Arabian coffee is the quintessential coffee of the world. Arabia lends its name to the highest quality coffee plant in the world, Coffea Arabica. Arabian coffee accounts for about 80% of all coffee produced in the world. It prefers higher elevations and drier climates than its cousin C. robusta. The tropics of South America provide ideal conditions for growing Arabian coffee which grows best between 3,000 and 6,500 feet but has been grown as high as 9,000 feet. Generally, the higher the plant is grown the slower it matures. This gives it time to develop the internal elements and oils that give coffee its aromatic flavor. Coffee was originally discovered in Ethiopia, just across the Red Sea from Arabia. Coffee soon made its way to Yemen where it was embraced by the Islamic people. Soon it became a beverage endorsed by the Islamic clerics as drinking alcohol was prohibited in their religion. Arabian coffee soon came to be known as an Islamic beverage. Arabian coffee was exported to Europe where the people embraced it. However, the Catholic Cardinals shunned it as the Devils drink and tried to have it banned. But then Pope Clement VIII decided that it would be imprudent to ban the beverage without having tasted it, so he summoned a sample. As legend has it, the Pope was immediately enamored by the distinct, pungent aroma and taste. He decided that to banish the delightful drink would be a greater sin. So he baptized it on the spot claiming that it would be a shame to let the impious ones have this delightful drink all to themselves. Arabian coffee is still a part of the Islamic faith and is use in ritualistic ceremonies. Arabian coffee growers protected their monopoly on the prized plant. They were the exclusive providers of coffee throughout the world for several hundred years. That is until a coffee plant finally made its way to the Caribbean. This began a new legacy of high-quality coffee in Latin America. It is said that all the Arabica coffee grown in the world started from this plant as cuttings were transplanted all over the world. Arabian coffee is truly the source of coffee throughout the world. The word mocha comes from the name Mokha, the shipping port in Yemen where all Arabian coffee was exported. Mocha has become a term used for describing a coffee beverage in which chocolate is added. But originally it had nothing to do with chocolate. |
