| Coffee is the product of a seed that is grown both | | | | body, were then discovered and the popularity of |
| in rows in sun or more traditionally on the hillsides | | | | the plant is now multi-billion dollar history. |
| under shade. The coffee plants blossom and the fruit | | | | The Muslims are credited with introducing the drink to |
| of the blossoms are the coffee berries. The two | | | | Italy, and the Italians then helped to spread the drink |
| major species of coffee are the most popular | | | | through out Europe. England's first coffee house was |
| Arabica and the more bitter Robusto. These berries | | | | built in the late 17th century. What exactly all of |
| are fermented, soaked, hulled and sorted, dried, and | | | | these people were drinking isn't always known, but |
| then the beans can be ground, whether at home or | | | | there have been various methods of consuming |
| commercially, into many different forms of a | | | | coffee, from chewing the berries, to drinking coffee |
| consumable beverage. | | | | as a cold mix of the grounds and water, to the hot |
| The coffee plant is indigenous to the subtropical | | | | drink espressos and lattes of today. |
| areas of Africa and southern Asia. It has spread for | | | | As with many popular substances, coffee has had a |
| cultivation in warm areas all around the tropical Earth. | | | | past rife with controversy. It has been both banned |
| From Columbia to Kona, Viet Nam to Brazil, coffee | | | | and blessed by several religious organizations at |
| plants produce some of the most sought after | | | | different time in history. Coffee has been used in |
| berries on Earth. Coffee was first consumed in | | | | religious observances in Yemen and parts of Africa; it |
| Ethiopia, but not in liquid form; the berries from the | | | | was banned by the Ethiopian Church. The Ottoman |
| coffee shrubs were consumed by goats. The goats | | | | empire in Turkey also banned its use during a political |
| then seemed to have a positive reaction to the fruit, | | | | struggle in 17th century and their have been many |
| and their actions were mimicked by the goat herders. | | | | political rebellions across Europe regarding its use. |
| The caffeine in the berries, and its affects on the | | | | |