Coffee is a beverage of choice for many people. While there are many countries across the world that grow the crop, Africa produces some of the most sought after coffee.
There are many health benefits associated with coffee; however, African coffee stands out for many other qualities.
Africa is the Origin of Coffee
Many people ask about the history of coffee, including where coffee originated. Legend has it that a goat herder named Kaldi who after stepping out into his field was shocked to see his goats missing. In the search for his missing goats, he went out to the forest only to find them gathered around a coffee tree dancing wildly. To his surprise, the source of their excitement was a red cherry hanging from several coffee trees. Intrigued by this, Kaldi himself tried the strange cherry and soon found himself dancing alongside his four-legged friends. He shared his discovery of this 'miraculous berry' with monks from a nearby monastery.
The legend goes on that the monks, initially skeptical, wondered why such a simple berry would have such a profound effect on man. Believing it contained satanic supernatural powers, the monks cast the berries into the fire as to 'exorcise their powers,' but they could not resist the coffee's pleasant aroma coming out of the fire. As a result, they ordered that the beans be drunk with hot water "so the goodness may flow through the liquid" and soon the beverage was used exclusively by monks in monasteries.
Within no time, coffee became a great beverage to church since it allowed monks to work late into the night translating Biblical scriptures!
The peaberry fruit!
Most Coffee from African have fruity, peaberry notes.
Today, Ethiopia is the world's seventh-largest producer of coffee and the top producer in Africa. In Ethiopia, coffee is grown at high altitude regions like Yirgacheffe.
2. High Elevation
Most of African coffee is grown at high altitude areas. At such high elevations, coffee grows with low supply of carbon dioxide, oxygen, and temperature. Because of this low supply, coffee berries by-pass normal respiration (making energy) and in the process produce lactic acid. The lactic acid is responsible for giving coffee the delicious creamy, fruity notes as well as a high sugar concentration that eliminates any bitter taste.
3. Natural Processing
Most of the coffee in Africa is grown by small scale farmers. Because it is expensive to machine process the coffee, the farmers follow natural processing including sun drying and hand processing of the crop which help retain all the ingredients and flavor in the coffee. That is why most African coffee has distinct aroma, smell and high sugar concentration.
Now you understand why African coffee is special!
