The meaning of "coffee"

• The word coffee comes from the Arabic "Qahwa".
• The Turkish rendering of the Arabic term was "Kahweh".
• Today, the term has a similar pronunciation in all languages.

Place of origin

• Homeland: Abyssinia (Ethiopia today)
• Middle of the 15th Century: a method of refining coffee seeds (i.e. roasting) led to the plant's wider cultivation and renown

Current significance

• Coffee is second only to petroleum when it comes to the value of its global trade

A brief classification of the coffee plant:
The botanical family

• Two main botanical types and their global distribution:
  Coffea Arabica (70% of overall cultivation) and Coffea Canephora or Robusta (30% of overall cultivation)
• The arabica type can be subdivided into hundreds of varieties, including mocha, maragogipe, bourbon, typica, nana and many more. (These varieties emerged as a result of breeding, chance and natural selection.)
• Appearance:
  The arabica bean is oval and has an uneven, nearly closed seam.
  The robusta bean is virtually round and has a very even and open seam.
• Taste:
  Arabica: fine, slightly bitter, fruity, tart
  Robusta: woody, earthy, astringent, strong, full-bodied
• Origins:
  All coffee types have their origin in Africa.
  Wild arabica: southwest highlands of Ethiopia, Sudan
  Wild robusta: various regions of West Africa characterised by tropical rainforest vegetation (Congo)