F
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)
Wow..hadn't known the story of coffee that we drink everyday! thanks for the article...
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot
ReplyDelete