Coffee

Common Name

Coffee beans and spice share similar histories. Both are dried plant fruits, and both have been coveted, fought over and memorialized for centuries.

According to legend, coffee was discovered in 850 AD in Ethiopia by a goat herder after he noticed his goats became more active after eating the berries from a local shrub. Monks soon learned of this plant and created a beverage out of the berries, which then allowed them to stay awake longer, giving them more time to pray.

The Arabs began cultivating coffee by 1000 AD and would boil the beans in hot water to create a liquid called "qahwa" meaning "to prevent sleep."

Coffee houses began to appear around 1100 AD and by 1453, a law throughout the Ottoman empire allowed women to divorce their husbands if they were not provided an acceptable amount of coffee per day.

Coffee had spread to Europe by the 1600's and by mid-century the first coffee house had appeared in England. Despite coffee's popularity, some called it the Devil's drink and at one point Venice introduced a coffee prohibition.

Inevitably, the Arabs soon lost control of their coffee monopoly and beans were cultivated in Europe. By the 18th century, coffee had spread to the New World, setting the foundation for the Brazilian coffee industry. By the beginning of the 20th century Brazil produced 97% of the world's coffee.

Most coffee cultivated for beverages comes from Coffea arabica, however Coffea canephora, which tends to be slightly more bitter and lacks the flavor found in arabica beans, is sometimes added to commercial coffee blends. Canephora is less vulnerable to disease than arabica beans and has a much higher caffeine content.

Picked by hand, coffee berries are sorted, stripped of their flesh and then fermented. After fermentation the green beans are washed, dried, sorted once more and then roasted to a rich dark brown color. Roasting decreases the amount of caffeine in the beans and changes their flavor. Contrary to conventional wisdom about coffee, dark roast coffees do not offer more caffeine than lighter blends.

Beans can be decaffeinated in several different ways while they are still green. The water process is the simplest and least disruptive as it involves hot soaking the beans to leach out caffeine.

In modern kitchens, coffee takes pride of place on the spice shelf. Coffee is a fabulous meat marinade and tenderizer, and good quality ground and brewed coffee is used in many meat, seafood, vegetable and dessert recipes.

Purported Medicinal Qualities*

Until recently, coffee has suffered a bad wrap health-wise. However, recent research suggests that coffee may reduce the risk of many diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Most of these supposed benefits stem from the caffeine content in coffee and its anti-oxidants. Of course, just like everything, too much of a good thing can sometimes be harmful, so it is best to drink coffee in moderation.

Historically, coffee has been used to:

• Protect against gall stones
• Protect against cancer including, colon, bladder, breast and liver
• As a source of anti-oxidants
• Control cholesterol levels
• Increase alertness short-term
• As a stimulant

*Always check with your healthcare provider before consuming, inhaling or otherwise ingesting any non-prescription or prescription natural or homeopathic substance or pharmaceutical. ChefatHand.com is not recommending, suggesting, inferring or otherwise endorsing the use of any herb or spice as a medication.

Culinary/Suggested Use

Coffee is generally consumed as a beverage, is often added to desserts, but can also be added to many savory dishes. Coffee has been used as a foodstuff for hundreds of years and recently has begun to be used as a spice or seasoning once more. Beans can be used ground or brewed and added to dishes to give a rich flavor without an overpowering taste of coffee.  Food for thought:

• Add coffee to homemade barbecue sauce
• Add coffee to marinades for game meat, beef, lamb, pork and chicken
• Add coffee to a tomato based sauce
• Add coffee to sweet potatoes or yams
• Add ground coffee to other spices and use as a rub
• Use stronger coffee with red meat and lighter blends for pork and chicken
• Add coffee to pot roast
• Add coffee to cookies, cakes and muffins

view other A-Z Spices