The word “coffee” originated from Arabic “qahwah”, probably from the Kaffa region of Ethiopia, a home of the plant.

The first coffeehouses were opened in Istanbul in 1554. Coffee became available in England in the mid-17th century, and by 1675 England had more than 3,000 coffeehouses.

Today coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world, after petroleum (according to TechnoServe), and about third of all the world’s coffee is produced in Brazil. The United States is the largest market for coffee, while Finland consumes the most coffee per capita, an average of four to five cups a day.

There are two main species of the coffee plant: Arabica, which is more susceptible to diseases, and Robusta, which contains about twice as much caffeine, and is used in almost all instant coffee products.

The coffee tree produces its first full crop when it is about five years old. Thereafter it produces consistently for 15 to 20 years.

Before coffee reaches its consumer, it should be picked, freed from the fruit flesh, dried, sorted, aged (some experts believe that certain types of green coffee improve with age) and roasted.

Spent coffee grounds are a good fertilizer because of their high nitrogen content.

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