Early African tribes mixed crushed coffee beans with animal fat and ate them because these were believed to give them extra strength and endurance. In Yemen, before 1000 AD, an herbal concoction was made by boiling the husks in water. It was only in the 15th century when the practice of grinding roasted coffee beans into fine powder and boiling it in water was started. This method still exists up to this day and is called the Middle Eastern or Turkish coffee.
The pleasures of drinking roasted coffee were discovered with the proliferation of coffee houses where coffee drinking was associated with religious practices. Growing coffee on the commercial scale started when coffee was transported from Ethiopia to Yemen. For many years, Yemen monopolized coffee export and shipped coffee via the Red Sea port of Al Mukah. Europeans learned to enjoy this new exotic drink after it was introduced by the Venetians in the 1600’s and called it Mocha.
Europeans competed with the coffee trade with the Dutch smuggling coffee plants from India to the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra in the late 17th century. This gave rise to the first coffee blend Mocha-Java.
At present, the wide variety of coffee beans coming from the Middle East, India, Africa, and North and South America, and the diverse practices in grinding, roasting, and brewing have greatly influenced the role played by our senses in giving us the perceived pleasure we associate with drinking coffee. Our sensory judgments as to the taste, smell, and what we see contribute to the satisfaction that we feel with the drinking coffee experience.
It has been established that consumption of caffeine can enhance alertness, reduce fatigue, and improve memory and recognition. Therefore, drinking a cup of coffee is helpful in counteracting physical and mental sluggishness as well as sleepiness. Caffeine induces a positive effect by lifting our mood. This makes coffee a vital source of individual happiness and pleasurable activity.
Apart from giving us an increased sense of pleasure, raising our mood, and improving our concentration, coffee also enhances our capacity to cope with life and enjoy it, by promoting the well being of our immune system. Consequently, this makes us more ready for social interaction and simply enjoying the pleasure of conversations and each other’s company.
