Coffee Lore

Allen and Helen Trachsel, the co-founders of The Pancake Parlour restaurants were quite frankly "coffee nuts".

They started their day with coffee, they ended their day with coffee and they had a "cup or two" along the way.

Our coffee is supplied by one of Melbourne's leading coffee houses, Beraldo Coffee. Paul Beraldo has developed a unique blend of different coffee beans that are freshly ground for each restaurant.

There are dozens of species of coffee but of these, only two are cultivated on a large scale: Coffea Arabica and Coffea Canephora commonly referred to as Arabica and Robusta. As the name suggests, the Robusta plant is more resistant to the elements than Arabica plants. Arabica plants have to be grown high on the hillsides at altitudes of around 900-2000 metres whereas Robusta plants are usually cultivated at altitudes of 200-300 metres. Because of the greater costs involved in cultivating the Arabica plants at high altitude (and usually on steep sloping ground) it is hardly surprising that the Arabica beans have a higher value, reflecting their superior quality. Robusta beans also have a higher percentage of caffeine and also contain a greater quantity of substances that can upset digestion.

The two species also taste different: Arabica is milder and more aromatic, distinctly less sharp and bitter. The Pancake Parlour restaurants only serve coffee made with the very best quality Arabica beans.

The history of coffee begins in Ethiopia (Abyssinia) where coffee plants were discovered growing wild. According to ancient writings, the Arabs were brewing coffee nearly one thousand years ago. The Venetians were the first to import the beans and the French first took coffee plants to the Americans. 

There are two legends about how coffee was discovered.

The first tells how Kaldi the goatherd, grazing his flocks on the upland plains of Ethiopia, noticed that his goats would become frisky after eating the leaves and berries of a certain bush. He decided to try some himself and thus discovered the invigorating and exhilarating effects of coffee.

Kaldi then took the "magic" berries to a nearby monastery where the abbot, believing them to be the work of the devil, threw them into the fire. This released the aroma of the coffee and the berries were hastily rescued from the flames and the monks learned how to make coffee. The monks considered coffee to be a gift from God as it helped them to stay awake during prayers.

The second legend tells how the Archangel Gabriel came to the aid of Mohammed who was about to be overcome by sleep, by bringing him coffee from Heaven. After a few sips Mohammed felt so invigorated he was able to "unhorse forty men and make forty women happy".

Regardless of such legends, we do know that coffee was for a long time used in a very different way than it is today. Initially the berries were eaten whole, then the seeds or beans were extracted, ground and mixed with animal fat to make them easier to eat when travelling.

Apparently it wasn't until after the year 1000AD when the Arabs learned to boil water, that they first made coffee as an infusion using the green beans and later learning to roast and grind the beans before boiling them in water.

The name "coffee" does not come from Kaffa (its place of origin) but from the Arab word "qahwa" meaning wine, coffee or any drink made from plants. In fact when coffee reached Europe at the beginning of the 17th Century it was called "the wine of Arabia".

The first quantity of coffee reached the Western world through the Turks who left several sacks of beans behind after their defeat at the gates of Vienna in 1683. The Austrians quickly learned to roast it and make the aromatic beverage which they served with cakes, called kipfel, shaped like crescent moons, in celebration of the defeat of the Turks.

The Arabs originally obtained their coffee beans from Ethiopia but by the 14th Century they'd started to cultivate plants taken during their raids in the area of Yemen. The popularity of coffee was favoured by the fact that alcoholic drinks are forbidden by the Koran. So coffee was drunk at home and in the qahveh khaneh, the forerunner of today's coffee houses or coffee-bars. Here, as well as drinking coffee, people could listen to music, play games of chance and discuss the topics of the day.
 
Historians generally agree on 1615 as the date of the first importation of coffee into Europe. Coffee beans went from the port of Mocca to Venice where they would be distributed to the pharmacies and used for medicinal purposes. Soon after the Venetians learned to roast the beans and brew the beverage. Venice became the source of supply for the rest of Europe.

For almost a century, up to the early 18th Century the Venetians tried to hold onto their monopoly of the coffee trade. Around this time the Dutch started the first coffee production outside the Arab countries.

Probably around 1690 some Dutchmen managed to get hold of some small coffee plants that were then carefully cultivated in the greenhouses of the botanic gardens in Amsterdam. From here plants were sent to the Dutch colonies in the East Indies and coffee growing began in Java and Sumatra. The plants took root and thrived in the favourable climate. Within a few years the Dutch colonies became the main suppliers of coffee to Europe and Amsterdam became the main commercial centre for the coffee trade.

Unlike the Venetians, the Dutch did not create coffee-bars: they preferred to drink their coffee at home and they did not seek to retain a monopoly.

In 1714, the burgomaster of Amsterdam made a gift of coffee plants to King Louis XIV of France. These plants were nursed in the greenhouses at Versailles before embarking on a great new adventure. It is said that the habit of adding sugar to coffee was originated by one of Louis' courtesans.

In 1723, captain Gabriel de Clieu, serving in the French colonies of Martinique was on leave in France. He asked if he could take a few small coffee plants back with him on his return journey to Martinique. Thus began the journey of coffee to the Americans.

Apparently Captain De Clieu had quite a task getting the plants from the greenhouses of Versailles to the soil of Martinique. He had to overcome storms, calms, water-rationing and even one passengers attempt to damage them. The captain took great care of the plants, even sharing his own water ration until they reached Martinique. They were transplanted and within a few years were growing strongly and being propagated.

At the same time the Spaniards and the English started to grow coffee in Jamaica in 1730 and in India in 1740. By 1777, it was calculated there were almost 19 million plants on the island yielding enough coffee to supply three quarters of the demand in Europe. 

In the thirties espresso coffee became popular thanks to the copper and brass commercial coffee makers.
Around this time coffee was first grown in Brazil as well. A certain Portugese gentleman, Francisco de Melo Palheto, beguiled the wife of the governor of Guyana to smuggle coffee plants out of the colony. She sent him coffee plants, skilfully disguised in a gift of flowers when he visited a neighbouring country.

The soil and climate of Brazil was ideal for coffee production and Brazil eventually became the worlds leading coffee producer. In the following years coffee-growing spread to other countries in Central and South America: to Mexico in 1740, to Venezuela in 1784 and to Colombia at the end of the century.

There are now more than 70 countries growing coffee all situated between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn where the climate is most suitable for growing. Some of the better known places are Martinique, Brazil, Mexico, Jamaica, Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, Cameroon and Zaire.

Instead of the slow sailing ships of the past we now have the powerful container ships of today that can transport shipments from America to Europe in just two weeks instead of many months. In the 18th century more than half the cost of coffee was to pay for the transportation of beans and the vegetable fibre sacks.

Coffee had in fact reached America as a consumer item even before de Clieu's young plants. Coffee was being drunk in 1660 at a place called New Amsterdam that would be conquered by the British four years later and renamed New York.

The English found the custom of drinking coffee well established by the wealthier classes. The less prosperous classes were still drinking tea.

In 1773, King George imposed a heavy tax on tea. The people rebelled and the citizens of Boston even attacked the English ships and dumped the cargo of tea overboard. This episode of history is the famous "Boston Tea Party" and it marked a change in the fortunes of coffee in North America.

Within a few years coffee became the national beverage and it still is today.

A gentle reminder that every once in a while, we should stop our mad rushing around in this frenetic world we live in, sit down in a comfortable chair, do a bit of quiet relaxing and ... why not?... have a real cup of coffee. Just lovely!