How about a coffee, fresh and hot? For some, this custom is in decline, but Brazilians still have a reputation for having breakfast in the evening.
The excessive cost of coffee did not lead to a quick switch to other drinks. In fact, a third of the world's population still drinks coffee. For example, Belgians drink 149 liters of coffee per year compared to only six liters of tea. The average American drinks 10 cups of coffee for every cup of tea. In the western world, only the British break the rule of thumb by consuming six liters of coffee for 261 (69 gallons) of tea per year.
However, the coffee does not come from Brazil. Would you like to know how the use of this almost universal drink evolved, where it came from and how it came to Brazil?
Origin and use
The word "coffee" comes from the Arabic qahwah, which means strength, and has come to us through the Turkish kahwe. The first discovery of coffee is legendary. One story tells the tale of Kaldi, a young Arab shepherd who noticed the playful antics of his goats after gnawing at the berries and leaves of a particular evergreen shrub. Out of curiosity, he tasted the mysterious berries himself and was surprised by their stimulating effect. Word spread and "coffee" was born.
Coffee was originally served as a solid food, then as wine, then as medicine, and finally as a regular drink. As a drug, it is and continues to be prescribed to treat migraines, heart disease, chronic asthma, and dropsy. (However, overuse can build up excess stomach acid, cause nervousness, and speed up the heart rate. This is attributed to frequent "heartburn".) For food, whole berries were chopped, added fat and the mixture turned into round shapes. Even today, some African tribes "eat" coffee. Then the fruits of the coffee gave a kind of wine. Others made drinks by pouring boiling water over the dried bowls. The seeds were then dried and roasted, mixed with the peels and made into a drink. Finally, someone crushed the beans in a pestle, the precursor to the coffee grinder.
Coffee in Brazil
Although coffee probably came from Ethiopia, the Arabs were the first to cultivate it in the 15th century. But his monopoly was short-lived. The first coffee plants were planted in India in 1610. The Dutch began to study their cultivation in 1614. In the 1720s, the French naval officer Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu left Paris for the West Indies and took some coffee plants with him with him. Only one survived and was taken to Martinique. Coffee spread from Dutch Guiana via the West Indies to French Guiana, and from there Brazilian army officer Francisco de Melo Palheta took it to Brazil via Belém around 1727. At the beginning of the 19th century , coffee began to be cultivated in Campinas and other towns. from the state of Sao Paulo and quickly reached other states, especially Paraná.
Today, coffee plantations are planned with technical rigidity. Instead of sowing in the field, the seedlings are grown in shaded nurseries. The coffee bean germinates about 40 days after sowing. Its incomparable appearance gave it the name of "match". After a year of careful treatment in the nursery, the plants are replanted abroad.
Typically, plants are arranged on slopes in curved lines to facilitate mechanized field work and prevent soil erosion. Four years after planting, the trees are ready for the first harvest. At the same time, irrigation increases growth and production by up to 100%.
On the other hand, the coffee grower's puzzle is the never-ending battle against insects and plant diseases such as rust and coffee beans. Rust is a fungus that attacks the leaves and can kill the tree. The coffee bean auger is a worm that destroys beans by drilling small holes in them. Of course, there are effective fungicides and insecticides, but their constant use increases production costs.
Preparing coffee beans
When planting, coffee can be prepared with a "wash" or "drying". The washing process is assumed to result in a good quality product as only ripe cherries are selected. Due to the lower labor and cost, Brazilian coffee generally goes through the "dry" process.
First, shake all the fruits, from green to dry, from the bush to large burlap leaves. Then they are screened with special screens. The berries are then rinsed in water channels next to the drying terraces to separate blackberries from the green and remove impurities. They are then spread in layers to air dry and in the sun. They are often rotated to allow even drying. Finally, the nuts are stored in wood-covered layers until the next use.
The drying process is extremely important for the final quality of the coffee. Therefore, some plantations use wood stoves for faster drying, especially in rainy weather.
In other Latin American countries and elsewhere, the "washing process" is common, although longer and more expensive. First, a pulp machine drives the beans out of the skin. They fall into large tanks where they stay for about 24 hours and are subjected to a slight fermentation of "honey", which is called by the surrounding gelatinous substance. After fermentation, the "sweetheart" is washed in washing channels. The coffee is then allowed to dry in the sun as in "drying". Some manufacturers use dryers, perforated rotating drums where hot air circulates through the coffee. Finally, the coffee beans go through decorating and polishing machines. And just as the best quality coffee is harvested manually, the fruit is inspected manually after washing.
Soon the last step will be: pack the coffee in jute bags for transport. The 60-kilo bag adopted by Brazil is the global statistical unit. The bags are stacked in clean, well-ventilated layers. Coffee is finally for sale.