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Here at Sedona Coffee Roasters, we purchase only the finest raw Arabica coffee beans and roast our coffee right on the premises in accordance to methods and standards that have been handed down for generations.Of course we also have our own secret recipes of blends and roasting techniques. Our "Sedona Cowboy Coffee" is a copyright formula and is exclusive to Sedona Coffee Roasters.
Many People ask us questions about the History and Process of Coffee. This Page contains several Links (just click on them) that will help you understand about Coffee.
http://www.coffeeresearch.com/coffee/history.htm
http://www.joecoffee.com/coffee-facts/shorthistory.html
http://www.matthew-algie.co.uk/
http://www.blackapollo.demon.co.uk/cafindex.html
A Brief History of Coffee
The discovery of coffee is shrouded in the myths and legends of antiquity. All of them will forever remain just stories and legends, however they are very interesting nonetheless.The first of these involves the ancient Greek poet/storyteller Homer. He mentions a dark, bitter beverage that had the ability to prevent someone from becoming drowsy. Homer is said to have composed his Odyssey and Iliad around 800 B.C., therefore the earliest possible reference to coffee may date to this time period. It is important to keep in mind that Homer does not refer to the beverage as 'coffee and there is no word in the classical Greek language for coffee. Stories from the southern Arabian Peninsula (modern Yemen), where Europeans first discovered the cultivated coffee plant suggest that coffee may have been traded between Ethiopia and Yemen as early as 800 B.C. Some historians suggest the possibility that Arabian slave-traders who raided Africa as early as 1000 B.C. introduced coffee into Arabia. Still others suggest that when Ethiopia invaded the Arabian Peninsula in 525 A.D. they brought coffee with them and established the first coffee plants in Arabia at this time. Perhaps the most popular story about the discovery of coffee is that of Kaldi, (some spell his name Khalid or Khaldi), anyway, here is the story of Kaldi: Kaldi was an Abyssinian (Ethiopian) goat herder and according to the story a very responsible and sober goat-herder. One day he noticed that while the afternoon sun made him drowsy, his goats frolicked and pranced about after eating some red berries from a shiny dark-leafed bush nearby. Being very drowsy, Kaldi ate some of the berries and soon found himself full of energy and dancing around the bush as well. Shortly a learned man from the local village happened to pass by and noticed the behavior of both the goats and Kaldi. Named Aucuba, and being tired himself, he tried the berries and was instantly awake and ready to continue his journey. Aucuba took some of the berries back to the village with him and mixed the crushed berries with drinks at his monastery in order to keep people awake during prayer.
A somewhat different version of the story has Kaldi returning home after eating some of the berries discovered by his goats. Upon his arrival at home his wife was amazed to see the usually exhausted Kaldi full of energy (and sexual passion). After a short 'interlude' she suggested that Kaldi share his discovery with the local Holy Man. Kaldi took some of the berries to the Holy Man and described his increase in energy (including the increased passion for his wife). Upon hearing of this the Holy Man grabbed the berries and declaring them to be "the work of the Devil" threw them into the fire to banish their offensive presence. As the berries began to burn they filled the room with a wonderful and delicious aroma. Other Holy Men began rushing into the room wanting to discover the source of this new and delightful aroma. The chief Holy Man quickly retrieved the smoldering berries and deposited them in some water. Because they had smelled so good many of the Holy Men decided to try sipping the resulting liquid to see if it tasted as good as it smelled. They found it to be very bitter but soon found themselves experiencing the same clarity and vigor described by Kaldi. The beverage was then declared a miraculous gift from heaven and was used from then on to keep the Holy Men and their parishioners awake during evening prayers.
Another story involves the Dervish Omar. Omar was renowned for his ability to cure the sick and the lame through prayer and medicine. Local religious officials, fearing his growing popularity, forced him out of the Yemenite port city of Mocha into the desert. One night at midnight an apparition, the spirit of his dead mentor, awakens Omar and leads him to a small bush studded with bright red berries. The apparition tells Omar to pick some of the fruit an eat the seeds. Finding them much to bitter to eat he built a fire and roasted some of the seeds from inside the berries. After roasting the beans he placed them in some boiling water. Finding that the beans were still too hard to eat, he tried drinking the dark liquid. He recovered his strength and was sustained for days. Omar's 'magic' potion soon had others making the journey out to his cave to sample this new and extraordinary drink. Soon many people were spreading the word about the restorative powers of Omar's 'magic' drink. Omar was eventually invited to return to the city of Mocha. Before long Dervishes from throughout Yemen, Aden, Cairo, and Mecca were consuming the new beverage in all-night religious ceremonies finding that it increased their stamina and concentration during their intense prayer and meditation.
One final story claims that early European travelers wishing to discover the source of the Nile River noticed African cultures using a lightweight, easily transported food to sustain them on long journeys. They soon observed these people crushing red berries with a motor and pestle and mixing them with animal fat. The resulting mixture was thenformed into same balls that could be easily carried. These European travelers also observed that African warriors had tremendous energy after consuming some of these 'coffee-balls' before going into battle.
Because so many stories about the origins of coffee come from the Arabian Peninsula it was assumed, for many years, that coffee originated in Yemen. Modern botanical investigations strongly support the theory that the coffee plant "Coffee Arabica" originated in the highland plateaus of central Ethiopia in a region known as Kaffa. Coffeestill grows wild in the Kaffa region today. The near certainty that the coffee plant was first cultivated in Ethiopia lends support to the idea coffee was brought to the Arabian Peninsula either by Arabian slave-traders or during the Ethiopian invasion of 525 A.D. The fact that this date is over 1000 years after Homer's possible mention of 'coffee' suggests that Homer was in fact referring to a beverage made from some other plant.
One of the interesting characteristics of coffee is that the bean can be fermented. Fermentation is the process in which sugars are turned into alcohol. In the Arabic language "qahwa" means wine. "Qahwa" is most probably the origin of the English word 'coffee'. In its earliest European history coffee was called 'the wine of Arabia'. Fermenting of coffee berries is still practiced in Ethiopia and some Arabic countries. Creating fermented beverages, like beer and wine, goes back at least 5,000 years and possibly as far as 20,000. Certainly brewing alcoholic beverages is not a new concept. Most any plant, or plant product (flour,fruit, seeds, etc.), can be fermented. Therefore is not an implausible stretch to imagine people trying to ferment berries or seeds of the wild coffee plant. The word "qahwa" first appears on mud tablets written almost 3,000 years ago. Trade was already well established around the Mediterranean Sea by 1,000 B.C. and it is very possible that a'wine' made from coffee was traded at this time.
