to share and Pelhata was un successful.However,he was said to have been so handsomely engaging that the French Governor's wife wasv captivated.As going-away gift ,she presented him with a large bouquer of Flowers .Buried inside he found enough cofee seeds to begin what is today a Billion Dollar Industry. In just 100 years,coffee had established itself as a commodity crop throughout the world.Missioneries and travellers,traders&Colonists continued to carry coffee seeds to new lands &coffee trees were planted world wide.Plantations were established in magnificent tropical forests and on rugged mountain highlands.Some crops flurished where others were shortlived.New Nations were established on Coffee economies.Fortunes were made7 also lost on these accounts.And by the end of 18th century,Coffee had become one of the world's most profittable crops. The leading Coffee producing countries in the world from number 1 to 10 are indicated below: Brazil,Vietnam,Colombia,Indonesiam,India,Ethiopia,Honduras,Peru,TGuatemala&Mexico. So why wait?Enjoy as much coffee as possible.We have plenty of coffe stocked all over the world &the manufacture is being continued round the clock .So unless some worldwide natural Calamity occursthe coffee in never going to be scarce in the world. Thanks to the Ethopial Goatherd Kaldi who had discovered coffee in the Fifteenth Century for us to continue to enjoy.

Sreedharan Mundanat Saturday August10,2014, 12-50PM(IST)