Black, one sugar
January 10, 2012
I’ve been very busy lately, but a short post on SYSK’s recent podcast about coffee is in order. Coffee is a relatively recent beverage (15th century) that originated in Ethiopia and was then spread first through the Muslim world and later to India, Italy and beyond to the rest of Europe and the Americas.
Believe it or not, the photo above is what coffee looks like in berry form. To make coffee beans from this it must be peeled (the “coffee” part is is like a pit in the middle), dried and finally roasted. Coffee is not grown in the United States due to unsuitable weather conditions. Brazil is by for the leader in coffee production, followed by Vietnam and Columbia (where the mythical Jual Valdez was “born”).
The podcast has caused me to make a change in my coffee consumption (unlike my cheese post – can’t you people take a hint? Where’s my cheese of the month club Christmas present?) I’m now buying beans and grinding them right before brewing. I must say it’s a more flavorful experience (coffee has twice as many flavors as wine) and I’m likely to keep up the practice since it’s not much more work.
