Coffee Descriptive
Definition Essay Coffee Coffee is a dark brown/black naturally caffeinated drink made from passing water through ground roasted coffee beans. Coffee is used as a great medicine to help patients, and it can be taken as a popular drink all over the world. Caffeinated coffee drinks are largely consumed by people around the world regularly. It has become an internationally popular drink in almost every country. Coffee is so important to our daily lives that some people cannot live a day without drinking it. The word coffee was derived from the Ottoman Turkish kahve, via the Italian caffe.
The Turkish word was derived from the Arabian word qahwah. Arab lexicographers report that qahawah originally referred to wine. Since this beverage was thought to dull one’s hunger the word, qaha which signifies “to have no appetite” was given to it. Other etymologies also indicate that the Arab form was a loanword from an Ethiopian source word Kaffe, which refers to the highland in the southwestern Ethiopia where the plant grows indigenous. However, the word that is used in that area is bunn, the native Shoa name bun meaning a native plant.
Today coffee has different names all over the world, like caffe in French, Kaffee in Germany, kahvi in Finland etc. No matter what it is called, the Ethiopian people were the first to recognize the stimulating effect of the coffee beans that grow as a coffee plant. No one knows who among the natives earlier than 17th century grew coffee in Africa or used it as a stimulant. It is believed that a 9th century goat herder discovered coffee, but that his discovery was not revealed until 1671. Another story holds that Sheik Omar discovered the coffee.
It is said that he was exiled from Mocha, Arab to a desert cave near Ousab, Arab. He was starving, so he chewed local berries, but found them bitter. To get a better taste, he roasted tem. But, they were too hard to eat. He then boiled them to soften the roasted beans, which resulted in a brown liquid with a strong fragrance. After drinking the liquid, he sustained himself on it for days. As this story reached Mocha, Omar was asked to return home. Coffee was brought from Ethiopia to Arab. Sufi Baba Budan smuggled coffee from Yeman to India. He smuggled beans by strapping them on to his chest.
The first smuggled plant was grown at Mysore, India. Coffee drinking then spread to Europe and America. In the United States, September 29 is celebrated as National Coffee day. Coffee is grown in tropical grassland mixed with patches of forest at the altitude of 16-24 degrees. It is grown in different types of soil. But, it is especially grown in volcanic soil. Coffee is produced in a large quantity in rainy season. It is grown in a slope less than fifteen percent. It is not cultivated in a steeper slope because it presents major erosion risk and requires terracing and special management such as counter furrows.
Coffee comes from topical African shrubs or trees of genus coffea, which is widely cultivated in the tropics. These beans picked at peak ripen, then dried, roasted and grounded to prepare a stimulating aromatic drink. Coffee is a brewed beverage with a distinct aroma and flavor. The beans are found in coffee “berries”, which grows on tree. Coffee is one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world. Coffee is slightly acidic (5. 0-5. 1 pH) and can have stimulating effect on humans because of its caffeine content. It is one of the most consumed beverages in the world.
All the coffee plants are classified in the large family rubiaceae. Different species of coffee are cultivated all over the world, among which the two main commercially cultivated coffee plants are coffea canephora, mostly known as robusta, and coffea arabic, arabica, which is the most highly regarded species and which is the native of southwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Coffees are evergreen plants which may grow up to five meter tall. The flowers of coffee plants are auxiliary. Flowers bloom simultaneously and are followed by oval berries.
The berries are green when immature; they ripen to yellow then red and black on drying on the bush. Black berries produce the best tasting coffee. The berries usually contain two seeds, but some contain only one. These coffee berries are called pea berries. They take five to nine month to ripen. The leaves of the coffee plant are dark green and glossy which has a spear shape. The leaves cannot be eaten. Coffee beans undergo several processes before they become roasted coffee. Coffee beans have traditionally been selectively picked by hand.
After picking, the berries are processed in two methods – dry process method and wet process method. The other method, dry process, is also known as unwashed or natural method and it is the oldest method of processing coffee. After picking, the entire berries are placed on tables or in thin layer on patios in the sunny day to dry. The berries are dried to remove moisture present in it. The berries take ten days to dry completely. The berries need to be rotated regularly to prevent mildew while they dry. After the berries dry, the skin, pulp and parchment are removed from the bean. Then they are sorted and graded.
The wet process is another processing method. This method is common among premium coffees. After picking green berries, they are sorted by immersion in water. The bad ones will float while the good ones will sink. The skin of the berry is removed by pressing the berries inside the water. Formation is used if machine is not used. The objective of the fermentation process is to dissolve any remaining fruit flesh and to remove the sticky film surrounding the coffee beans, which are not water soluble. The berries are fermented for twenty to forty-six hours during which the pulp will naturally fall off.
The pulp is removed by breaking down the cellulose by fermenting the beans with microbes and then washing them with large amount of water. The berries without pulp are cleaned with water and then dried in a machine or the sun. In most cases they are dried in the sun to twelve to thirteen percent moisture content and bought down to ten percent by machine. Some coffee is dried on large raised tables where the coffee is turned by hand. This method increases cost. But, drying coffee this way has the advantage of allowing air to circulate better around the berries, helping to dry them more.
After drying, the thin shell around the berries, called the parchment, is removed from the bean and green coffee bean is produced. The coffee berries have now been processed and are prepared to undergo roasting. Coffee is usually sold in a roasted state. The roasting process is a complex process because the beans should be roasted evenly and at a very high temperature. The actual roasting begins when the temperature inside the beans reaches two hundred degree Celsius. The roasting of the berries depends on the moisture and the density of the beans. During roasting, caramelization occurs as an intense heat breaks down the pulp.
Caramelization is the browning of sugars; a process used extensively in cooking to create nutty flavor and brown color. Sucrose is rapidly lost during the roasting process and may disappear altogether. The aromatic oils and acids weaken, which changes the flavor. Oils start to develop. At two hundred degree Celsius, oil called caffeol is created. This oil is responsible for coffee’s aroma and flavor. Depending on the color of the roasted beans as observed by human eye, they will be labeled as light, medium light, medium, medium dark, dark or very dark.
Discerning the degree of roast involves measuring the reflected the light from the roasted beans. Different roasts create different flavors. Coffee is used for various purposes such as plant food, insect repellant, dye, furniture scratch cover-up etc. But the main purpose of coffee is it is used as an energy source. For the human body the caffeine in the coffee causes faster neuron connections in our brains. This is useful for fast response situations, but not to recall memories. After drinking coffee regularly people get addicted to it and for going, drinking coffee will make unable to do anything.
These people are caffeine addicts, and they become lethargic without caffeine. Coffee can cause a great health problem if it is consumed regularly. Coffee prepared using paper filters removes oily components called diterpenes that are present in unfiltered coffee. Two types of diterpenes are present in coffee: kahweol and cafestol, both of which have been associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease. The Harvard School of Public Health states that the overall balance of risks and benefits of coffee consumption are on the side of benefits.
For example, men who drank six or more cups of coffee per day were found to have a twenty percent reduction in developing prostate cancer. Other studies suggest coffee consumption reduces the risk of being affected by Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, diabetes mellitus type 2, cirrhosis of the liver and gout. Drinking decaffeinated coffee is better than drinking caffeinated coffee. Decaffeinated coffee has ninety seven percent of the caffeine removed. Decaffeinated coffee increases resting metabolism rate and protects against diabetes.
It decreases C-peptide levels, which are an indicator of insulin resistance. It also avoids rapid heart rate, upset stomach and sleep disturbance. There are different types of coffee beverages, such as Affogato, Baltimore, Black eye, Black tie and many others. The main types of coffee that are produced are coffee and Espresso. They are the same, but Espresso is roasted a bit darker and produces stronger drink than ground coffee. The beans are roasted until they are dark and oily-looking. The main differences between coffee and espresso are the fineness of the grind and the brewing time.
The brewing time for espresso is much shorter and is made in an espresso machines that generate up to fifteen atmospheres of pressure to force hot water through the ground coffee. When the espresso is placed into a small basket; it is tightly packed with about 40lbs of pressure. Coffee is loose grinds deposited in to a basket and not packed at all. When the espresso liquid comes out, it is dark brown in color and slightly thick with a small amount of foam on top. The purpose of drinking coffee is to enjoy the flavor and the taste. Most of the people don’t drink coffee just to stay alert or awake.
Most of the people end up buying decaffeinated coffee, to enjoy the coffee and to avoid all the side effect of caffeinated coffee. Sometime people also drink caffeinated coffee to boost themselves for different purposes like to be active, to stay alert and many others. There are plenty of issues for us to think about when deciding if we should drink coffee or not. Drinking it offers both risks and offers benefits to a human body. Coffee affects each person differently. We cannot deny that coffee does play an essential role in daily lives. However, over-consuming offee is harmful. But some people think that drinking coffee is beneficial because some research has shown that it helps to sure diseases. I think that drinking coffee was one of the best experiences that have ever happened because of its taste and its strong smell. Many people feel this way. Coffee has also helped countries to improve their economies. If people think that it is harmful to drink caffeinated coffee then they can drink decaffeinated coffee and enjoy the same taste. Though coffee has a bitter taste it is one of the most pleasant, aromatic beverages ever made.
