You Can Thank the Arabs for #NationalCoffeeDay

posted on: Sep 29, 2016

BY: Nisreen Eadeh/Staff Writer

Today is National Coffee Day where millions of Americans will drink an extra cup (or two) in honor of the beverage that keeps the world moving. To say thanks, take a moment to appreciate coffee’s origins: the Arab world.

Coffee’s origins have been disputed as either from Ethiopia or Yemen. In the 11^th Century, coffee plants were discovered growing wild in Ethiopia, where the locals called it kaffa. However, records indicate that coffee was first cultivated in the 7^th century in Southern Arabia, or modern day Yemen. Originally, the Arabs ate coffee beans in a mixture with fat to survive.

Around 300 years later, the medieval Arab scholar Al-Razi wrote about the drink as a medicinal substance. By the time of the Arab philosopher Avicenna in the year 1000, Arabs had learned to crush and boil coffee beans to make a “medicinal tonic.”

Over the course of the next 400 to 500 years, coffee houses sprang up across the Arabian Peninsula and through the rest of the Arab world. Soon, every major Arab city from Cairo to Damascus was boasting hundreds of coffee houses, visited by every member of society. By the time coffee reached Rome in the 1500s, both Muslim and Christian leaders were banning the beverage because of the powerful attachment consumers developed with it. Yet, despite religious opposition, coffee houses continued to grow throughout the rest of Europe.

Dutch spies stole a few Yemeni coffee plants in the 17^th century and sailed them to the East Indies. In only a few short years, coffee was being cultivated uncontrollably across Asia. Colonizers then spread the crops to South America and North America, leaving no part of the world untouched.

Today, coffee is grown in half the world’s countries, with Brazil being the largest producer. Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, and other South American and Asian countries top the lists as major cultivators of the coffee crop.

In the Arab world, coffee has remained a traditional, social beverage served to guests in homes and customers in shops. Coffee is a hospitable drink in the Arab world, which means it is always brewed fresh and never reheated. The beverage even has a mystic side, as it has been used to tell drinkers’ fortunes for centuries.

For over 400 years, Arabs have been brewing dark roast blends at piping hot temperatures. Since the brew is so strong, it is served in small doses in miniature cups. Arabian coffee is gone in three sips, but having up to three cups is normal. Additionally, since the act of serving coffee is so important to Arabs, coffee sets – cups, pots, and server trays – are usually ornate and unique. Coffee is often served with dates to help cut the bitterness with a sweet fruit.

Unlike in the West, Arabs do not dilute their coffee with milk, sugar, or artificial sweeteners. Although Western style coffees seen in chains like Starbucks are becoming more popular in the Arab world, the traditional Arabian coffee is always served in homes.

Celebrate National Coffee Day right by making Arabian coffee at home. Watch this video for instructions: