Tea and coffee are two beverages with very rich histories. There?s a whole culture surrounding these beverages. You don?t just drink coffee or tea; usually, it?s a social event or an event invested with ritualized meaning. Here is a brief glimpse at the history of these two very significant beverages.
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.
Coffee was first brewed in around 1000 AD, according to researchers. Sufi monasteries in Yemen in southern Arabia were said to drink coffee regularly enough for it to be mentioned. It seems that coffee made its way from Ethiopia to Egypt and Yemen. Arabians are credited with roasted and brewing coffee in the manner that we are accustomed to today. Coffee spread to the rest of the Middle East and northern Africa by the middle of the 15th century. From there it spread to Italy and the rest of Europe, then to Indonesia where it was then transported to America.
The Arabians weren?t keen to share their precious coffee beans; so in order to make sure no one else could grow them, they cooked or boiled the beans, making them infertile. However, according to one tale, an Indian by the name of Baba Budan smuggled out some fertile beans by taping them to his belly. This way, coffee arrived in Venice and spread all around Europe.
By the year 1616 the Arab ban on exporting coffee was flouted by the Dutch who began to export and import coffee at their own behest. They grew coffee in the Dutch colonized areas of Java and Ceylon. By 1711, this new Indonesian coffee was being exported into the Netherlands.
Of course, now coffee is a staple. Making a great cup of coffee takes time and practice, but it?s well worth it.
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.
Tea was introduced to Europe in 1560 via the Portuguese Jesuit Jasper de Cruz. From there it spread like wild fire.
Damian Papworth adores his Krups 4 cup coffee maker. You can peruse his write up on the One Cup Coffee Makers website.
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